Cuban Music

Cuban son should not be reduced to one formula consisting only of tres, bongó and a fast dance rhythm. Trios, quartets, sextetos, septetos and larger ensemble approaches developed across different periods.

Typical roles can include:

A structure may develop through instrumental introduction, composed verse, repeated refrain, transition, montuno, coro–pregón exchange, instrumental solo and closing section. Not every son arrangement needs all of these sections.

A prompt should define period or ensemble size, 2–3 or 3–2 son-clave direction, the roles of tres and bass, lead-and-chorus relationship, montuno intensity and acoustic or modern production character.

1. ✓Natural Cuban Spanish diction
2. ✓No caricature of regional pronunciation
3. ✓Clear interaction between lead singer and chorus
4. ✓Space for coro–pregón in son and timba
5. ✓Controlled expression following poetic meaning in bolero
6. ✓Respect for décima structure and phrasing in punto
7. ✓Space for guitar and lyrical narrative in trova
8. ✓Avoiding one universally high-energy Cuban dance vocal
9. ✓Avoiding excessive melisma on every syllable
10. ✓No unnecessary operatic vibrato
11. ✓No careless mixing of Spanish with Portuguese or English
12. ✓No imitation of an identifiable Cuban or Latin vocalist
13. ✓No copying of existing son, bolero, trova or timba lyrics
14. ✓No decontextualised use of Yoruba, Lucumí, Abakuá or other community-specific religious repertoire
15. ✓No invented sacred language or ritual calls
16. ✓Avoiding overly clean and mechanical chorus layering
17. ✓Preserving natural timing and vocal differences for community character

1. 1Do not use clave only as an audible sample loop.
2. 2Do not switch accidentally between 2–3 and 3–2 clave directions.
3. 3Do not treat son and rumba clave patterns as identical.
4. 4Do not use tres guajeo only as an introduction decoration.
5. 5Do not continuously double tres, piano and guitar in the same frequency range.
6. 6Do not stack bass tumbao and electronic sub bass without control.
7. 7Do not turn bongó, conga and timbales into three drum layers playing the same rhythm.
8. 8Do not use a pandeiro or samba loop as Cuban percussion.
9. 9Do not make conga drums the default for every Cuban genre.
10. 10Do not keep campana continuously loud in the mix.
11. 11When entering montuno, add new rhythmic and vocal roles rather than only raising volume.
12. 12Do not use a bossa nova guitar pattern for Cuban bolero or son.
13. 13Do not create rumba by adding a few congas to salsa or reggaeton.
14. 14Do not arrange danzón and cha-cha-chá with one identical charanga preset.
15. 15Do not keep mambo winds at maximum volume and density.
16. 16Do not reduce timba bass to a straight funk bass loop.
17. 17Do not destroy human feel by over-quantizing piano montunos.
18. 18Do not align chorus voices to exactly the same timing and pitch.
19. 19Do not flatten percussion velocity differences.
20. 20Do not sample sacred Afro-Cuban ritual recordings.
21. 21Do not label batá drums as generic tribal percussion.
22. 22Do not define Cuban music only through old analogue recording or nostalgic vinyl effects.
23. 23Do not add vinyl crackle, street sound or Havana ambience to every track.
24. 24Do not place all modern Cuban music under the salsa label.
25. 25Create original material instead of copying recognisable commercial or traditional melodies.
26. 26Do not imitate the sound of a particular artist, ensemble or historical recording.
27. 27Do not destroy groove and dynamics through excessive mastering loudness.
28. 28Preserve the attack, room and finger details of acoustic instruments.

Combine these layers into one clear production brief:

[Entirely original composition] + [specific Cuban tradition] + [vocal or instrumental focus] + [clave direction, rhythm and tempo] + [instrumental roles] + [lead and chorus relationship] + [formal development] + [production character] + [language if vocals are used] + [originality and cultural boundary]

1. ✓Defining Cuban music only as salsa
2. ✓Using salsa, son and rumba as interchangeable terms
3. ✓Producing all Cuban music with the same clave and percussion loop
4. ✓Treating son clave and rumba clave as the same pattern
5. ✓Switching randomly between 2–3 and 3–2 directions
6. ✓Using clave only as a loud sample of two wooden sticks
7. ✓Adding tres, congas, timbales and trumpet to every track
8. ✓Presenting Cuban son only as fast and cheerful dance music
9. ✓Thinking of montuno only as a repeating piano loop
10. ✓Presenting rumba as a subgenre of salsa
11. ✓Producing guaguancó, yambú and columbia with one tempo and drum structure
12. ✓Reducing rumba to a tourist dance show
13. ✓Creating bolero only with heavy strings and excessively dramatic vocals
14. ✓Treating Cuban and Mexican bolero traditions as identical
15. ✓Presenting danzón, mambo and cha-cha-chá as one retro Latin form
16. ✓Describing punto libre and punto fijo as the same rhythmic structure
17. ✓Using choro, samba or bossa nova rhythms as Cuban genres
18. ✓Making reggaeton dembow the default for all modern Cuban music
19. ✓Treating timba and a generic salsa arrangement as identical
20. ✓Using the word conga for every tumbadora role
21. ✓Assigning bongó, conga and timbales to one MIDI pattern
22. ✓Labelling batá drums as tribal percussion
23. ✓Using Afro-Cuban religious or community-specific repertoire as decorative samples
24. ✓Inventing sacred language, calls or ritual text
25. ✓Explaining Cuban culture only through old cars, cigars, rum and Havana-nightclub clichés
26. ✓Confining all Cuban music to old-vinyl and lo-fi recording aesthetics
27. ✓Caricaturing Cuban Spanish
28. ✓Imitating the vocals or production of a particular Cuban artist or group
29. ✓Copying recognisable traditional or commercial melodies
30. ✓Presenting Lumiere as an official Cuban cultural institution

• UNESCO — The Practice of Cuban Son
• UNESCO — Rumba in Cuba
• UNESCO — Punto
• UNESCO — Bolero
• UNESCO — La Tumba Francesa
• UNESCO — Cuba Country Page
• Smithsonian Folkways — Folk Music of Cuba
• Smithsonian Folkways — Sextetos Cubanos
• Smithsonian Folkways — Bell Patterns and Afro-Caribbean Rhythms
• Library of Congress — Encyclopedic Dictionary of Music in Cuba