Beginning with this Volume 6 each volume will focus on the work of a specific Cuban pianist. In most cases, the notation and audio are derived from performances by the pianist in question, captured on a MIDI-compatible keyboard. Here the subject is Iván "Melón" Lewis -a central player in one of the most important bands of the entire timba era, the Issac Delgado Group of 1995-1998. Beyond Salsa Piano is an instructional (eBook + audio + video), 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 sixth book in a instructional series set to become the new standard for contemporary Latin piano styles. 69 pages (69 páginas) with 41 audio tracks (41 pistas).

Special notes about Beyond Salsa Piano Volume 6:

** Beyond Salsa Piano Volume 6 is the sixth in a series of instructional methods composed of an eBook with audio tracks. The eBook, audio tracks and video clips are sold separately. The eBook is a personalized pdf download compatible with Adobe Acrobat (more eBook info here).

** Audio: All 41 audio tracks have stereo separation: the left channel has the left hand piano part and the right channel has the right hand piano part. The audio tracks and eBook for Beyond Salsa Piano Volume 6 can be purchased on this page.

** Video: Melón's 48 video clips were filmed with two cameras, one from the side and one overhead. For every tumbao, we provide three separate videos: a widescreen version of each camera angle and a split screen version combining the two. The video clips are sold separately (click here to go to the Beyond Salsa Piano Vol.6 video page).

Iván "Melón" Lewis was a central player in one of the most important bands of the entire timba era, the Issac Delgado Group of 1995-1998. He and bassist Alain Pérez arguably took the art of tumbao playing to its highest level of creativity and sophistication to date. All of the timba piano innovations detailed in Volume 5 can be found in Melón's work and some of them originated with him.

Perhaps the most extraordinary feature of both Melón's and Alain's playing was their ability to improvise continuously within a dance music groove. The live concerts of Issac Delgado during this era were highlighed by about 20 extraordinary 10 to 20 minute arrangements which offered more variation and improvisation more from night to night than the performances of any other timba band with the possible exception of the Paulito FG of the same period. As such, each song becomes a course of study unto itself, beginning with the basic tumbaos and extending to variation, secondary tumbaos and all manner of gear-related variations, resulting in four complete volumes of the Beyond Salsa Piano series being devoted exclusively to Melón.

Chapter 1 is a brief biography and discography.

Chapter 2 revisits the concept of rhythm section gears that we introduced in Volume 5, applying it to the specific Issac Delgado Group that Melón played and recorded with.

Chapter 3 discusses the role of chord progressions and generic tumbaos in both salsa and timba, explains Melón's octave fingering technique, introduces Melón & Alain's unique approach to muela gear, and begins our survey of the epic live concert vehicles for which Melón, Issac and Alain were so famous. Each arrangement requires an extensive analysis and includes multiple tumbaos, variations and exercises. Volume 6 covers two of Issac's greatest masterpieces, No me mires a los ojos and La vida sin esperanza.

Chapter 4, "Understanding Melón's Open Montuno Style", explains the timba concept of the open montuno section and the extraordinary amount of freedom and creative that this historic group was able to derive from it.

In Volumes 6, 7, 8 and 9, we'll cover every major arrangement that Melón regularly played live with the Delgado group. We will eventually also offer a video series with Melón playing all the examples as notated and then adding additional improvised variations. Stay tuned!

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 6 eBook.

Click here for more Volume 6 samples. Email the author = kevin [at] timba [dot] com

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Beyond Salsa Piano Vol9     Beyond Salsa Piano Vol8     Beyond Salsa Piano Vol7

Beyond Salsa Piano Vol6     Beyond Salsa Piano Vol5     Beyond Salsa Piano Vol4

Beyond Salsa Piano Vol3     Beyond Salsa Piano Vol2     Beyond Salsa Piano Vol1