In this lesson, I want to talk to you about one of the most important concepts to have in mind when playing tumbao: clave.

So let's start with a brief overview of what we cover in-depth in our lesson on clave, from the Conga Fundamentals course on CongaChops.com. The two main concepts we'll look at for the purposes of this lesson are the common types of claves in 4/4 or cut-time, rumba clave and son clave, and the concept of the direction or flow of the clave: 3-2 or 2-3.

Now the two side of either clave will contain two notes, and the three side of either clave will contain three notes. The only difference between these two patterns is that the rumba clave has a note on the "and" of 4, on the 3 side, while the son clave has a note that lands on beat 4, on the 3 side. Other than that, the claves are identical as far as the way that they are written in 4/4, and will always be a binary or two-sided pattern.

So unless otherwise noted in a particular arrangement, the clave will always flow in the same continuous direction. And because it's a two-bar phrase, as long as we have even-numbered phrases throughout a song or arrangement (4, 8, 16, etc.), the clave direction we begin with will stay consistent throughout.

So, let's see how we can apply this concept of clave to the tumbao pattern. Now we can of course play the common tumbao pattern simply as a one-bar phrase over the clave. So let's hear what that sounds like over a 2-3 son clave, and feel free to clap the clave along to each example in this lesson, so you can start to get an idea of what the grooves feel like over each respective side of the clave.

Now this works great, and in certain settings it's the most fitting and appropriate thing to play. But if we want to be more deliberate about which side of the clave we're on, in the second bar, which is the three side of the clave in this example, we can play a single open tone on beat four, followed by a tip on the "and" of four, or a rest on the "and" of four. This will give us a two-bar phrase that clearly emphasizes which side of the clave we're on. Let's check it out.

So now we have a two-bar tumbao pattern where each bar locks up with a specific side of the clave. In this case, our single open tone on beat four in the second bar locks up with the last beat of the three side of the son clave.

Now this concept also applies to the rumba clave. Even though that open tone on beat four won't be in unison with the stroke on the "and" of four of the rumba clave, it still gives us that two-bar structure where we can emphasize which side of the clave we're on. So, let's hear that same pattern over a 2-3 rumba clave.

Now in a traditional sense, the rumba clave is more commonly used for rhythms and styles related to rumba, and generally at faster tempos. And the son clave is used at more moderate tempos for rhythms derived from the Cuban son. That being said, nowadays they're often used interchangeably in popular Afro-Cuban dance music, and their role or function is always interchangeable, as long as the direction or the flow is consistent. So you can clap 2-3 rumba clave or 2-3 son clave along to anything in the 2-3 direction, and the concept of two sides still applies.

Now another simple way that we can further emphasize which side of the clave we're on is by playing a variation on the two side of the clave. So, this time, in the first bar, we'll play a ghost tone on beat four, followed by our open tone on the "and" of four. Now, it's very common to hear this variation played with a bass tone on beat four when dealing with a more traditional pattern used for son music. But the three side of our pattern will stay the same, with a single open tone on beat 4. So, let's hear this two-bar phrase in 2-3 son clave.

This two-bar tumbao can often be heard in a more modern salsa or timba context. So, let's hear that same pattern in 2-3 clave a bit faster, with one of our exclusive practice loops from CongaChops.com, so we can really focus on the feel.

So those are just a couple of simple ways that we can be more deliberate about which side of the clave we're on when playing a tumbao. As we mentioned before, the one-bar version works perfectly fine in many styles. Our first two-bar pattern can also be heard on different recordings from many different eras. And the second two-bar pattern is something that's commonly associated with a more modern style of conga playing. Now, in any case, it'll be up to you to decide when and how to use these different patterns, depending on the musical context that you're playing in.

But the most important thing you should take away from this lesson is that you always want to be aware of the direction of the clave, no matter which pattern you decide to use. So make sure you take the time to clap out the clave as you listen to each individual exercise, work on each one slowly, get comfortable with the sticking and the tones, and really focus on the feel you're playing with as you start to jam along with your favorite records.