clave Hear it!

clave¹ Definition

clave (klāv)

transitive verb, intransitive verb

Archaic cleave or cleave

clave² Definition

clave (klävā′)

noun

  1. either of a pair of cylindrical hardwood sticks that make a hollow sound when struck together, used as a percussion instrument in Latin music: usually used in pl.
  2. a syncopated rhythm pattern of alternating phrases of three and two beats, used in Latin dance music

clave Usage Examples

Possessives

beat: Once you've learned salsa's dance pattern to the tumbao moderno, aligning 4 of clave's 5 beats is fairly straight-forward.

Converse of object

  • play: Imagine your image playing the clave smoothly, effortlessly, accurately.
  • call: The fundamental element of the son is a rhythmic pattern called clave ( lit.
  • clap: Listen to the original song again and clapping clave, note how the singer accents and phrases the vocal to it.
  • obey: Clave A s yet the most robust criterion for defining a piece of music as salsa music is that it should obey the clave.
  • hear: Therefore hearing just one clave beat in any given bar of music will tell you which side you're in.

Adjective modifier

implied: So, having the same sensitivity to implied clave that a salsa musician has would be a handy little skill for a dancer.

Modifies a noun

  • rhythm: Establish the clave rhythm stream through the clapping of your hands.
  • orientation: Now let's proceed to get the feel of clave orientation deeper ingrained.
  • phrase: Putting clave phrases together end-to-end gives us the clave rhythm stream, right?
  • stream: Establish the clave rhythm stream through the clapping of your hands.
  • pattern: This clave pattern is tho to be the ancestor of the Cuban patterns.
  • tap: But we do not literally step to ALL the beats that the clave instrument taps out.

Noun used with modifier

  • son: Most of them will be son clave, so pick those.
  • rumba: Common keys are the son clave, rumba clave, samba clave and cua; all descended from the African key.