Differences of Salsa and Mambo Music

[Black Sheep]

Salsa vs. Mambo,
Music has a strong influence on dance moods and styles. Most of today's popular Swing music does not grab me as a good Lindy Hop mood. And today's Salsa music does not create the mood for my old time Mambo, but I did not know why until one of my students, Venus Arabayan, who has been studying Ballroom dancing as my protégé for only three months, gave me the solution to this Salsa Mambo confusion that has been buzzing in my mind since 1999 when I experienced Salsa music and dancing for the first time in my life at Jim Myron's Grand Ballroom in L.A. At that time, I witnessed some 1,500 Salsa dancers gyrating to what sounded to me at the time like Mambo music, but there was something significantly different that I couldn't put my finger on until just last week when I was introducing Venus and Mundo Arabayan to the Mambo.
I had bought a Salsa CD for the lesson, and within an hour after showing this couple the difference styles of both Mambo and Salsa, they individually kept having trouble holding 4&1 with the break on 2 in the Mambo style. This went on for a couple of records. Finally this 16 year old who had started dancing only three months ago, turns to me and says,"This Salsa music is too fast for us to hold the 4&1." I stopped, looked at her and listened to the music for a phrase and suddenly it dawned on me and replied, "Venus you are right!" That is why even I was even having trouble holding 4&1 and breaking on 2. The tempo was so fast, all I had time for was to count 1, 2, 3 before the next measure of music came up.
Then I realized how significantly music influenced the style of dancing, thanks to Venus' astute musical sense. 'Words of wisdom from mouths of babes often come'. Venus is 16 years old, definitly a young lady, but I thought that adage kind of fit the situation. After listening to some Salsa CD's and some Tito Puente and Cal Tjader Mambos, I realized it was not only the tempo (speed) of the music but also the different instrumentation of the Mambo music that was different. And so I more clearly understood why Swing dancers are not dancing the smooth style of the Savoy Lindy of the 1950's, and the Salsa dancers are not dancing the innovative style of the Puerto Rican Mambo of the 1950's.
It is the Tempo and Instrumentation that is the Key to producing that sound that grabs a dancer. That's why Glenn Miller was so successful; he knew exactly the Tempo and Instruments he needed to produce that smooth harmonious sound to grab the dancers.
Mambo Instruments: piano, vibes, congas, bass, bongos, timbales, sax.
Salsa Instruments: I admit I do not know enough about Salsa music to designate the instruments that give Salsa that Salsa sound. Maybe some of you Salsa musicians can give us the musical tools that make the Salsa swing.

Black Sheep d.lanza@netzero.net
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[ares1975]

Have you heard Mambo King? It is fast. Although one can dance salsa to Mambo King, BUT dancing mambo would be much better. It depends on which count the beat breaks. I think salsa breaks on the count of 1, while mambo breaks on count of 2. Listening to a mambo music, the first beat can be discerned, but the second beat is more prominent. The second beat is the second count which is the clave.

It is also easy to hold on count 4 and 1 with mambo music. But with salsa music, there's no time to do a hold. The first count is already the clave! There's little time to hold at 4, and it would appear only as a quick pause.

Do I make sense?

[jhb]

I agree with some of what you say, but I don't think tempo has anything to do with it. There are very fast 50s Mambos, and very slow Salsas, and vice versa. I would almost argue that slower Salsas are more common that slower Mambos, but either way, there are plenty of both.

I'd agree that a good part of the differences lie in the instrumentation and arrangements. Old-school mambo has a swingy, 50s big band feel to it, where Salsa is often more gritty and urban, with much heavier r&b, rock, funk elements found in late 60s and 70s American pop music. But that being said, all those instruments you mentioned as being integral to the Mambo are also the core instruments used in today's Salsa. Again, the differences lie for the most part in something less tangeable.

You are right, we are not dancing in the "innovative" Puerto Rican mambo style they danced in the 50s, which was a direct derivative of (and very similar to) the Cuban mambo. It is now 40, 50 years later, and we are dancing Salsa! For the same reason, no doubt, that swing dancers dance differently now than they did in the 50s. Times change and styles change. It isn't because of the tempo. We dance Salsa fast, and we dance it slow. We dance both on-1 and on-2 to fast salsa, and we dance them both to slow salsa.