What Is Clave and Why Do I Need To Understand It?
These two questions pass the mind of musicians inexperienced in Latin Jazz and Cuban rhythms. They often hear other musicians refer to clave’s importance but walk away from the conversation with vague ideas. They lack Salsa band experience and often loose sight of the music’s rhythmic structures. When they solo over a Cuban rhythm, their phrases sound awkward. Understanding clave in can be an uphill climb, but it is an absolute necessity to perform Latin Jazz based upon Cuban rhythms.

Clave and its Multiple Meanings
As an instrument, claves are two sticks that you hit together. They produce a click similar to a rim shot sound on a drum kit. A good set of claves project a deeper, louder sound than a rim shot. Symphonic composers write sparingly for claves and pop artists occasionally record claves. Afro-Cuban musicians play claves on a regular basis in a variety of settings.

Musically, a group of rhythmic figures called clave provides the whole structure for Afro-Cuban popular styles. Three basic types of clave fuel Afro-Cuban music: Son Clave, Rumba Clave, and 6/8 Clave. Each clave type relates to specific musical styles, and it supports each genre with a rhythmic foundation. Every musical idea builds upon the clave and every melodic phrase refers to it. Musicians remain aware of the corresponding clave and they keep track of the clave’s placement. The clave provides the “swing” of the music, and it’s the one concept that every musician feels.

In Spanish, the word clave translates to key, and that truly completes our quest for meaning. Clave is literally the your key to successfully playing Latin Jazz based upon Cuban rhythms. A complete knowledge of clave guides performance of Afro-Cuban popular styles and initiates the correct feel. So get ready, you’re about to get your first key to success as we examine the most common clave.

Son Clave
Son Clave is a two-measure figure. One measure contains 2 attacks and the other holds 3 attacks. We call the measure with 2 attacks the “2-side” and the measure with 3 attacks the “3-side”. Check out the two sides of the clave below:

These measures may start on either side, and are named accordingly. Thus, playing the 2-side first results in 2-3 clave, and beginning on the 3-side gets 3-2 clave. From there, the clave remains consistent through every measure of the song; you just continue alternating measures.

Try clapping clave for an extended period of time – what you’ll find is that it all starts to sound the same. The two measures blend into each other, and eventually you can’t tell whether you are playing 2-3 or 3-2.

The trick is to match clave with the other instruments in the ensemble. Singers and wind players need to begin melodies so that rhythmic accent points agree with the clave. In order for numerous percussionists to sound in unison, all their patterns need to begin and end on the corresponding side of the clave. Piano players play syncopated phrases called montunos that align exactly to the clave. It’s a big puzzle - the different players in the band are the pieces and the clave is the picture that holds the puzzle together.
You can see in the example to the left how the melody aligns rhythmically with the clave. This creates a sense of cohesion that pulls the music together. Follow the link below to hear the melody with the clave.

Clave Phrasing Ex. 1

Now check out the same example with a full rhythm section behind it.

Clave Melody with Full Band

When one member of the band plays on the wrong side of the clave, it throws the whole band into a state of chaos. It’s kind of like a jazz drummer playing the high-hat on 1 & 3 instead of 2 & 4 – the whole song just feels wrong. Often inexperienced musicians will start their phrase on the incorrect side of the clave and move the music forward. This is referred to as “crossing the clave” or playing “cruzao”. Another common mistake occurs when musicians play one side of the clave two times, resulting once again in a crossed clave. These are mistakes to avoid at all costs!

Listen to the same melody with the melody, piano, and bass crossing the clave and check out the awkward feeling between the instruments.

Cruzao Melody

The clave can flip from 2-3 to 3-2 or from 3-2 to 2-3 within the course of the song. An arrangement can change the direction of the clave by adding an extra measure to a phrase. The clave is a two-measure pattern, so phrases, in order to align with clave, are always in even groupings. But if you play an odd number of measures in a phrase, you will begin the next phase on the opposite side of the clave. It’s important to remember that the clave just keeps alternating measures; nothing changes there. The change occurs in the phrasing of the rest of the musicians.

Look at the example above - you can see the flipping of the clave in action here. The same melody that we’ve come to know and love starts off in 2-3 clave. The first phrase in measures 1 - 4 aligns cleanly with 2-3 clave. Starting in measure 5, we have a 5 bar phrase - here our melody extends through measure 9. The next phrase starts on measure 10, moving the song into 3-2 clave. Listen to the arrangement by clicking the link below and follow along in the music.

Clave Flip Example

Internalizing The Feel
Remember, the most important thing to remember about clave is that it is a “feel”. A whole song can go by and it’s very possible that no one in the band will play the clave rhythm. A competent musician in Afro-Cuban music “feels” the clave throughout a song. Regardless of the instrument a musician is playing you should be able to hear the clave in their performance. A group of musicians that “feels” the clave creates an incredible swing. The best thing that you can do if you are new to this style is to internalize the clave through listening, study, and practice.

Stumble it!