The Guiro in Salsa & Mambo

The guiro is not really a fundamental salsa instrument. However, when it is used in the arrangement of a song, it is very easy to follow and is a great help to beginner dancers. This is why we have included it here. The guiro's timing is very simple. A long note is played on beats 1,3,5,7. Two short notes are inserted between each long one. So, all the dancer has to do is to follow the long notes in order to find the fundamental musical timing