This week we're gonna expand on the material from last week's tutorial on transitional fills. So, feel free to check out that lesson first, if you haven't already. Today we're going to look at a couple of different ways that we create variations on last week's transitions by adding or taking away notes and changing how we approach them.

So for this first example, all we're gonna do is play two low-drum muffled tones on the "and" of three and beat four, followed by a low-drum open tone on the downbeat of the following bar. And let's work on this as a four-bar phrase, with the transition happening in bar four, that'll lead us into the following four-bar phrase.

This specific transition is more commonly used to move from a "down" section to an "up" section, but depending on the tones and the intention you play this figure with, you can feel free to adapt it to move dynamically "down" from an "up" section as well. Just make sure that you clap the clave along to this, and every example, so you can start to understand how the accents lie in respect to the clave.

For this next transition, we'll again be working on a phrase that we can use to transition "up" from a "down" section. But this time we'll approach our low-drum open tone with a couple extra notes in the fourth bar of each four-bar phrase. This means that the "approach" will happen on the "three side" of the clave, and lead us into the "two side," which is the first bar of our following four-bar phrase. Let's check it out.

Now, I really dig this particular transition, because it allows us to build up a bit of tension and leave some space before we come back in on the following bar with our low-drum open tone. Now you'll hear that this works especially well when playing with a timbalero, as the timbal will commonly play a fill or abanico in the last beat or so of a phrase, to help us transition to the following phrase or section.

For our last transition, we're gonna use this most recent example as the foundation. But this time we'll play all of the muffled tones on our high drum, and instead of playing only one single muffled tone on beat three, we'll play two muffled tones: one on the "and" of three, and another on the "and" of four to lead us into the following bar. Let's hear what it sounds like.

So now that we have the three transitions, let's work on using them to move "up" from a "down" section within an eight-bar phrase. So in the first four bars, we'll play a one-drum tumbao as if we were in the "down" section of an arrangement, then use our first fill to transition "up," in the fourth bar, to a two-drum tumbao, where we'll also add a bongo bell. From there, we'll transition back down to our one-drum tumbao after four bars and move on to the next example within our eight-bar phrase. Let's check it out.

So each of these transitions has its own feel and function depending on how you use them. Now in a musical context, it's important that we're very aware of not only the form and dynamics of an arrangement, but also what the timbalero is playing, as they're commonly responsible for helping us outline the form and helping us move from section to section as a band. Now, in a situation where you have some experience playing with a particular timbale player, you can always gauge or even work out beforehand whether you want to play the more simple transitions, the ones with a few more notes, or just continue laying the groove and maybe only supporting the following section with a low-drum open tone on beat one from time to time. Conversely, if you're working in a conjunto format, where there is no timbale player, you can decide to be a bit more liberal with these types of transitions, as you'll be more responsible for outlining the form and helping the band move from section to section. Not to mention that in a live situation, by playing some small fills in the last bar of a phrase to help prepare the next section, you'll give the bongo player some time to pick up their bell.

Now remember that we worked on all of the examples from this lesson exclusively in 2-3 clave, but they all work just fine when played in 3-2. We just have to make sure that the accents of the tumbao in the bars that precede and follow the transitions respect clave, so that it's always clear which side of the clave we're on.

Now, these types of transitions are something you'll hear used more deliberately in a modern context. Now that's not to say that you won't hear the conga player add some fills to help transition in a more old-school context, but one of the defining characteristics of the modern salsa sound is having more organized arrangements in terms of the individual percussion parts within different sections, in a way that draws in part from the sensibilities and nuances of American pop music. This leads to a more calculated approach, and in general, more attention to detail when it comes to playing through different transitions, breaks and sections cleanly, and allows the percussion section as a whole more opportunities to incorporate transitions like the ones we covered in today's lesson. Now this is ultimately something that you'll develop a feel for the more you listen to and analyze different songs, styles and players.