{"id":6714,"date":"2023-09-04T21:26:30","date_gmt":"2023-09-04T21:26:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pianosalsa.com\/?p=6714"},"modified":"2023-09-20T17:05:33","modified_gmt":"2023-09-20T17:05:33","slug":"el-sabor-y-la-tradicion-de-los-montunos-al-piano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pianosalsa.com\/en\/el-sabor-y-la-tradicion-de-los-montunos-al-piano\/","title":{"rendered":"Has the piano ever wanted to replace the \u201ctres\u201d in Cuban music?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Spanish influence in Cuban music, and Afro-Latin music (including all the Caribbean countries), was contributed by the Spanish guitar, as well as the bongos that arrived from North Africa, the maracas (one of the few native indigenous instruments), and a type of guitar imported by immigrants from the Canary Islands, which had 3 double strings called \u201cTimple\u201d. There is also \u201cEl Cuatro\u201d from Puerto Rico, and \u201cEl Cuatro\u201d from Venezuela, \u201cEl Charango\u201d from the Andes, as well as \u201cEl Tiple\u201d in Colombia. They all have similar sounds, but they are not the same. Surely the grandfather of all these instruments was the \u201cSpanish Vihuela\u201d which was very popular in the\u00a0renaissance<\/em>\u00a0in Spain and Portugal around the 16th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEl Tres\u201d appeared in the rural areas of northern Cuba, and became popular from the end of the 19th century, using folkloric genres such as the Chang\u00fc\u00ed<\/em> and the They are<\/em> whose roots come from the Nengon<\/em> and the Kirib\u00e1<\/em> of Baracoa, among others. There are references of this instrument in the \u201ccampaign diaries\u201d since 1868, in the wars of independence where they were celebrated in the fields of Cuba \u201c...\".\u201cpeasant gatherings<\/em>\u201dwhich was used to entertain the women who were troops<\/em> mambisas<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is basically a modified guitar with six strings divided into three double lines. Some ethnologists argue that this instrument is not a Cuban invention but already existed in medieval Spain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is important to recognize the importance of this instrument in order to understand the function of the piano in salsa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its beginnings date back to 1816 when the French pianist Juan Federico Edelmann, considered the \u201cfather of pianistics in Cuba\u201d, inaugurated the Santa Cecilia Academy. During those first decades of the 19th century, pianists of Italian and Spanish origin settled in the country and, although they were not professionals, they excelled and devoted themselves to pedagogy. Some taught in that institution and others taught informally in their residences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The piano in its beginnings tried to imitate the rhythmic figures and guajeos of the tres, but little by little it evolved by adding melodic lines with 2 voices, arpeggios and block chords, as well as octaves and an endless number of rhythmic and harmonic possibilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around 1920 in Cuba popular music was formed by sextets that had: tres, guitar, double bass, bongos, and two singers who played maracas and claves. Later the septet appeared and added the trumpet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was probably Arsenio Rodr\u00edguez who first recorded a new format in the 1940s that included piano and congas, as well as multiple trumpets. Creating a new format called typical set<\/em>. This is the first time that the piano begins to form part of the groups and ensembles that interpret Cuban rhythms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Playing complete chords with several voices was not easy for a three<\/em>, The piano gained prominence for its countless possibilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While all this was going on, the piano was already a very popular and fundamental instrument in the Big bands<\/em> jazz in the United States and was also beginning his foray into the tango<\/em> from Argentina. He was here to stay and to consolidate his position as the leader of the harmony and basic instrument for composition and arrangements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE FIRST PIANISTS in Cuban music<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n