Beyond Salsa for Beginners - book
Beyond Salsa for Beginners:
The Cuban timba"> Timba Revolution: An Introduction to Latin Music for Dancers and Listeners
🎶 Beyond Salsa: A Listener’s Guide to Cuban and Latin Music
📘 Overview
After writing over 20 instructional books on Cuban piano, congas, drums, timbales, clave, and bass, Kevin Moore has created his first book for non-musicians — listeners, dancers, and fans of Latin music.
Beyond Salsa bridges the gap between performers and enthusiasts, offering both a historical perspective and hands-on rhythm training.
🎧 Structure of the Book
1. Listening Tours
These sections guide readers through the evolution of Cuban and Latin popular music — complete with song analysis, music history, and record-collecting advice.
The Four Listening Tours:
- Pre-Revolution Cuban Popular Music (1900–1959)
- Salsa and Post-Revolution Cuban Popular Music (1959–1989)
- Timba (1989–2012)
- Afro-Cuban Folkloric Music, Comparsa, Changüí, and Rumba
2. Rhythm Exercises
Practical chapters with singing, clapping, and dancing exercises designed to develop a deep internal sense of rhythm.
Includes:
- The basic rhythms of each instrument
- Clave fundamentals
- Essential dance steps
- Guidance on how to feel the Latin groove naturally
- A special chapter addressing common challenges new listeners face when hearing Afro-Cuban folkloric rhythms
🔊 Audio Resources
- 🎵 Free audio download with 107 tracks corresponding to the rhythm exercises
- 💿 Optional paid download with additional examples and practice material
📚 Extras
- Extensive glossary of musical and cultural terms
- Beginner’s guide to Spanish and Cuban slang in music, written for English speakers
🕺 Who It’s For
“Beyond Salsa” is the perfect companion for anyone who loves Latin music — dancers, DJs, listeners, or musicians who want to understand the groove from the inside out.
A Cuban popular dance music genre that emerged in the 1980s–90s
- emerged in the 1980s–90s
- influenced by songo, rumba, funk, blues, jazz, pop, rock and Afro-Cuban rhythms.
- Known for complex rhythm shifts, aggressive bass lines, and high energy that push dancers to improvise.
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The clave is a fundamental rhythmic pattern and organizing principle in Cuban music. It serves as both a musical pattern and a guiding concept, deeply rooted in Afro-Cuban traditions.
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The conga (also called tumbadora) is the primary hand drum of Cuban music and the rhythmic backbone of timba"> timba, son, rumba, and salsa.
Lees meer >The timbales (pailas criollas) are a pair of shallow, metal-shell drums mounted on a stand, played with wooden sticks. They are the rhythmic engine of charanga orchestras and play a critical role in timba"> timba.
Lees meer >Timba, the explosive and rhythmically rich genre of Cuban dance music, transformed how the bass functions in popular music. In timba"> Timba, the bass is not just foundational — it’s fiery, funky, and free.
Lees meer >The piano is the harmonic and rhythmic heart of Cuban popular music. In timba"> timba, it is one of the most demanding and expressive instruments in the ensemble.
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- No clave
- Feet not lifted of the ground
The dance features a shuffling footwork style—dancers glide their feet rather than lifting them.
- Originated in Guantánamo
Lees meer >Cuban rumba is an Afro-Cuban music and dance genre characterized by complex rhythms, call-and-response vocals, and expressive, often flirtatious movements, rooted in African and Spanish traditions.
Lees meer >Timba is the music this site is dedicated to exploring. It emerged as a distinct genre in the late 1980s and crystallized in the early 1990s — born in a moment of social crisis, built on the full accumulated history of Cuban music, and still evolving today.
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