Volume 11, December 2019
The Downbeat Bites the Dust: Learning and Teaching Bass Grooves in Cuban Popular Music

by Sarah Lahasky

Volume 11 of the OJBR presents The Downbeat Bites the Dust: Learning and Teaching Bass Grooves in Cuban Popular Music by Sarah Lahasky.

Abstract: Bass lines in Cuban popular dance music are often difficult to conceptualize from the Western classically-trained perspective due to the bass grooves' common avoidance of the downbeat. This paper analyzes these challenges of learning popular Cuban bass styles from outside of Cuba. The first section discusses the danzón, the son, and timba, three important Cuban dance music genres. By situating the styles in an historical and social context, it is easier to understand how popular Cuban bass lines have developed on the island throughout the last century. The second section provides an overview of existing method books for learning and teaching Cuban popular music to Western classically-trained bassists. It also explains pedagogical techniques and spaces of popular music training in Cuba. Through the use of both historical documentation and ethnographic data collected in Havana in June of 2018, this paper ultimately aims to provide an initial point of departure for the Western classically-trained outsider to learn and understand the role of the bass in popular Cuban dance music from afar.

1. Introduction

2. Danzón

3. Son

4. Timba

5. Musical Education and Pedagogy in Cuba

6. For the Western Classically-Trained Bassist

7. Conclusion

References

Endnotes