The dreaded On1 vs. On 2….sounds like a video podcast to me. Anthony, I think it would great to show the differences between the two styles with the same song, if possible.
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wmdzign
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donv69
For the first time today, like finding out I have superpowers, I was watching a bunch of dancers at the club and was able to read their 1,2,3 5,6,7 moves and match them up to the music. And from that was able to understand the beats.
I found it much easier than listening to endless amounts of music and then counting the steps trying to find something that matches. It was a really cool experience.
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Anthony Persaud
@donv69
You are correct with the cowbell being on 1,3,5 and 7. However, that instrument may not be prevalent in more ‘mambo-styled’ or ‘modern salsa’ songs. You will sometimes have to rely on the Piano or the ‘ti-ki-pah!’ sound, where the ‘ti’ is your 1 or 5. The best way to determine the beat for any song is to find the Conga slap (which requires serious training of your listening skills). Once you find the conga slap (which mark the 2 and 6), it is easy then to the clave. Since all other instruments in a song play relative to the clave, it because extremely easy to find any of the other beats.
To prevent some frustrations, you may also discover that songs between the 1960s - early 1980s will have rhythm changes , which will also throw you off. For example, you may have found the 1 and the 5 correctly, but in the middle of the song, there may be a rhythm change that will invert the location of the 1 and 5 for a short period of time. This is because a musician may want to play with the clave (switching it from 2-3 to 3-2 or vice versa) - however, this is a longer explanation than what I have here.
I’m not sure what you mean by reproducing the quality of music because it usually depends on the DJ on how they have their Equalizer set during the night.
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donv69
Hi all,
I have figured out a few things about stepping on salsa with on1. With songs that have a strong cowbell i am amazing When it comes to keeping the beat, I step on the cowbell at 1, 3, 5 and 7.
But I have discovered that with some songs at the club I have a lot of problems finding that beat.
I know that it will come with experience. I have listened to a lot of salsa on my iPod and I can figure out the beat quite easily. I can even danse to it in my living room. My question is this, is there a way to reproduce club like quality to the music so I can practice my steps to that? Or does anyone have any tips.
