Rhythmic Triangulation
In the core section, we learned about clave's relationship with the pulse and how the rhythmic anticipation it generates contributes to the feel of salsa. And we investigated the nature of rhythmic interaction through maintaining two rhythm streams simultaneously; clave interpreted with the hands, and pulse or step rhythm through the lower body.

We're going to take that one stage further now, and investigate a three-way interaction. "What?!" I hear you exclaim (no, I haven't fallen off my trolley).

To do this, you'll need to have completed the Body Isolation: Chest, Front-to-Back exercise in the Dance-Skills Collection. The ultimate aim is to maintain the pulse rhythm stream in your chest, clave in your hands, and the step rhythm in your legs.

Figure 5.3. Three rhythm streams:
clave (hands), pulse (chest) and step rhythm (feet)
 

We build it up as follows:
[to tumbao tracks then salsa music, increasing in tempo]

• Chest interpreting pulse rhythm. Seated.
  Forward on pulse beats, backward on backbeats; then
  Backward on pulse beats, forward on backbeats.
   
• Chest interpreting pulse rhythm; hands playing clave rhythm. Seated.
  Feel for rhythmic anticipation. Once that's established, focus on establishing the tension-stability cycle.
   
• Chest interpreting pulse rhythm; hands playing clave rhythm. Standing.
  Reduce the chest action to a small 'tic'.
   
• Chest interpreting pulse rhythm; hands playing clave rhythm; legs interpreting salsa step rhythm.
  Primary goal of this exercise:
  the individual's "State of Independence".
   
• Optional:
  Chest interpreting pulse rhythm; mentally playing clave rhythm; legs interpreting salsa step rhythm.
  This is the 'real-world' context. You'd probably be dancing with a partner, and so need to have your hands free.

As you achieve mastery, you'll realise that the clave and pulse streams mutually stabilise each other, and that they in turn strengthen the step rhythm stream. I've described this phenomenon as rhythmic triangulation, where the step rhythm stream is calibrated to two interlocking reference points improving its temporal accuracy.

Rhythmic triangulation affords you a tremendous freedom to interpret the music through the use of rhythmic breaks, exclamations and interjections, safe in the knowledge that you could reassert your place in time at will.
 

You CAN dance forever
Once you can properly place the position of pulse, clave and step rhythm, you can dance forever. For as long as both rhythms continue to be central to Afro-Cuban music, they will remain as baseline points of reference. From these you can learn to dance, aided by rhythmic triangulation, to as yet uncreated rhythms - any new instrument or instrument pattern can be recognised, learned, and known.

For example, should you come across a conga player articulating a tumbao you've not come across before, so long as you can work out the clave orientation using one or more of the other instruments, you can understand and learn the clave relationship of the new tumbao. The more instrument patterns you can recognise, the more likely you are to work out the clave orientation quickly and definitely.

You can look forward to every new encounter, every new piece of music, with excitement; secure in your ability to cope with whatever Afro-Cuban music can throw at you.

Nearly. It would be good if you knew the rumba clave too.
(I love cliff-hangers)