Salsa Cascara 2-3 drum pattern
A two-bar salsa groove in 2-3 son clave: the cáscara on the ride, the clave on cross-stick, the kick on the tumbao anticipations and the hi-hat foot on 2 and 4. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 180 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Salsa Cascara 2-3
Count it as: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & · two bars, two side first. The pattern is a 2-bar phrase in 4/4 (two-bar eighth-note cáscara in 2-3 son clave).
The Salsa Cascara 2-3 pattern, hit by hit
Each character is one step of the grid and each group is one beat. X is an accented hit, x a normal hit, o a quiet or ghost note and - a rest.
| Voice | Bar 1 | Bar 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Kick | -- -x -- x- | -- -x -- x- |
| Cross-stick | -- x- x- -- | X- -x -- x- |
| Pedal hat | -- o- -- o- | -- o- -- o- |
| Ride | x- x- xx -x | x- xx -x -x |
Tempo and feel
Driving but light. The clave never moves; the cáscara rides over it and the kick pushes the and of 2 and beat 4 like the bass. The default tempo is 180 BPM. Slow it down until every hit is controlled, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
How to practise the Salsa Cascara 2-3
Play the cáscara alone: 1, 2, 3, the and of 3 and the and of 4, then 1, 2, the and of 2, the and of 3 and the and of 4. Add the clave on cross-stick: 2 and 3, then 1, the and of 2 and 4. Add the kick on the and of 2 and on 4 in both bars, then the hi-hat foot on 2 and 4.
Variations to try next
Start on bar two to play it in 3-2. Move the cáscara to the closed hi-hat or the floor-tom shell. Drop the cross-stick and let the band carry the clave.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include New York salsa of the Fania era, verse sections and Timbale cáscara in Cuban and New York dance-band verses. A practice study of salsa verse timekeeping on the drum set in 2-3 son clave: bar one is the two side and bar two the three side. The right hand plays the cáscara, the pattern the timbalero plays on the shell of the timbales, here on the ride; on the two side it meets the clave on 2 and 3, and on the three side on 1 and the and of 2. The left hand plays the clave itself on cross-stick, and the kick plays the bass tumbao on the and of 2 and on 4, which on the three side lands with the clave's second and third strokes. The hi-hat foot on 2 and 4 is an informed kit choice; many players put the clave on a pedal jam block instead. The congas, bongó bell and piano montuno are left to the band. It is authored for practice, not transcribed.