The Bass in Salsa & Mambo

This is the instrument whose pattern differs the most between salsa and 'western' music. It simply plays where no western musician would ever play it! The first note plays off beat, between beat 2 and 3, and the second note marks the beat 4. This gives the typical salsa groove. Occasionally, the beat 1 is marked as well. The bass will help us less than other instruments to 'find the beat', however, when you reach the stage at which you are comfortable with the basic salsa rhythm, then the bass can really help you deepen the understanding of the syncopations and the groove of salsa. IN our timing CD pay attention to how the note on beat n4 anticipates the strong beat of the new bar of music (beat n5). And notice the note between beat n2 and n3, matches one of the 5 clave notes.