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The claverhythmic pattern is used as a tool for temporal organization in Afro-

Cuban music, such as rumba, conga de comparsa, son, son montuno, mambo,

salsa, Latin jazz, songo and timba. The five-stroke clave pattern represents the

structural core of many Afro-Cuban rhythms.[1] Just as a keystone holds an arch in

place, the clave pattern holds the rhythm together in Afro-Cuban music.[2] The clave

pattern originated in sub-Saharan African music traditions, where it servesessentially the same function as it does in Cuba. The pattern is also found in the

African diaspora musics of Haitian vodou drumming, Afro-Brazilian music and Afro-

Uruguayan music (Candombe). The clave pattern is used in North American

popular music as a rhythmic motif or ostinato, or simply a form of rhythmic

decoration.

Clave is a Spanish word meaning 'code,' 'key,' as in key to a mystery or puzzle, or

'keystone,' the wedge-shaped stone in the center of an arch that ties the other

stones together. Clave is also the name of the patterns played on claves; two

hardwood sticks used in Afro-Cuban music ensembles.Pealosa (2009: 81)[2]

The two main clave patterns used in Afro-Cuban music outside Cuba are the son

claveand the rumba clave.[3] Both are used as bell patterns across much of Africa.

[4][5][6][7] Son and rumba clave can be played in either a triple-pulse [12/8 or 6/8] or

duple-pulse [4/4, 2/4 or 2/2] structure.[2] The contemporary Cuban practice is to

write the duple-pulse clave in a single measure of 4/4.[8] "Clave" is also written in a

single measure in ethnomusicological writings about African music.[9]

Although they subdivide the beats differently, the 12/8 and 4/4 versions of each

clave share the same pulse names. The correlation between the triple-pulse andduple-pulse forms of clave, as well as other patterns, is an important dynamic of

sub-Saharan-based rhythm. Every triple-pulse pattern has its duple-pulse

correlative.

Son clave

The most common clave pattern used in Cuban popular music is called the son

clave, named after the Cuban musical genre of the same name.

Clave is the basic period (music), composed of two rhythmically opposed cells, one

antecedent and the other consequent. Clave was initially written in two measures of

2/4 in Cuban music.[15] When written this way, each cell or clave half is represented

within a single measure.

Tresillo

Anglicized pronunciation: tray-see-yo. The antecedent half has three strokes and iscalled the three-sideof clave. In Cuban popular music, the first three strokes of son

clave are also known collectively as tresillo, a Spanish word meaning 'triplet' (three

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meter_(music)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Cuban_musichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Cuban_musichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumbahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparsahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_(music)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_montunohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mambo_(music)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salsa_musichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_jazzhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songo_musichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum_strokehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystone_(architecture)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub-Saharan_African_music_traditionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_diasporahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_vodou_drumminghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_musichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguayan_musichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candombehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_popular_musichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_popular_musichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motif_(music)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostinatohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystone_(architecture)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystone_(architecture)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Cuban_musichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_patternhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compound_time#Typeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meter_(music)#Typeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_(music)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Period_(music)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tresillohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meter_(music)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Cuban_musichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Cuban_musichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumbahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparsahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_(music)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_montunohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mambo_(music)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salsa_musichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_jazzhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songo_musichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum_strokehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystone_(architecture)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub-Saharan_African_music_traditionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_diasporahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_vodou_drumminghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_musichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguayan_musichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candombehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_popular_musichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_popular_musichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motif_(music)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostinatohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystone_(architecture)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Cuban_musichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_patternhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compound_time#Typeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meter_(music)#Typeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_(music)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Period_(music)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tresillohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm

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equal beats in the same time as two main beats). However, in the vernacular of

Cuban popular music, the term refers to the figure shown below.

Rumba claveThe other main clave pattern is the rumba clave. Rumba clave is the key pattern

used in rumba. Use of the triple-pulse form of rumba clave in Cuba can be traced

back to the iron bell (ekn) part in abaku music. The form of rumba known as

columbiais culturally and musically connected with abaku. Columbia also uses

this pattern. Sometimes 12/8 rumba clave is clapped in the accompaniment of

Cuban bat drums. The 4/4 form of rumba clave is used in yamb, guaguanc and

popular music.

There is some debate as to how the 4/4 rumba clave should be notated for

guaguanc and yamb. In actual practice, the third stroke on the three-side and the

first stroke on the two-side often fall in rhythmic positions that do not fit neatly into

music notation.[24] Triple-pulse strokes can be substituted for duple-pulse strokes.

Also the clave strokes are sometimes displaced in such a way that they don't fall

within either a triple-pulse or duple-pulse "grid."[25] Therefore, many variations are

possible.

When used in popular music (such as songo, timba or Latin jazz) rumba clave can

be perceived in either a 3-2 or 2-3 sequence. The example below shows rumbaclave in 3-2 and 2-3 sequence, written in cut-time as it would be typically

represented in a North American salsa or Latin jazz chart.

Standard bell pattern

The seven-stroke standard bell patterncontains the strokes of both clave patterns.

Some North American musicians call this pattern clave.[26][27] Other North

American musicians refer to the triple-pulse form as the 6/8 bellbecause they write

the pattern in two measures of 6/8. Like clave, the standard pattern is expressed in

both triple and duple-pulse.The ethnomusicologistA.M. Jones observes that what we call son clave, rumba

claveand the standard patternare the most commonly used key patterns (also

called bell patterns, timeline patternsand guide patterns) in Sub-Saharan African

music traditions and he considers all three to be basically one and the same

pattern.[28] Clearly, they are all expressions of the same rhythmic principles. The

three key patterns are found within a large geographic belt extending from Mali in

northwest Africa to Mozambique in southeast Africa.[29]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Rumbahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abaku%C3%A1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accompanimenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat%C3%A1_drumshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_bell_patternhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnomusicologisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.M._Joneshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub-Saharan_African_music_traditionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub-Saharan_African_music_traditionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozambiquehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Rumbahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abaku%C3%A1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accompanimenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat%C3%A1_drumshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_bell_patternhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnomusicologisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.M._Joneshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub-Saharan_African_music_traditionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub-Saharan_African_music_traditionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozambique