The

clave concept, while being a crucial element in the rhythmic language of Afro-
Latin music, is often elusive to many bass players both in all stages of their
development. While there are no shortcuts to understanding clave and its
application, the study of certain styles of clave-based music may shed light as to how
this idea can be applied directly to the bass.

One such style that embodies this model is Timba. Timba is a relatively young form


of contemporary
 Cuban dance music, first appearing  circa 1989 and
 persisting
 to
the
 p resent
day. I t d raws i nfluence from a ll classic forms o f Cuban m usic including





son montuno, charanga,



 
changi, song and


folkloric rhythms s uch
 a s rumba








guaguanc and guarapachangueo among others. At the same time, it also possesses


 

strong
 i


nfluences




 f rom American


funk,
R&B
and

Jazz
Fusion.
  







Timba takes after its North American influences by using song-specific basslines
with often-overt alignment to the clave. In fact, the bass is usually the main indicator
of
the clave direction to a given composition. To demonstrate we have some

examples
  taken from the rich Timba lexicon, performed by
some of the great



bassists in the style. In order to clearly see the clave alignment relationship, each
example has the clave provided on the bottom  staff. The examples are as follows:



Example 1: La Bailarina.
Group-Havana DPrimera, 



Bassist-Avi Garca


 

 



























 



   
 



 














 












 


 













 












  



Example 2: Marcando la distancia
  Group-Manolito y su Trabuco

   





Bassist-Eduardo Mora












 







 




 










 



  
 
 




 






















 






   



  

 

  





Example 3: De timba a pogolotti
Group-Los Que Son Son
 Bassist-Daymar Calvario 







 
 

 




   



















 

   
 




















   


Example 4: No Te Deje Por Mala




  Group-Los Que Son Son  


 Bassist-Daymar Calvario


  








 

  










       












 






      
 
   



























 


  
















Of course, this is by no means intended to be a complete guide to the genre. There


are many other aspects to be aware of when

 playing this music including breaks, 





percussive effects, pedal points, other instrumental parts in the band, etc. These
concepts will be covered in later installments of this series. In the meantime, check

out
 the original recordings of the given examples
 to begin to soak up this highly

innovative and exciting style.