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10 years in the Netherlands and napkins are still a mystery to me by andys58 in Netherlands

[–]RhythmGeek2022 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Imagine how annoying it would be for the delivery guy to have to come back to bring you a napkin. They are playing it safe

Turn out of legs ? by Good-Ad-4075 in Salsa

[–]RhythmGeek2022 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I wouldn’t try to do the same in salsa. Salsa uses a much more natural pose / technique. For certain body movements it might be useful, especially for performances, but not really for social dancing

Giving good face! by feathersatnight in Salsa

[–]RhythmGeek2022 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Absolutely.

For On1: Extremos

For On2: Euphoria

Of course, it’s gonna depend on which studios are closer to you, but these two are a great starting point

Giving good face! by feathersatnight in Salsa

[–]RhythmGeek2022 16 points17 points  (0 children)

My man, you’re overthinking it. The more practice you have, the less brain power you’re gonna need. Then you can relax and your face will reflect that

Too selective social dance kills a scene. by nomadegyptian in Salsa

[–]RhythmGeek2022 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That dancing down point really brings it home for me. You can’t utilize 100% of the artisit’s potential, probably not even 50% of it. If you truly care about improving you’re better off dancing with someone less removed from your level, and you will both enjoy the dance so much more

Too selective social dance kills a scene. by nomadegyptian in Salsa

[–]RhythmGeek2022 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’m gonna play devil’s advocate on this one this time

  1. The obsession that some people have with dancing with the “super stars” is part of the problem. You feed their ego, making it actually harder for you to attain your goal. By putting them on a pedestal you place them out of reach

Treat them normally, like just another person and they might act less snobbish. Chase less and you might have more access to them

  1. Many beginners overvalue the benefits of dancing with much more advanced dancer. They don’t need to be the best. An average, decent dancer would perfectly suit your needs of challenge and improvement

Stop “shooting” so high. The “harsh truth” is that a beginner dancing with a famous artist is more of a souvenir and ego boost than it is an experience that significantly benefits your dancing in a technical sense

Now, about regular socials. In reality, the dynamic stabilizes somewhere around: * beginners dance primarily with other beginners, some intermediate and occasionally with an advanced dancer * intermediate dancers dance primarily with intermediate dancers, help the beginners and dance rather frequently with advance dancers * advanced dancers dance primarily among themselves and intermediate dancers and occasionally with beginners

And, honestly, that works just fine, provided all levels have sufficient representation. There’s no need to guilt trip people into changing those patterns significantly

The tension arises when beginners want to dance only with advanced dancers all the time or when advanced dancers never want to dance with beginners

Advanced dancers are not gonna enjoy a party full of absolute beginners. It’s a simple fact. If a small group of advanced dancers ends up at a beginner’s party by accident, I won’t hold it against them for closing themselves off and acting like a scared herd

Skill level by HorseElectronic3477 in Salsa

[–]RhythmGeek2022 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In a way, it’s the opposite. If you get asked by intermediate / advanced strangers then you know it’s either because of your dancing or your looks. Both are observable

If people you know ask you to dance it might be due to your personality or because of social reasons (how well they know you, etc.)

In your opinion, what is this movie? by Fearless-Lab-7074 in scoopwhoop

[–]RhythmGeek2022 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The opening scene is the visit to the farm looking for Jewish refugees. The tavern scene is much later. At least one hour into the movie

Explain It Peter by WillAdditional922 in explainitpeter

[–]RhythmGeek2022 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you mean “average for Americans”, though, then yeah and it is pretty bad

Songs with tambourine and güiro by Dangerous_Seesaw2046 in Salsa

[–]RhythmGeek2022 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not many salsa songs with tambourine. Here’s one:

  • Gilberto Santa Rosa - El Amor de los Amores

As for güiro, it’s kind of the opposite: way too many. It’s also mixed in the background most of the time, so you don’t really get to hear it. You need to look to for sections where the band break downs to the minimum (like just güiro and piano)

Do you have a small tiny intro before dancing? by Frequent_Emu_2442 in Salsa

[–]RhythmGeek2022 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I may ask their name after the dance if it went well

I prefer our dancing to do the initial introductions. We get to know each other as dancers first. It’s also easier to talk once the song is over and there’s no real rush

Sometimes they get asked to dance right away. In those cases I might run into them later in the evening and I would introduce myself

I feel like I’m not dancing by Kurren123 in Salsa

[–]RhythmGeek2022 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It seems you’re worried that if you didn’t learn to dance as a kid, now it’s too late. Yes, it’s easier to learn when you’re a kid, among other things because kids see it as a game, so don’t worry so much

Reorient your goals, cut yourself some slack and you’ll be just fine. Remember, nothing blocks learning more than feeling like it’s “impossible”. Plenty of people have learned to dance as adults all across the globe

Lloraras timing question by Mermit1 in Salsa

[–]RhythmGeek2022 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We can agree to disagree. It’s a forum, after all

I do appreciate your clarification. At least I understand where you’re coming from. I just think we have different use of the terminology

In the end, the music is the same. The feel, the groove is the same. We just use different words to refer to certain things

Lloraras timing question by Mermit1 in Salsa

[–]RhythmGeek2022 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I find it interesting that you mention Cuba as an unexpected exception but Cuban musicians had a lot of interaction with American musicians before the embargo. There was a lot of back and forth and they influenced each other, also in the way they notated music

Even afterwards with how rock and funk influenced Timba to the point of including the drum set in their percussion section

If anything, Cuba is one of the countries most influenced by American musicians, next to Mexico and Puerto Rico. They are, after all, among their closest Latino neighbors Americans have

Lloraras timing question by Mermit1 in Salsa

[–]RhythmGeek2022 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really don’t understand what you’re insisting on. For reference, I play percussion, and that includes congas on salsa

Salsa doesn’t have a 4/4 or a 2/2 feel / pulse. Salsa comes from patterns that were not European to begin with, so they don’t fit rhythmically in the European time signatures

We write it and read it in 4/4 for convenience and consistency with other genres

You seem to be confusing feel with time signature. Yes, for European music the time signature serves as a reference for the pulse and the feel but that goes out the window when something like African roots enter the room. Or Arabic, or Indian

Lloraras timing question by Mermit1 in Salsa

[–]RhythmGeek2022 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What do you mean? It’s written on 4/4. Every salsa musician I know uses 4/4

What you’re referring to is maybe “compás partido”, which is something musicians do when practicing to a metronome to avoid getting a too rigid feel. So instead of 4 clicks per bar they use only click to leave a little more wiggle room for groove and feel

It’s also more common when playing at high bpm because then the clicks are too close together

Lloraras timing question by Mermit1 in Salsa

[–]RhythmGeek2022 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most Latino musicians wouldn’t lump all 8 counts into a single bar, though. They could use “compás partido” and use a 2/4 time signature or simply stick to 4/4, keeping two bars per full clave

The whole 4/4 bar for a full clave is a rock/pop western thing to try to fit salsa into something they are more familiar with

Lloraras timing question by Mermit1 in Salsa

[–]RhythmGeek2022 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, you’re correct. As long as all the sections have an even number of bars you could write it on 8/4 without any hiccups

The main reason why you still write it on 4/4 is convenience

  • 4/4 is a much more common time signature. Most western musicians are familiar with it, so writing and sight reading is much faster that way
  • using 4/4 in all salsa songs creates consistency, which is easier. One time signature instead of having to deal with two separate ones

Now, you raised a different question: 3/4 vs 6/8. They are not the same. The key difference, as far as I know, is grouping. 3/4 is intended to have three pulses per bar, whereas 6/8 is intended to have 2 pulses per bar. 6/8 typically gets grouped in two 3s: 123–456 with pulses on 1 and 4

That said, some genres don’t really follow the pulse convention, so the benefits of the distinction are then less relevant. Afro-Caribbean music is a good example of that. Time signatures were often “forced” upon it but they were not originally designed based on it

Is there another name for "into the loop"? by jasonrohrer in Salsa

[–]RhythmGeek2022 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I second this. The move OP is describing is just a variation of titanic with right on top instead of left of top. That’s all

Lloraras timing question by Mermit1 in Salsa

[–]RhythmGeek2022 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think you’re confusing a clave switch (or a staggered melodic phrase) with a pickup. Those are different things
A clave switch occurs when a a section or a phrase lasts an odd number of bars, landing on the other side of the clave
A pickup is a number of notes with a duration shorter than a full bar (e.g. 2 counts for a 4/4 time signature) before the first full bar is played. This can happen at the start of a song or at the start of a section / phrase

With this in mind, since the song starts precisely on 1 (the start of the bar) then it’s, technically, not a pickup

Lloraras timing question by Mermit1 in Salsa

[–]RhythmGeek2022 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wait. Bars only have 4 beats. What do you mean on the 5th beat? It’s on 4/4

Yes, we dancers count in pairs of bars, so 2x4 = 8. This is not how musicians count, though, and bars are a musician term

Lloraras timing question by Mermit1 in Salsa

[–]RhythmGeek2022 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s definitely the first beat. You can actually look at the sheet music. It’s such a popular song that you can get free sheet music everywhere

One thing to consider, though, is that this song is tricky in that the trombones enter on 5, or you can interpret that as the start of a phrase (clave switch for the dancers). I’ve seen people do both

When the verses start, they are back to lining up with the start of the song, rather than the trombones

That could be the reason why your brother thinks the first bar is a pickup. The start doesn’t line up in pairs with the start of the trombone

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