clave

The clave - pronounced clah-vé - is the underlying rhythm pattern used in Afro-Cuban and Latin American music - it is used particularly in mambo, salsa, Brazilian bossa-nova music and other forms of Latin jazz.

Claves were originally used in Afro-Cuban folk music and are among the instruments that maintain various fixed rhythmic patterns in Latin-American dance bands.

Each clave pattern is two measures long, with one measure containing two beats and the other measure containing three. This is often referred to as the 2-side and the 3-side of the clave pattern. The son and the rumba clave can either be 2-3 or 3-2.

First off, The Claves is also an instrument. These are two wooden blocks that are hit together to produce a rhythmic Latin sound. The second definition of the clave is a two bar rhythmic pattern. This is the most common use of the word, and is the “key” to spicing up drum beats.

When struck, claves produce a bright, penetrating clicking noise.

clave1. / (kleɪv, klɑːv) / noun. music one of a pair of hardwood sticks struck together to make a hollow sound, esp to mark the beat of Latin-American dance music.

clave in American English 1. either of a pair of cylindrical hardwood sticks that make a hollow sound when struck together, used as a percussion instrument in Latin music. usually used in pl. 2. a syncopated rhythm pattern of alternating phrases of three and two beats, used in Latin dance music.

Son Clave is commonly called a '3/2 Clave', as the first bar contains 3 notes, whereas the second bar contains 2. However, Son clave can be played backwards, a '2/3 Clave' as you can hear in the keyboard at the beginning of Hall & Oates' 'You Make My Dreams'.

The musical claves are a percussion instrument that originated in Africa and was brought to the Caribbean and Latin America during the colonial era. The instrument consists of two cylindrical sticks made of wood or plastic that are struck together to produce a distinct, sharp sound.

Clave (KLAH-vay) is the basic defining rhythm of Afro-Cuban Jazz and other types of African, South American and even Australian Aboriginal music. The claves are the wooden sticks used to produce the rhythm. "Clave" (as well as "llave") means "key" in Spanish.

Conga, bongo, drum sets, cowbell, clave, cymbals and certain chimes, gongs and bells are examples of untuned percussion. However, unknown to many people, some of these so-called untuned instruments can be tuned, for example the timpani.

On this page you'll find 66 synonyms, antonyms, and words related to clave, such as: hew, sunder, rive, pierce, cut, and rend.