Cowbell (Part 1)

The cowbell is an integral part to Cuban music and is one of the easiest percussion instruments to learn how to play. For beginner salsa students it is often the key factor that lets them find the beat in the song as cowbell patterns are among the easiest rhythmic patterns to recognise in salsa songs provided they are clearly audible. Although some players like Tito Puente create more complex patterns by playing on several bells to create melodies and polyrhythms.

Cowbells are usually referred to as “campana” in Latin America although other names may also be found to describe them such as “cencerro”. Due to its simplicity there is rarely one band member designated to playing only the cowbell and in practice it is usually the bongo player playing the cowbell as well. In this situation the bongo player is often referred to as a “bongocerro” a portmanteau combining the words bongo and cencerro.

Cowbells are usually made out of steel, copper, brass or bronze and come with a wooden stick to strike them with. Cowbells are usually 10 – 20 centimetres long although they can be longer. In Cuba cowbells are often played individually but they can also be mounted to drum kits, timbales or any other percussive instruments. As such their sizes and models are often referred to by the percussive instrument they are attached to or the other instruments their player alternates them with i.e. “bongo bell”, timbale bell”.

Cowbells are hollow inside and closed off at the top while open at the bottom giving them the shape of a rounded pyramid. The opening at the bottom is usually called “the mouth” of the cowbell and is usually rectangular shaped. The widest face of a cowbell is usually called “the flat” and is the area that is usually hit by the beater.

While some artists can produce various sounds from cowbells, generally speaking three sounds are distinguished. a soft and dry sound produced by a stroke with the tip of the stick on the flat, a loud sound produced by the shaft of the stick hitting the flat and finally a stroke with the shaft on the edge of the mouth which is usually the loudest sound.

Confusion (Part 6)

It is the nature of occupying one role within dance that can quickly result in a certain type of tunnel vision where leaders and followers focus almost exclusively on themselves. This is not necessarily because they are selfish in terms of their personality or they want to show off their dancing skills but rather it is often the fact that the way they have learned to dance focuses on each role in isolation. I.e. attending almost any dance class for leaders usually amounts to something like “last week we learned move number 22 whereas this week we will learn move number 23” which quickly creates the perception for leaders that the more moves they do social dancing the better they are as leaders. Similarly, there is a sheer endless amount of “lady styling” classes and workshops which can certainly be a way to make any dance more challenging and aesthetic and is often something followers will approach with the same attitude as leaders looking for the next move they can learn. Maybe one of the most surprising discoveries that leaders make when starting to follow is that executing one move after another does in no way feel as good to followers as it seems and it certainly is not even half as impressive for them as leaders would like it to be. In fact a lot of the most impressive moves for leaders are actually quite boring from a followers perspective and often restricts them completely so that they can scarcely express themselves. Similarly, when followers start to lead, they discover quickly that over-styling can be a hindrance to leading which can become annoying rather than enhancing the dance. 

These are just two factors that very commonly get misjudged by leaders and followers alike but there are many more examples where the perception of what a role entails or how certain moves feel the other way around is completely different than the reality. No matter how considerate one may be as a dancer this difference in perception is almost impossible to resolve from the side-lines and the only way to truly understand how to dance better with somebody is by trying out their role even just for a short while. I personally remember how I used to think that many followers would get dizzy and find the dance less enjoyable if I made them do too many turns in succession so I avoided sequences involving Vueltas, Vacilalas and Coca Colas. When I started following I was horrified to find out that Tornillos, one of my favourite category of moves, was actually much worse in many ways to most followers not because they were spinning around themselves but because they were slowly spinning around me which prevented them from spotting. It is these type of discoveries that fundamentally changed my attitude and allowed me to become a much more considerate dancer and I truly believe that anyone trying out both roles in dancing will have a similar experience.

Pilón (Part 1)

A few weeks ago we introduced the basic steps of Pilón in our most advanced Cuban salsa class that we currently run in Leeds. Even though this dance form is often seen in Ruedas (i.e. Enchufla con Pilón) and many workshops contain elements of Pilón in their warm-ups it is rarely discussed and taught separately, and many dancers are confused on how this dance relates to Cuban salsa.

Like most Cuban dance forms, it is a standalone dance that can be learned, taught and danced independently of salsa. However, it has influenced salsa in a myriad of ways such that most non-Cubans only hear about it by trying to add new elements into the way they dance salsa. Pilón is not only a dance style but also a musical form which is often attributed to Pacho Alonso y sus Bocucos particularly following the success of their famous song "Rico Pilón". However, the first Pilon (“El Bajo KunKún) was created by Enrique Bonne. The dance and music were named after the town Pilón in the Granma province of Cuba.

Little is known around the origin of the dance but legend has it that it was born in the coffee or sugar plantations with the dance gestures simulating a mortar pounding coffee or crushing sugar cane. The name Pilón for the music and dance style is borrowed from the mortar which is to this day known as a Pilón in rural areas of Cuba. The dance originated in Cuba in the late 1950’s and contains some Iyesà dance elements. Pilón as a rhythm became very popular in Cuba around 1965 particularly in the carnivals of Santiago de Cuba and reached its peak in the late 1970s.

In Pilón as a dance there is one basic step which is confusingly sometimes itself referred to as Pilón. The dance is usually danced separately but can also be performed in a group of dancers so the concept of leader and follower is not quite the same as observed in Casino dancing for example and everyone will start their basic step on their right foot. However, dancers will still make connections with other dancers by eye contact and mirroring each other’s movements so this can still be perceived as a couple dance.