Salsa Dancing, Finding the Clave
The clave is an 8 beat count. Normally broken down into what people call a 3/2 count. But for our purposes let us say that there are 8 beats simply broken down into 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8. When the 8th beat is counted the number sequence starts all over again. With this in mind lets think of some ways a novice can find the 1st beat in the clave.
Lead Singer Cue
The lead singer cue is one of the easiest ways to find the 1st beat to
the clave. Normally during a song the lead singer (and the chorus to the song)
start on the 1 beat. If you are aware of the tempo of the song (the speed in
which to count the 8 beats), then you can start counting 1 through 8. If you are
counting correctly then you sound be counting off the number ‘1' again when
the lead singer starts his new verbal phrase. Please bear in mind that sometimes
the lead singer has a long phrase which that may take up two full 8 counts
before he is done. No matter because you should still be counting the number 1
as he begins to sing again.
When you start getting the hang out of it you’ll start to notice that the chorus also jumps in on the ‘1' count. This is pretty evident when you begin to hear the lead singer and the chorus taking turns singing. Finally you’ll know that you’re really getting good when you start paying attention to all the other aspects of the song. For example you’ll becoming aware when instruments jump in and out of the clave.
Picking A Beat
After you become proficient at
hearing the ‘1' count of the clave, then its time to be equally aware of each
of the other seven beats. A simple drill to help understand where and when the
other 7 counts are during the clave is the clap drill. The clap drill is very
simple. Just pick a number in the count. Lets say for our sake that you picked
that ‘2' beat. Listen to the clave in the song and start counting to yourself
and clap every time the ‘2' beat comes along. Keep doing this until you know
exactly where the ‘2' beat is. Then move onto the ‘3' beat and so forth
until you can PICK out each beat individually.
