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Reviews</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" valign="middle" ><hr> Us on Youtube: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/SalsaIsGoodDotCom" target="_blank">Salsa and Mambo</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/BachataIsGood" target="_blank">Bachata</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/MerengueIsGood" target="_blank">Merengue</a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10" align="left" valign="top" bgcolor=""><hr> <a href="../faq.htm">Frequently Asked Questions</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10" align="left" valign="top" bgcolor=""><hr> <a href="../contacts.htm">Contact Us</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="50" align="left" valign="top" bgcolor=""><hr> © 2002-2012<a href="https://www.salsaisgood.com/">SalsaIsGood</a><br> All Rights Reserved.</td> </tr> </table></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="820" align="center" valign="top" bgcolor=""> <p> </p> <div align="left"> <table width="100%" height="16%" border="0" align="center"> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top" height="48" colspan="3"> <div align="center"> <table width="50%" height="1%" border="1" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" bordercolor="#666666" "> <tr> <td width="33%" align="center" ><a href="../Salsa_Timing_Package/Salsa_Timing_DVD.htm">Timing DVD </a></td> <td width="33%" align="center"> <a href="../Salsa_Timing_Package/Salsa_Timing_CD.htm">Timing CD</a></td> <td width="34%" align="center"> <a href="../Salsa_Timing_Package/Salsa_Timing_Package.htm">Timing Training Set</a></td> </tr> </table> </div></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top" height="64" width="23%"> </td> <td align="center" height="64" width="58%"> <h2>Timing, rhythm & music interpretation in Salsa</h2></td> <td align="left" valign="bottom" height="64" width="19%"> <div align="left"><table width="200" border="0" align="center"> <tr> <td align="center"><form target="paypal" action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post"> <input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_s-xclick"> <input type="hidden" name="hosted_button_id" value="J5N5F7L6A35GL"> <input type="image" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_cart_SM.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!"> <img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_AU/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" height="1"> </form> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center">Timing Training Set$120</td> </tr> </table> </div></td> </tr> </table> <hr> </div> <div align="left"> <table width="679" border="0" align="center"> <tr> <td width="138"><a href="1_from_5.htm">Previous Page </a></td> <td width="567"> </td> <td width="193"><div align="right"><a href="right_way.htm">Next Page</a></div></td> </tr> </table> <p><br> </p> <h5>Common errors. 3 ways of being 'out of time'<br> </h5> <p>Now we have an understanding of what music timing is, how to listen to the salsa beat and how to follow each individual salsa percussion instrument. Learning often requires the knowledge of where typical mistakes are made. Here we describe the three most common ways of being 'out of time', in decreasing order of 'seriousness'. In our <a href="../Salsa_Timing_Package/Salsa_Timing_DVD.htm">timing DVD</a> we also shows some examples for each of these mistakes, taken from real salsa clubs. Pay attention to these and see whether you recognize which stage you are at.</p> <p><span class="left_small_heading">Dancing completely out of phase with the music</span>. This happens when the dancer is totally disconnected with the music. He or she can not hear the beat, can not find the 1 or the 2, and constantly guesses the rhythm. Coordination with the partner becomes impossible. This is what we call 'not dancing', movements and music have nothing in common.</p> <p>If you fall into this class, it is probably wise for you to go back one step. Concentrate on the music without dancing, until the basic understanding of the rhythm is clear. Take a <a href="../Salsa_Timing_Package/Salsa_Timing_CD.htm">timing CD</a>, possibly a one-to-one private music class. Then go back to practice your basic step.</p> <p><span class="left_small_heading">Dancing too fast - faster than the music</span>. catching up all the time. The dancer has a vague perception of the music, but fails to recognize the proper timing. The richness of the salsa percussion confuses the dancer who is not able to 'abstract' the underlying beat. Many percussion instruments playing at the same time create the general impression of 'speed'. He or she dances too fast. occasionally he/she realizes it and catches up with the closest beat. </p> <p>Go back to your <a href="../Salsa_Timing_Package/Salsa_Timing_CD.htm">timing CD</a>, and make the effort to isolate the fundamental beat. Use the <a href="../Salsa_Timing_Package/Salsa_Timing_CD.htm">timing CD</a> to learn how to count. Don't be ashamed to count when you dance, you are at the stage at which you probably need to. Soon the counting will become automatic and you will not need to think about it anymore. Going through this stage, although frustrating, will considerably shorten your learning process. You may feel this slows down your learning unnecessarily, but if you fix this problem now your progress will be so much faster afterwards. You will more than compensate for this time investment. </p> <p><span class="left_small_heading">Dancing at the proper speed, but just ahead of time</span>. This is the most common mistake and affects also non-beginner dancers. Occasionally, you can find this in advanced dancers as well. It is the least serious and most subtle mistake. Because of this, it is the hardest to recognize and to correct.</p> <p>The dancer recognizes the music and fundamentally dances at the correct speed. However his or her steps are just a fraction ahead of time. That is, he or she steps just a bit too early. How much too early? Our experience in studying salsa videos frame by frame has taught us that being ahead of time of as little as 1/10th of a second is enough to be noticeable. Our body is very sensitive to timing. </p> <p>How does it feel? Probably perfectly normal to you. But to your partner it gives a sense of rush to the dance. it gives the feel that he or she is not given the time to execute figures properly. The dance does not feel relaxed. Somehow your partner feels you he/she can not enjoy each beat of the dance and each figure to its full extent. </p> <p>This is a hard mistake to fix, because the dancer fundamentally understands the music. You need to relax. You need to take your time. You need to try to force yourself to dance as slow as the music allows you too. You need to force yourself to move after you hear the beat, rather than anticipate it. Try to dance in response to the beat, rather than 'on it'. If you are afraid you may end up dancing too slow or late, you should not worry. dancing too slow happens very rarely, it is by far the exception to the rule.</p> <p><span class="left_small_heading">Switching between dancing 'On 1' and 'On 3', or between 'On 1' and 'On 2'</span>. A very bad habit which may result from dancing out of time, especially if you dance too fast, is to try to catch up with the music by jumping on the closer beat without paying proper attention to the music. Switching between dancing 'On 1' and 'On 3' or, even worse, between dancing 'On 1' and 'On 2' is a typical consequence. In out <a href="../Salsa_Timing_Package/Salsa_Timing_DVD.htm">timing DVD</a> we included two clips which show this very clearly. Watch them carefully and see if you notice when the dancers mistakenly change beat.. learning to notice this will help you to prevent making the same mistake. </p> <p>Another common mistake: confusing power with speed. Beginner dancers at time confuse the tempo of a song, that is its speed, with the energy of the song. In salsa, powerful music not always means fast tempo. In our <a href="../Salsa_Timing_Package/Salsa_Timing_DVD.htm">timing DVD</a> we show a popular powerful, but slow salsa. .and a popular romantic, but fast one..</p> <p>in the <a href="../Salsa_Timing_Package/Salsa_Timing_DVD.htm">timing DVD</a> we also show a clip, in which I dance to a rhythm track which changes intensity, but not speed. Watch this clip carefully. The rhythm track has a constant tempo. During the track, the arrangement changes and the music becomes more powerful.. this is simply the result of adding more instruments and playing different patters. But notice that the speed does not change. Rewind the clip and try to dance to it, paying attention to the constant tempo and the change of intensity of the music.<br> </p> <table width="679" border="0" align="center"> <tr> <td width="138"><a href="1_from_5.htm">Previous Page </a></td> <td width="567"> </td> <td width="193"><div align="right"><a href="right_way.htm">Next Page</a></div></td> </tr> </table>  <table width="95%" height="1%" border="0" align="center"> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top" height="67"> <div align="center"> <p><a href="why.htm">Why is all this so important?</a> <a href="magic.htm">The magic of dancing 'in' the music</a> <a href="music timing.htm">Music Timing, </a><a href="basic steps.htm">Salsa Basic Steps</a> <a href="instruments.htm">Salsa Instruments</a> <a href="clave.htm">Clave</a> <a href="conga.htm">Conga</a> <a href="piano.htm">Piano</a> <a href="Bass.htm">Bass</a> <a href="guiro.htm">Guiro</a> <a href="campana.htm">Cowbell (campana)</a> <a href="1_from_5.htm">Distinguishing the "1" from the "5"</a> <a href="common_mistakes.htm">Common timing mistake</a> <a href="right_way.htm">The 'right' way… being on time</a> <a href="decorations.htm">Decorations, marking the break and accents, spontaneity..…</a> <a href="rumba.htm">Decorations inherited from rumba</a> <a href="improve.htm">How to improve your timing</a></p> </div> </td> </tr> </table> <p> </p> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="53" colspan="2" align="left" valign="top" bgcolor=""><table border="0" align="center" bgcolor=""> <tr align="center"> <td width="200"><span class="maroonBold">Ordering & Shipping</span></td> <td width="200"><span class="maroonBold">Information</span></td> <td width="200"><span class="maroonBold">Translated pages</span></td> <td width="200"><a href="../contacts.htm">Contact Us</a></td> </tr> <tr > <td width="200" align="left" valign="top"><ul> <li><a href="../shop.htm">Price List</a></li> <li><a href="../shop/shipping.htm">Ordering & Shipping</a></li> <li><a href="../shop/payment%20options.htm">Payment Options</a></li> <li><a href="../shop/I_am_confused.htm">Payment Option Help</a></li> <li><a href="../shop/security.htm">Is this site secure?</a></li> <li><a href="../shop/customer_service.htm">Customer Service</a></li> </ul></td> <td width="200" valign="top"><ul> <li><a href="../faq.htm">FAQs</a></li> <li><a href="../articles/about_us.htm">About Us</a></li> <li><a href="../int_links.htm">Links</a></li> <li><a href="../mail-list.htm">Salsa Mailing Lists</a></li> <li><a href="../feedback.htm">Feedback</a></li> <li><a href="../testimonials.htm">Testimonials</a></li> </ul></td> <td width="200" valign="top"><ul> <li><a href="../translations/spanish.htm">Español</a></li> <li><a href="../translations/italian.htm">Italiano</a></li> <li><a href="../translations/french.htm">Français</a></li> <li><a href="../translations/german.htm">German</a></li> <li><a href="../translations/japan.htm">Japanese</a></li> <li><a href="../translations/korea.htm">Korean</a></li> <li><a href="../translations/russian.htm">Russian</a></li> <li><a href="../SPT/SPT_Cn.htm">Chinese (SPT)</a></li> </ul></td> <td width="200"> </td> </tr> </table></td> </tr> </table> <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? 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