Beginner - Salsa Beats - Salsa Music

[claws]

Hello Friends, I recently started learning salsa (LA on1). I'm very confused with the beats of salsa. I'm doing well without music (by counting 123-567). But I'm unable to understand this counts & beats while listening to music. I can here lot of instruments at an instant which is very confusing. Can you guys please, give me few tips & also suggest good music (for beginner stages) that helps me in understanding and catching the beats of salsa

[sweavo]

This is a case for the salsamerlizer ( http://www.oldyorksalsa.com/apps/salsamerlizer/ ), NOTE: a recent version of flash or of firefox made it go all unsynchronised so it's best to download it to your computer and run it from there.

Eddie Torres does a timing CD. I don't remember whether it's called "timing on2" or not, but it shouldn't matter too much because the counts have the same names whether you're on 1 or 2.

It's quite a journey getting to grips with salsa rhythms. I found it just as much fun and just as rewarding as actual dancing!

[tangotime]

Hello Friends, I recently started learning salsa (LA on1). I'm very confused with the beats of salsa. I'm doing well without music (by counting 123-567). But I'm unable to understand this counts & beats while listening to music. I can here lot of instruments at an instant which is very confusing. Can you guys please, give me few tips & also suggest good music (for beginner stages) that helps me in understanding and catching the beats of salsa



If you listening very carefully.. the music is written over 2 adjoining bars.

The 1st bar has a dominant "1" and a slightly less dominant on the second bar ( which in terms of count.. 1 and 5 ) The 1 st bar will seem to " climb " and the 2nd " fall " .

Songs with strong piano are more favored for a clear and cleaner sound .

PS ..there are 8 beats totally ( QQS or 1,2, and 34 each bar)

[Joy In Motion]

Here are a few of my immediate thoughts...

When I teach beginning salsa, I try to use music that has a very clear rhythm and in which the lyrics really help you to find the beat. I very often use the CD Eso Me Gusta by Pedro Conga because all of the songs have a good tempo for beginners and are very danceable and clear in the rhythm. One thing that helps is to listen the lyrics. Very often you can at least get started on the 1 by listening to when they start singing a new verse or the chorus (although you can't count on this in all salsa music). And in the Pedro Conga CD, one line of music fits the eight counts of the forward and back basic, making the count and the rhythm very apparent and easy to find.

It might help to find an instructor or someone who has been dancing for a while to dance that basic with you to different songs so you can start getting a feel for where to begin. But regardless, it will take time for you to develop the ear recognition and the muscle memory and really internalize the music. Listening and moving to the music as often as possible will really help it to seep into your subconscious and then the rhythms will start to sound and feel more natural to your ears and your body. It also helps to just be a student and be very observant when watching other dancers. And don't be afraid to dance with more advanced dancers, because by leading or backleading you a little they can help you to feel what it should feel like.

Good luck!