quixotedlm said:
What's the best resource to read about the music theories in salsa and cha cha, and about how to better 'listen' to the music.
Esp. are there software programs that can help you visualize music, and break them down into music notation and highlight the essential elements in music as you listen to them, and also point out the right beats in terms of cha-cha or the 2-3 or 3-2 clave?
Hmmm...
You might be interested in SalsaGrooves (
http://www.jazzydanceco.com/salsa/content/blogcategory/0/57/ ), which is a software program that breaks down all this stuff.
There is also a free one called the Salsa Rhythm Machine -
http://www.techsono.com/salsa/index.html
There are a few audio products out there as well. Salsarhythms, who used to be part of this website about a few years back, had an online ebook that you can download ( Salsa-Rhythms.com ).
You might also be interested in timing CDs. Eddie Torres, Al Espinoza and Jai and Candy all have timing CDs that break down the music. You can even find those on some P2P sites.
A good book is the Salsa Guidebook, but it is aimed more at musicians than to the average dancer. (
http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=swagge..._blank&lc1=0000ff&bc1=000000&bg1=ffffff&f=ifr )
Two really neat DVD for this is Changuitos' Evolucion de las Tumbadoras and History of the Songo, where he breaks down the percussion rhythms as they evolve across time. They are both available in DVD from Descarga.com, but are aimed more towards Timba and newer Cuban Music. ( Changuito was the member of the Van Van's who created the Songo rhythm that dominates Timba ).
There is also a book and attached CD-ROM, but I can't guarantee the quality of this. Changuito: A Master's Approach to the Timbales (
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/07...v=glance&n=283155&tagActionCode=swaggerinc-20 )
From the percussion point of view, you might also want to try Bobby Sanabrias' Learn to play conga series, which breaks down the beats in terms of the clave, but it is probably too detailed for what you want.
