Clave (rhythm)
Clave is a repeating rhythmic pattern that organizes much Afro-Cuban music. It is commonly played on two wooden sticks, also called claves.
Son clave: A five-stroke clave pattern used in Cuban son and related music. Its two common forms, 3–2 and 2–3, show how clave’s strokes divide a repeating cycle.
Son cubano: A Cuban music genre combining Spanish song forms with Afro-Cuban rhythms and instruments. Son is a central setting for son clave and its ensemble role.
Salsa music: A genre of Latin popular music developed chiefly in New York from Cuban and other Caribbean traditions. Salsa arrangements commonly use Afro-Cuban clave as a rhythmic reference.
Bell pattern: A repeating rhythm played on a bell that helps organize an ensemble. Like clave, a bell pattern can serve as a timeline, but the terms name different patterns and practices.
Clave direction: The orientation of a two-measure clave cycle, described as 3–2 or 2–3. Direction determines how phrases align with clave’s two sides.
Afro-Cuban music: Music shaped by the interaction of African and Spanish-derived traditions in Cuba. Clave’s organizing role belongs to this wider musical history.
Cuban rumba: An Afro-Cuban family of secular music and dance traditions, including yambú, guaguancó, and columbia. Rumba uses its own clave pattern to coordinate singing, percussion, and dance.
Backbeat: A rhythmic accent on the second and fourth beats of a common four-beat measure. Clave’s asymmetric cycle differs from the recurring even-beat emphasis of a backbeat.
Timeline pattern: A recurring rhythmic pattern that provides a temporal framework for an ensemble. Clave is a prominent Afro-Cuban example of a rhythm that organizes other parts.
Polyrhythm: The simultaneous combination of two or more distinct rhythmic patterns. Clave coordinates layers that retain their own rhythmic identities.