The term Latin music, perhaps to an even greater extent than rock or funk, describes an enormously diverse range of music (particularly with respect to bass grooves).

Here is a fundamental Afro-Cuban bass groove, the tumbao.

Audio Example 1

 


IDIOMS

RHYTHMIC:

Some of you are probably already familiar with the term clave, which is the rhythmic figure that is the heart of Afro-Cuban music. There are several variations, but the most common traditional clave patterns are the “3-2" Son clave and its reversed variation, the “2-3" Son clave (see Figure 2).

 

In Example 1, the clave is actually a variation called the “3-2" Rhumba clave, which differs from the Son clave in that it displaces the last hit of the “3" side of the clave by an 8th-note (moving it from the downbeat of beat 4 to the “and” of beat 4). You will hear the clave (the percussion instrument that goes by the same name!) playing that rhythmic figure if you listen closely to the accompaniment track (by the way, please excuse the sequenced track - what it lacked in organic quality and human feel, it made up for in convenience!).

Anyway, the clave rhythmic pattern itself is typically either played or strongly implied by the percussionists (and implied by the other instrumentalists to varying degrees), while the tumbao bass figure is a complementary rhythmic pattern based upon playing on the “and” of beat 2, and on beat 4 (in cut time - so the measures are felt going by twice as fast). You’ll notice that the tumbao figure lines up with the second and third hits on the “3" side of the Son clave (compare Figures 1 and 2).

Interestingly, the tumbao figure has a direct impact upon the harmonic idioms: a normal convention of this groove is to play the 5th of the upcoming chord on the “and” of beat 2 (of the bar immediately preceding the chord change), and the root of the upcoming chord on beat 4 of that same measure. You’ll hear this demonstrated throughout Example 1. The tumbao figure de-emphasizes beat 1 (although it’s absolutely critical that you’re always aware of where it is!), in that the preceding note is sustained right through the downbeat of the new bar. With a bit of practice and “thinking ahead” as you’re playing through a tune, this chord anticipation comes together.

Experienced Latin musicians will give the time an organic quality by infusing a somewhat difficult-to-quantify (but incredibly musical) pushing and pulling of the time vs. metronomically-precise subdivision. Any of you who’ve programmed and quantized a Latin percussion groove can attest to this: authenticity of the feel is dependent upon this elasticity.

The time feel varies (a very hip rhythmic tension can be created when the drums/percussion and bass are playing contrasting time feels - e.g., drums on top with bass laying back, or vice versa, etc.), but the bass tumbao is commonly heard right down the middle or slightly on top, often depending upon the tempo and desired “energy level”.

HARMONIC:

Harmonically, the typical tumbao bass line uses the root & the 5th almost exclusively. Other chord or scale tones are often employed in the embellishments to add harmonic interest and spice.

As described above, the harmonic “twist” is that the tumbao rhythm generally dictates that chord changes are anticipated or pushed to occur immediately before beat 1 (specifically, on beat 4 in cut time, or the “and” of beat 4 in “normal” non-cut time).

SONIC:

This type of bass line usually benefits from a warmer, thicker tone that emulates an upright bass. For this reason, experienced Latin bassists will typically move up the neck (rather than ascend to a higher, lighter-gauge string) in order to keep playing the groove on the heavier strings.

GENERAL:

I really dig the tumbao, because it’s something that not only is a lot of fun to play and is musically hip...but is also something that can be incorporated fairly intuitively into the palette of most bass players. It feels right, and (unlike some other grooves in Latin music) it’s a little more easily assimilated without necessitating weeks/months/years of hard study!

As with many musical styles, it is extremely valuable to listen to the masters and glean from them. This is particularly true of Latin music, especially for assimilating that time elasticity mentioned above.