Afro-Cuban · son · 4/4 son-clave

Son clave (3-2)

120 bpm Loop: all
16ths

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Son clave, forward (3-2). The same five strokes as 2-3, but starting on the three side: beat 1, the and-of-2 and beat 4 of bar 1, then beats 2 and 3 of bar 2. Levine calls it forward clave; most traditional son and many Cuban standards ("Ave María Morena" in Levine's example) are written this way.

How it feels: bar 1 pushes — the and-of-2 is the only off-beat stroke and it pulls the ear toward beat 4; bar 2 answers squarely on 2 and 3 and feels like a release. The whole band "resolves" into the two side.

Listen for which bar a melody's syncopations fall in. If the tune's tied notes and anticipations cluster in the odd bars, it is 3-2; if they cluster in the even bars, 2-3. Guess wrong and the arrangement is cruzado (crossed).

Practice: loop this, mute the piano, and clap the clave while counting "1 2& 4 | 2 3". Then switch to the 2-3 pattern and notice that the rhythm is identical — only your starting point moved.

Sources

  • Levine, The Jazz Piano Book, fig. 20-3
  • Levine, The Jazz Theory Book, fig. 22-1
  • Scivales, Play Latin Piano Like a Pro, ch. 22 Ex-112-1

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