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Tumbaos: Extras
Dancing
In The Mind
We take up with the intriguing prospect of enriching our personal dance
experience through what we might choose to play in our minds; something
we caught a glimpse of in the final example with Cándido's tumbao.
The process
involves training the mind to play rhythm; recognising what isn't there
or what could be there but cannot be heard; choosing whether or not
to fill in those spaces; and if so, how.
It uses an augmented
version of the rhythm analysis method.
- Acclimatise
by listening and relaxing to the whole rhythm; get a feeling of its
ebb and flow.
- Tune in to
any reference rhythms that are available.
- Identify
the beginning of the European cycle (beat 1).
- Accent
the beginning of the European cycle by tapping your foot.
- Establish
the pulse relative to the new rhythm.
- Identify
the beginning of the African cycle, which is most likely to
be the bombó or ponché (independent perception
of rhythm).
- Accent
the beginning of the African cycle mentally or by tapping with
your fingers.
- Vocalise
the rhythm's audible tones (open and slap strokes) while tapping pulse
(independent expression of rhythm).
- Create
the complete rhythm by filling in the spaces of inaudible tones with
vocal equivalents; using non-plosive syllables like 'fru' and
'ku' (personal expression of rhythm). This is in addition to
the audible tones.
- Complement
the rhythm by vocalising only the inaudible tones as you tap pulse
(participatory expression of rhythm)..
- Discorporate
the complementary rhythm, playing the tones in your mind (abstraction).
- Transform
the pulse rhythm to the salsa dance rhythm.
Rhythm
Principles
We can test our understanding of rhythm and how it pertains to dancing
by asking questions of ourselves and observing how well we answer them.
Examples of questions we can pose are:
- What is the
rhythm making me feel?
- Where is the
start of the European cycle?
- Where does
the African cycle begin?
- What relationship
do the two cycles have with each other?
- Which beats
accent clave?
- Which beats
accent pulse?
- Which beats
accent step rhythm?
- How do the
rhythms interact? For example, do they combine to create rhythmic
relaxation, tension or stability?
- What are the
possible phrasings?
- Can you imagine
the purpose of the rhythm?
- Can you imagine
the circumstances which gave rise to it?
A
Rhythm Exists In A Context
The final two questions above are leading ones. They highlight the fact
that no matter how much we can try to make ourselves understand a rhythm
apriori, there is still good reason to search out the ancestry
and setting of a rhythm. Take the three cases in this tutorial:
Mozambique
You might investigate who played this during Fania's heyday, and even
listen to a few examples. Kim Atkinson's "Mozambique!" DVD
series on playing it is particularly enlightening (available on www.descarga.com).
Songo
By far the most relevant resource is "History of Songo"
on VHS with an interview-style narrative by José Luis Quintana
aka. Changuito and Rebeca Mauleón-Santana (available on
www.descarga.com).
For the purposes
of the vocalising practice, you may like to know that the songo
conga rhythm can be stripped down from the complex example in the Core
section to its simpler structural and clave-orientation components:
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