Afro-Cuban · bolero · 4/4 son-clave

Bolero (cinquillo comp)

92 bpm Loop: all
16ths
Clave
Piano
Guitar
Bass

Mixer

Keyboard

Strums

1
↓↓↑↑↓
2
↓↓↑↑↓

Bolero — the slow Cuban ballad. Its signature rhythm is the cinquillo (Scivales Ex. 4): five strokes in a bar, quarter–eighth–quarter–eighth–quarter, "x . x x . x x .". The bongó's martillo and the rhythm guitar both outline it; here the piano's right hand and the guitar play it on every bar while the bass holds roots and fifths in half notes.

How it sits on the clave: the cinquillo contains the whole three side (1, and-of-2 and 4 are all in it), so it reinforces the clave on the three-side bar and simply keeps time on the two side. Boleros are found in both directions; 3-2 is shown.

Listen for the weight: the first note of each bar is long and warm, the two eighths are the lift. Keep the guitar strums soft and let the bass carry the harmony; at 92 bpm a bolero should never sound busy.

Practice: clap the cinquillo against the clave layer alone until you can hear the two as one sentence, then play the chords. The voicings and bass line are standard practice (Gm | Cm D7); only the rhythm is transcribed.

Sources

  • Scivales, Play Latin Piano Like a Pro, ch. 23 Ex-114-4 (cinquillo)
  • standard practice for the piano/guitar/bass voicings; no transcribed source

Keyboard

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1–6
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