The Mambo Cowbell

The first percussion instrument I ever bought was a cowbell. Damn I love those things!

It is actually surprisingly hard to play a cowbell right... in fact, about the only thing harder is the shaker I reckon. With congas, you can make a lot of varied and big sound very easily, but with cowbells, everyone can tell straight away if you are in time or not.

Using the Cowbell in Dance

Most of you will know that the cowbell is played on the "on beat", that is, every odd beat, so in salsa, that's 1, 3, 5 and 7. This is great to know as a leader... for example, if each spin of your partner takes two beats (which it usually does), then after four spins, you can go back into a basic, because you have just "consumed" two bars or one salsa basic. Too easy!

Playing the Cowbell

Well, the basic pattern is pretty easy. Hit it on every odd beat (1, 3, 5 and 7). However, you need to hit it with some flavour/passion, and sometimes even slightly earlier than the exact beat - otherwise it can give a very slow/laboured type of feel.

The cowbell (when played by the timbalero) can be used to speed up the tempo of the band... the cowbell is used to "drive" the song forward and faster. Have a listen to a mambo section... it is often lead by a fast-driven (and speeding up) cowbell.

For the musically challenged out there... here is the musical notation for the on beat (I hope you don't need it!):

Cowbell Variation #1

The first (and most common) variation to the basic cowbell is the following pattern:


This in effect is just the use of a slight "fill" between each main strike. The first fill is a single strike, whereas the remaining three fills are double hits.

A couple of things to note here: the emphasis is still on the main onbeat strikes - 1, 3, 5 and 7. The filler strikes are half notes... so just quick hits. Also, the pitch is different too... you should be hitting the side of bell for the filler hits, not the main body. You should be getting a noticeable difference in sound between the offbeat and onbeat/filler hits.

The Mambo Cowbell Pattern

After playing around for a bit with the cowbell, I quickly found myself playing the following pattern... particularly in the mambo section of salsa songs:



Again, note the difference between the short and long notes or hits. Some notes (such as on the 1 and 2) are long, whereas others are syncopated and fast, and should be played as such. This particular pattern kind of feels like a woodpecker or morse code (if you know what I mean), but just feels right! Try it out! Just don't screw it up in front of the band, or even worse, a few hundred angry salsa dancers!

How the Mambo Cowbell Pattern and the Clave Work Together

Here is a transcript of the 2/3 clave in time with the mambo cowbell pattern. Note how they tie in with each other quite nicely:



If we look at the 2/3 clave, the strikes on all but the "5" of the clave tie in with strikes (at the same time) within the mambo cowbell. So, when both are played at the same time, it works well.

Please note that if the song is a 3/2 clave, change the two bars of the mambo cowbell around (the same rule applies to conga patterns such as the Tumbao).

When starting patterns such as the Mambo cowbell on the 3/2 clave, it's pretty hard to hit the first note with perfect timing, as the first note is syncopated... it is on the "1 and". So, a good trick is to add an extra note when starting on the 3/2... so you will hit the cowbell five times in a row, just for the first bar, just to start at the same time as the rest of the band.

The Clave and Footwork

Another quick thing to mention at this point: notice that how on 2, 3 and 5 of the clave, I have mentioned that the salsa dancer's foot also strikes the ground? Interestingly enough, it doesn't matter if you dance on 1 or on 2, your foot and clave will always line up on beats 2, 3 and 5. And, it will always be in the sequence right foot (2), left foot (3), right foot (5). This is just from the followers perspective, but if you flip these numbers and feet around, you should get a similar result for followers' foot steps. And of course, if you use a 3/2 clave, then you get the same results again, just on different feet.

Dancing Salsa On 2

What is "Dancing on the 2"

Most salsa, particularly at the beginners and intermediate level, is taught "on 1". On 1 means "on the first beat", so for salsa, that means moving forward (as the lead) on beat one, or moving back (as the follower) on beat one. Sure, some styles of salsa have the follower breaking back instead of forwards at the start of the basic (the first bar), but that doesn't affect the timing or this discussion.

Dancing on two is dancing on the "off" beat instead of the "on" beat. Since the "on" beat in salsa is the odd beat (1, 3, 5 and 7), then dancing on two means starting the dance on the second beat, not the first.

So, to keep things very simple, dancing "on 2" is just the act of delaying your first step by one beat. That's it. That's dancing on two.

So What's the Difference?

To sum up the difference in one line, you need to hear the music to dance on 1, whereas to dance on 2, you need to feel the music.

The "on" beat in salsa is the predominant beat. One, three, five, seven. The cowbell hits this beat. The bass and lyrics normally start on (or very near) the first beat too. Regarding the clave, two beats of the clave fall on the "on" beat (a 2/3 clave will hit the "on beat" on beats 3 and 5). So, if you can hear individual instruments in the music, you can normally find the one (I only struggle when a lot of overlaid percussion comes in over the top, such as bongo fills or a different percussion pattern, such as the Caballo). Incidentally, of the three remaining clave beats, two of these fall on the "off" beat (a 2/3 clave will hit the "off beat" on beats 2 and 8), and the other strike is between the on and the off beat (for a 2/3 clave, this beat will be on 6 1/2).

Finding the two is harder. It requires a feel for the music. While you can normally hear the one and the three, sometimes you just need to feel for where the two will fall (i.e. between the two loud adjacent on beats). Or, if there is a loud clave present, listening to that will help you find the two (for a 2/3 clave), or the six (for a 3/2 clave). The conga slap (on two and six) is also a big help if it is clear from the music.

Why Dance on the Two?

I can't explain the difference in feel when dancing on two through a blog article. All I can say is try it! Once you do, and you go with it, you will be hooked. That's why dancing on 2 is called "The Dancers Dance". Here are some of my thoughts about dancing on 2:

• It feels like you are dancing "in" the music, rather than "with it".
• It feels like you have more time to execute moves, or in other words, the same song feels slower when dancing on 2.
• It feels like you are locked in a "groove" when dancing on 2. After dancing on 2, dancing on 1 (to me) feels quite robotic and "clunky". It sometimes feels too obvious/simple/overstated dancing on one after dancing on 2.

Now don't get me wrong... I have been dancing for years, and in my first few years there was simply no way that I could dance "on 2" to salsa... I struggled to hear any beat, let alone the subtleties of the on beat vs the off beat. But, when you do get to a more advanced level, on 2 dancing is great!

The "on beat" is more obvious in the song, so good for performing. Dancing on the two is more of a feel than a look (“the dancers’ dance”). On1 dancers dance “to the music”. On2 dancers dance “with the music”.

Do I Break Forward or Backwards when Dancing On 2?

New york styled on2 salsa (aka mambo) tends to have the leader breaking back on 2, so the girl/follower is moving forward. This is very very cool in a way, as it emphasises the girl more so than when dancing on 1. Why? Well, the big sounds in a salsa song tend to come at the start of each phrase (two bar pairs)... so on the 1,2,3 or thereabouts. With the girl moving forward on the first bar, she gets to execute her "big" part of the salsa basic with the "big" beats of the music (e.g. the girl turns, spins, arm flicks etc). For the rest of the phrase (i.e. the second bar of the 8-beat salsa basic), the girl gets to rest as she being set up/prepared for the next move. This is really different from dancing with the lead going forward on the first bar. Add dancing on the "off beat" to the mix, and you have the mambo dance style, which really looks and feels different than the more conventional "on 1, lead moves forward on 1" style of salsa.

The trick for me as a leader is that I am used to moving forwards at the start of each phrase (i.e. the 1 or the 2 per 8 count/2 bars), but when dancing new york style on2, I have to go back on 2. It's fine starting the dance like that, but after doing shines or holding for a musical break, or just after blocking the girl for a bar, I still get confused because I am so used to moving forward again on the left foot, not the right. But I will get there!

On 1 vs On 2 for Performances

If you are looking for general crowd-pleasing routines, I say go for big, on-1 LA styled routines. Crowds can hear the main beats of the music, associate the beats with the big moves, and so it works well. For a more educated crowd who would appreciate something different or more subtle, I would say go for on-2 if you can find the right song.

Subtleties of Timing

One main comment I hear from followers when they start dancing on 2 is how much time they feel they have after executing a spin - before they have to go back into their next basic step.

To be honest, I can't completely explain this yet... I need to do some more work on it! But, here are my thoughts so far:

• With on 1, there can be quite a noticeable pause between the preparation for the spin and the execution of the spin.
• With on 2, there is not so much of a pause, the leader tends to execute the spin (or whatever the move is) fairly quickly after the prep. In fact, I would go as far as to say that when dancing on 2, leads are slightly earlier... so pretty close to the first beat really.
• With on 2, the clave emphasises the 2/3, which can tempt the leader into executing moves in that short 2/3 space, hence finishing moves earlier too.

What About Shines?

Shines are for showing off! Can you show off to the subtle on-beat? No way! So do your shines on 1. How? Your dance teacher will show you, but there are plenty of different ways of going from dancing on 2 to dancing on 1 and then back again. Have a look at a good on-2 performance (any of Oliver Pineda's videos will do the trick!). You will see that while he dances on 2 (usually), his shines will be on 1. Does it work? I think so!

So, the cool thing about this is that when dancing on two, you can also incorporate dancing on one a little bit as well... which is great... the best of both worlds!

Here's a quick clip of Oliver just to demonstrate... watch for the shine break at 0:46 and 1:22 (yes, this is an on2 routine, but it's so fast it's hard to tell!).



What Sort of Music Works Best for On2?

To be honest, just whatever sort of music you feel like. For me, some songs are clearly on-1 songs (a strong off-beat, "big" sounds, etc), and I dance on-1 to them. For other songs, they are clearly on-2 for me (a clear clave, clean congas, jazzy, simple). But hey, whatever works for you.

As for followers, this is difficult, as you might feel like dancing to the opposite beat as your partner, but this is also a true test of how well you can follow (don't forget... leading is a hard job, so respect whatever your partner feels he can lead to the best... arguing won't make the dance any better!).

Counting the Beat

In my opinion, a lot of people tend to complicate on-2 salsa with all sorts of variations on counting the beat. For me, I find the best approach is to just count on-2 salsa the same as you would with on-1 salsa (Oliver Pineda showed me this, and it really works!). So, for on-1 and on-2 salsa, I always just count the beat as 1,2,3 [pause] 5,6,7.

For on-1 salsa, I focus on the count as follows: 1,2,3 [pause] 5,6,7. For on-2, I focus on the count like this instead: 1,2,3 [pause] 5,6,7. Please note that for on-2, I still count the 1 and the 5, and make sure that I place my feet on the 1 and the 5... but these two counts are for the step immediately preceding the main "2" and "6" steps.

I find this is by far the biggest help to me keeping in time on the social dance floor when dancing on 2.

What is Mambo?

The term "Mambo" is really overloaded from a salsa dancing point of view. Here are the three main meanings that I come across on a fairly regular basis:

Meaning #1 (From a salsa musicians point of view)

Mambo is the "jamming"instrumental section of the song, usually near the end of the song, where improvisation may also take place. The tempo of the music increases (thanks usually to the timbalero increasing the tempo or "drive" of the cowbell on each "on beat"), and the music tends to be louder (known as "forte" within a musical score).

Please note that this is a term used by latin percussionists, it is not a universal musical term.

Even "pop" songs often have a “mambo” section… listen for it next time your CD player breaks and you have to listen to the radio!

You will see how this "meaning of mambo" ties into meaning number #3... keep reading!

Meaning #2 (From a modern salsa dancers point of view)

In dancing terms, salsa danced on two, in a linear (or "slot") style, particularly when the lead breaks back on two, is often referred to as "dancing mambo style".

In terms of "mambo music" for this dance style, to me, I classify this as salsa music that well-suited to dancing on-2 to. The difference between linear-styled salsa music and more traditional cuban styled is the simplicity of the melody and bass lines, the conformance to very structured two-bar phrases (essential for a "light and shade" dance style), a resistance to incorporate any Cumbia or other "jumpy" percussion patterns (such as the Caballo), and a fairly jazzy influence. Mambo salsa music I perceive as being very jazzy, often quite fast, a clear clave, and conga "slaps" on the 2 and the 6.

Some types of music popular within the mambo scene today, however, appear to have very little conga or clave at all - reminiscent of 1930s New York jazz bands prior to the Cuban/Son influence.

Meaning #3 (From an old-timers point of view!)

Now this is where it all starts to get confusing...

Traditional mambo is akin to cha cha, just without the double step/chasse.

Here is a good article discussing the evolution of mambo, however, to keep things simple, I will give a quick summary here.

Danzon, a once very popular dance in Cuba, is the root of Mambo. Danzon was of English origin, bought to Cuba by the French (Danzon sounds like a folk song akin to a Waltz - here is an example sound file from wikipedia). Danzon was then influenced by African rhythms, and in the 1930s, the influence of Cuban Son increased, leading to a new sub-genre called danzon-mambo. A key part of the danzon-mambo is the mambo/finale section of the song (which incorporated the clave, congas and strong montuno melodies - very simple melodic rifts that are repeated with increasing intensity).

From here, based on the influence of dancers (in particular their struggle to keep in time with the complex syncopations of danzon-mambo), a simpler version evolved, which formed the basis of mainstream Mambo - the music and the dance. This first style of Mambo subsequently became hugely popular in the US (due to influences of large volumes of immigrants from Cuba, Puerto Rica, etc). Mambo was most popular in the 40s and early 50s, but then became superseded by Cha Cha in the late 50s. Of course, from Mambo and Cha, we get the Salsa of today (however, please note that while related, there are real differences in the footwork, partnering and music between Mambo of the 50s and the salsa-based Mambo of today!).

Here is a wikipedia link to an interesting article about Mambo-Confusion! I guess the real issue around the confusion is that Mambo refers to two styles of dance... one of which is the traditional basis of the other. And then the third term for mambo refers to the final/fast/forte section of a danzon... the root of both mambo styles of music...!