Volume 3 begins with the Cuban Revolution and leads into Volume 4, which ends 30 years later with the fall of the Berlin Wall, two events which had as much impact on Latin music as they did on world politics. Beyond Salsa Piano is an instructional (eBook + audio), play-along history and anthology of the role of the piano in the Cuban rhythm section –from its first appearance to the present. This is the third book in a instructional series set to become the new standard for contemporary Latin piano styles. 98 pages (98 páginas) with 106 audio tracks (106 pistas).
Special notes about Beyond Salsa Piano Volume 3:
** Beyond Salsa Piano Volume 3 is third in a series of instructional methods composed of an eBook with audio tracks. The eBook and audio tracks are sold separately.
The eBook is a personalized pdf download compatible with Adobe Acrobat (more eBook info here).
** All 106 audio tracks have stereo separation: the left channel has the left hand piano part and the right channel has the right hand piano part.
In the 1960s, North American musicians continued to assimilate and further develop the Cuban musical influences of the 40s and 50s but as for the goings on in post-Revolution Cuba, their interests centered more on where Soviet missiles might or might not be hidden. For their part, Cuban musicians were extremely interested in jazz, rock and soul, but it wasn’t until the 1980s that they began to take notice of the “salsa” phenomenon that was raging in the north.
As we pick up our story in 1959, where we left off in Volume 2, we’re immediately confronted with a distinct fork in the road. We’ll take the less traveled Cuban route for two reasons. First, it leads most directly to our ultimate destination – the Havana piano revolution of the 1990s. Second, the task of covering the pianistic developments of the salsa era has already been masterfully accomplished by Rebeca Mauleón-Santana -- a brilliant player, writer and educator -- without whose guidance and inspiration these books would never have been imagined, much less written.
Beyond Salsa Piano is a history and anthology of the role of the piano in the Cuban rhythm section – from its first appearance to the present. In a broader sense, it’s a study of the tumbao – the art of creating music from layers of repeating rhythmic and melodic phrases. Whether these syncopated figures are called tumbaos, guajeos, montunos, riffs or vamps, this Afro-Cuban concept lies at the heart of nearly every popular music genre from salsa to rock , funk, R&B, hiphop and jazz.
While presented as a set of method books, the series doubles as a history course and record collecting guide for listeners, dancers, and players of instruments other than the piano.
Perhaps the most important goal of the series is to provide a comprehensive understanding of how tumbaos are constructed, their central role in the texture of Latin music of all eras, and the endless possibilities they provide for creative composing and arranging.
Click here for a pdf sample of the Beyond Salsa Piano Volume 3 eBook.
