Trouble with the 3rd beat of campana(cow bell)

[salilsurendran]

Hello Friends,
I am an on 2 dancer and have been learning the instruments in salsa music lately. I can figure out the clave, the tumbao, the timbales etc. The instrument that I hear the most is the campana(cow bell) or what I think it is. The only problem which I have been facing for about 2 months is I can't hear the 3rd beat of the campana. All websites and sample music of campana that I listen to mentions that there is a strike on 3. I also understand that that the simple bongo bell plays on 1-3-5-7. However, this is what I hear:

teh - teh ---- teh teh the- teh teh the- tet tet
(1) - (2) (3 or 4) (6) & 7 (8) &

I can't hear the 3 or feel the 'teh teh the' after the 2nd beat starts on 3 instead of 4. I sometimes also wonder if I am confusing the mambo bell for campana or if both are playing simulataneously and I am hearing the mambo bell (3 &). However, in almost 95% of the songs I hear the campana and rarely do I hear the mambo bell or timbales.

[LatinDancer006]

Perhaps you can post a link to what you're listening to. That might help others better understanding your issue.

[urish]

Hi Salil, when you talk about the campana - do you mean to the bell of the bongocero or the timbales bell?

both strike on the 3, but while the bongocero's bell strike on the 3 is accented and is heard very clearly, the mambo bell isn't.

[salilsurendran]

I mean the bell of the bongocero. I guess I posted this on some other forums also and they suggested I may actually be hearing the mambo bell. The problem is that the 3rd beat of the bongo bell is a single strike. But when I hear salsa music I hear teh-teh-teh like the 4, &, 5 of the campana at 3, & , 4. So I am a bit confused I may be hearing the mambo bell. I hear the campana(or what I think it is) in 95% of the salsa songs and the mambo bell in only 5% of the songs.

[LatinDancer006]

I don't understand the significance of just one (or even two) instrument/rhthym on how one moves or feels. I hear a lot of people talk about the clave like it's the holy grail or something. And occassionally at clubs I'd hear people clap it. Can some one elaborate on the significance of it to your dancing? Does it define how you dance/feel with any particular song? I was a musican growing up, but not a percusionist. When I listen to music my tendency is to focus in on the melody, countermelody, but I try to force myself to listen to all other accompaniment parts as well to see how they interplay with each other. I think that the things that defines how I feel about the song and how I should go about dancing to it are what key the song is written in (major or minor). Minor keys are usually more dramatic and/or sad and dark. Major keys are usually more neutral or happy. I also listen for cresendos and decresendos, articulations and accents, changes in rthmic profiles, etc. There are so many things that are going on in any particular song. I don't understand why any one thing is treated with more importance.

[urish]

Salil, the best way to understand this is simply watching someone playing. If you can attend a performance of a local Salsa band and watch them while the play the real instrument, this will let you easily associate what you hear with the actual instrument playing the pattern.
If you can't afford attending to a live show, I'm bet you can find some good recordings on youtube.

LatinDancer, I agree that there is much more than the Clave in the music, but the Clave is the key to the rhythm of the rest of the instruments. Most of the percussive instruments outline the Clave in the patterns they play, for instance - the bongocero's bell plays an accented strike on the 2nd beat on the 2 side of the clave. Additional instruments such as the piano and the bass also align with the clave - and there are many examples where the brass section outlines the clave during a break. So this is why the Clave is important. Whether it's more important than other musical aspects or not - this is an open question.