Latin American Music Review, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Autumn - Winter, 1985, pp.

249-261), University of Texas Press

Peter Manuel The Anticipated Bass in

Cuban Popular Music

The anticipated bass is perhaps the single

most distinctive feature of Afro-Cuban popular music, and its origin is
unique to that set of genres and their derivatives. The typical bass line
pattern "|I:J. J. J 4[ is remarkablenot only for its silent (or tied) down-
beat, but also for the manner in which the final note of the bar antici-
pates the harmony of the following bar, for example:

Ex. 1

-
4I 1 1s a SI
L144iA- AI I
- sSO nO nT Lt u-( A Ja-
oA

.J~r ~trE.r Fr*r Q0irr'

(-J .
? ?
iv r
250 : PeterManuel

This paper attempts to trace the evolution of the anticipated bass from
European and Afro-Cuban sources and examines the function of the
anticipated bass in the context of the salsa/son ensemble.

European-Derived Sources

Although it may ultimately be impossible to explain why a given rhythmic

pattern may come to predominate in a genre, the development of the
anticipated bass can be seen as incipient in the characteristic isorhythms
both of European- and African-derived Cuban forms of the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries. The contradanzahabanera(or, more simply, the
habanera)was the first influential Cuban genre of European derivation.
The evolution of the form has been traced (Carpentier 1979:62-64,
125-130) from the English country dance and later the French contre-
danse as practiced in Haiti in the eighteenth century. Black and French
refugees from the Haitian revolution (1798-1801) popularized the form
in Santiago, Cuba, and by 1803 its Cuban variety, the habanera,had
been diffused throughout Cuba. Carpentier (1979:62) believes that the
genre, distinguished by its suave, romantic melodies and, especially,
its recurring isorhythm Jf nj , was patronized by lower as well as
upper- and middle-class audiences, although its European and predomi-
nantly bourgeois origin is obvious.
It has been illustrated that the tango may have evolved from the habanera
as practiced in Spain (Vega 1936:237ff.). One can with equal certainty
posit the evolutionary relationship between the Cuban boleroand the
habanera;aside from the ethnic, class, and stylistic affinities of the two
genres, a simple omission of the sixteenth note in the habanerarhythm
(and a doubling of time values) affords the bolerobass pattern: dJ J
The similarities of the two genres are made particularly clear by the
frequent reintroduction of the elided sixteenth note-and, thereby, the
habanerarhythm-into the bolero.
To the extent that the sixteenth note is treated as an unstressed (i.e.,
dynamically) and unaccented (in terms of bar placement) upbeat of an
iamb,2 its omission in the bolerorhythm is a natural development.

habaneraisorhythm:

Ex.2 n
._L

Conversely, stressing the sixteenth note would render the note pair
 AnticipatedBass in Cuban Popular Music : 251

trochaic rather than iambic, such that the second eighth note would
become dispensable. Carpentier (1979:142) illustrates how in the nine-
teenth-century habanera"Tu Madre es Conga" the elision of the second
eighth note on alternate bars affords the 3 + 3 + 2 syncopation so
characteristic (although not exclusively so) of African-derived rhythms
and occasionally referred to in the Cuban context as the tresillo. The
treatment of the habanerabass thus foreshadows the anticipated bass pat-
tern insofar as the latter can be regarded as a 3 + 3 + 2 bass pattern
with the first beat tied or elided.

Ex. 3

bolero: J7n n JJJ

tresillo:

Accordingly, as Carpentier notes, the introduction of the tresillorhythm

into the habaneraand the "obsessive" repetition of a given isorhythm in
habaneraswith titles suggesting African or slave affinities (e.g., "Tu
Madre . . .") reflect an increasing African influence on some habaneras
in the nineteenth century.
A more important and direct precursor of the anticipated bass pattern
is the five-note cinquillo isorhythm: JJJI= , which pervades the
danzon, a Cuban genre for social dance popular from the 1870s on. The
cinquillo itself is a central rhythm in various Caribbean genres (e.g.,
calypso and the Haitian meringue),3and is common, albeit at extremely
fast tempo ( = ca. 140) in drum music accompanying voodoo festivals).4
The danzon, with its predominantly European salon instrumentation,
rondo-like formal structure (usually ABACAD), and ballroom-style ac-
companying dance, was clearly Hispanic petty bourgeois in its class
orientation, but the genre became increasingly Africanized as, around
the turn of the century, African and Hispanic musical (and cultural)
elements began to merge in the son and danzon. Black danzon bands be-
came known for their tendency to syncopate and intensify the otherwise
genteel and restrained danzdn rhythms (Roberts 1979:5) and for their
frequent addition of an Africanized rumba- or chachachc-style coda at the
end of the danzon.
A characteristic syncopation introduced in the danzon was the con-
version of the cinquillo into the tresillo isorhythm. Typically, the cinquillo
252 : PeterManuel

might be repeated on a guiro (gourd scraper) or timbales(tom-toms) while

the bass played a 3 + 3 + 2 tresillo isorhythm.5 The simplification of
the cinquillo-itself comprising a downbeat followed by two iambs-into
the tresillowas a natural development involving merely the omission of
the unstressed upbeats (marked " " below) of the iambs.

Ex. 4

cinquillo: J J^, 1r -v 1

tresilo: J J J
OR. J. JJ 3

Afro-Cuban Sources

The seminal tresillo rhythm which had infiltrated the European-derived

habaneraand, more conspicuously, the danzdn, also predominated in the
genre which was to exert a crucial Afro-Cuban influence upon the son
and salsa, namely, the rumbaguaguanco. The traditional rumba, which was
flourishing among Cuban blacks by the late nineteenth century, was a
secular music and dance genre featuring vocals (lead singer and chorus)
accompanied by percussion instruments. A basic composite rhythmic
pattern played on the cascara(side of drum), the clave (pair of hardwood
sticks struck together), and the segunda and tumba drums would be re-
iterated for the duration of the piece, which might last over twenty
minutes.6 Of the various types of rumba, the guaguancowas the most in-
fluential, as its more westernized successors, son and salsa, have incor-
porated and retained its formal structure (introductory diana, litany-
like canto, and call-and-response montuno)and most of its basic rhythmic
patterns. The trademark of the guaguancois the drum pattern:

Ex. 5 |
 AnticipatedBass in Cuban Popular Music : 253

combined with the archetypal reverse "two-three" clave pattern (itself

referred to as "clave"):

Ex. 6

41 J) . J. JI

The reader will note that both of these patterns can be seen as two-bar
isorhythms, each incorporating, in one bar, the 3 + 3 + 2 syncopation
and each alternating an "open" (i.e., unstressed) downbeat with a
"closed" (stressed) downbeat.
While the clave, in its reverse "two-three" or simple "three-two"
forms, may be of West African origin, its simple and effective call-and-
response structure has led to its adoption as a structural isorhythm not
only in Cuban forms but in many rhythm-and-blues songs as well.7 In
son and salsa, the clave is regarded as a fundamental pattern even when
it may not be actually realized in performance.8
Thus, by 1910 the tresillobass was incorporated in two of the most
influential Cuban musical forms, the European-derived danzon and the
Afro-Cuban rumbaguaguanco, as well as the son, which combined Euro-
pean- and African-derived features. The remaining step in the evolution
of the standard anticipated bass pattern was the omission, in performing
the pattern on the bass, of the downbeat.
Sanchez de Fuentes discusses precursors of the anticipated bass pat-
tern in the Cuban zapateo (1923:47-48) and bolero(1923:79) and notes
the tendency for early Cuban sones to anticipate and thereby weaken the
downbeat, and he offers the following excerpt as an illustration of this
phenomenon (1923:73):

Ex. 7

Oe Ru,-eA OtB. U- BA 4jvS VA- MO. .u- ' Rft5 Co. iW- eA

In the 3 + 3 + 2 bass pattern which characterized the son of the early

twentieth century, one may note a similar tendency to anticipate the
harmony of the succeeding bar, thereby rendering somewhat superfluous
254 : PeterManuel

the actual reiteration of that note on the first beat of the following bar.
This phenomenon is manifest in the following excerpt from a typical
son of the early 1930s.9 Note how the bass plays the tonic Bb on the final
beat of the bar preceding that chord:

Ex. 8

t A J..1/ Vj J . j.J["J .
J -jJ.
b "* fly dj )*
) c.

The final step in the evolution of the anticipated bass-the actual

omission of the downbeat-was foreshadowed in the guaguancodrum
pattern notated above and, in particular, in the conspicuous three-beat
rest following the quarter note concluding the first bar; this beat itself
receives a degree of iambic stress in its role of "answer" or consequent
to the antecedent "call" of the first iamb.

Ex. 9

4 JIl:J' J' Jl-= J 11

ItI -

This structural pause is retained in the anticipated bass pattern, which,

while incipient in the son of the 1930s, became standard in the guaracha
and mamboin the early 1940s.?1 In the standard anticipated bass pattern,
the iambic structure is intensified by treating the first note in the pattern
(labeled A in examples 1 and 11) as a weak anacrusis, usually an upper
or lower leading tone (as in example 1 above).

The Anticipated Bass in the Context

of Salsa and the Modern Son

The peculiarity of the bass pattern in such examples is that the stressed
downbeat of the iamb-which is indeed the only structurally important
bass note-falls on the unaccented fourth beat of the measure, while the
accented first beat is left unstressed. To some extent, this apparent
 AnticipatedBass in Cuban Popular Music : 255

anomaly is mitigated by the cencerro(cowbell), piano, and choral vocal

patterns, which normally do stress the first beat of alternate measures.
(Swing rhythm functions in a somewhat similar fashion, with the roles
reversed: the regular stressing of downbeats by the bass and cymbal
frees the other instruments to stress upbeats and avoid the downbeats.)
But the deliberate avoidance of the downbeat also lends the rhythm a
unique flow and momentum which make it ideal for the supple and
fluid salsa dance style. The anticipated position of the bass note-and,
for example, the momentary dissonance between it and the harmony
played by the other instruments (e.g., bass A versus piano G# at B in
example 1 above)-can be said to create a tension and a desire for the
corresponding harmony of the next bar. At the same time, the weak
stressing of the downbeat, when it does arrive, undermines its potentially
cadential effect, such that the rhythm in effect "rides over" the down-
beat. This effect is enhanced by the staggered anticipation of the typical
piano ostinato as it reaches the chord tone of the second bar half a beat
before the arrival of that bar.
The effect, then, is entirely different from that of, say, disco rhythm,
where the heavy stress on the fourth beat of the bar creates a highly
cadential result, rendering the rhythm a series of relatively static, dis-
crete, closed one-bar cadences. The contrast between the two rhythms
is paralleled by their respective dance styles, particularly the exaggerated
hip thrusts of disco as opposed to the fluid rumba style, wherein the
shoulders, head, and torso remain relatively still and upright while the
hips sway rapidly.
In the modern son or salsa format, the atavistic role of the African
time line is shared by the clave and, equally importantly, by the cowbell,
whose clear tone cuts through the layers of percussive sound in the en-
semble. An analysis of seventy typical up-tempo (i.e., J > 160)11 salsa
and charanga(Afro-Cuban ensemble dominated by violins and flute)
songs revealed cencerropatterns (played on the cowbell attached to the
timbales stand) in 60 percent of these to conform to the rhythm below,
or slight variations thereof:

Ex. 10

Like the guaguancodrum pattern (and the "three-two" clave), this rhythm
is a two-bar "closed-open" pattern stressing the downbeat of the first bar
256 : PeterManuel

while eliding the second.12 In the same sample of songs, two-bar (or
occasionally four-bar) "closed-open" format is employed not only in 89
percent of the repeated piano ostinati played during the montunosections,
but also in 65 percent of the vocal choruses sung during the montunos.
Note how in each pair of measures in the following excerpt (as well as in
example 1 above) the piano, cowbell, and in alternate pairs the vocal
chorus all stress the downbeat of the first bar and elide that of the second
bar; note also how the piano ostinato bears some resemblance to the
cowbell pattern in rhythm'3 (example 11). In 11 percent of songs in the
sample, the bass pattern reinforces this two-bar structure14 (example 12).
The fact that the piano, cowbell, and often the chorus and bass estab-
lish two-bar structures suggests that these structures might be better re-
garded as "time spans"-in the African sense of a pattern spanning
the time line-than as two bars of western-style metric division. Cor-
respondingly, one could question whether the initial beat in the western
notation really functions as a predominant downbeat when other struc-
tural stresses-especially the bass-elide it. In other words, does, for
example, the bass player feel his pattern as fundamental, as stressing the
downbeat against a syncopated accompaniment, or does he perceive his
pattern as a syncopated structure within the 4/4 meter notated? Evidence
supporting the latter perception would include the standard tradition of
notating salsa and son charts in western 4/4 notation (as in the transcrip-
tions in this article) and the absence, in typical 4/4 salsa songs, of the
sort of pronounced polymeters (e.g., 3/4 versus 6/8) that characterize
much of African and Afro-Latin music (e.g., Columbian currulao).Son
rhythm itself, then, can be seen as a synthesis of African-derived and
western approaches to rhythm.
It may be of interest to note at this point how the Cuban anticipated
bass has infiltrated various other popular Latin genres, such as the cum-
bia of Colombia and the Dominican merengue.It is not uncommon today
in the latter portion of a cumbia for the bass player to forsake the arche-
typal cumbia pattern 11:J J j :11for an anticipated bass rhythm."5 Similar-
ly, the anticipated bass frequently replaces the traditionally stressed
downbeats of the Dominican merengue(a dance/music form in fast 2/4).16
Finally, the anticipated bass is firmly entrenched not only in sones played
in salsa style, but also appears in the Puerto Rican guaracha, nueva can-
cion (modern politically progressive folksong), andjibaro (rural Hispanic-
derived forms like the seis).'7 Thus, while the U.S. State Department
and Central Intelligence Agency may claim some success in diplomati-
cally and economically isolating revolutionary Cuba from its neighbors,
Cuban rhythms have had considerable success in subverting indigenous
popular rhythms in various parts of Latin America.
Ex. 11

LP: f -I .J
-iJ:.01-J j.
P2JO - T I--

4d-
4/l
- ff QU

7-J. J | Ijt J 1 J Ij. Ji J

%?:J n Jl-nI>J
I JIrJn n), n \ I)JJ,
co,- . J JTJOl;nl )n 1JTJ JX1J>
 R -s
- E

t=

- -Q
--W

-s
-^/
C=
CZ - E
r

.
'P

t=cg

CZ

-t

--
r
t_ <

-4 I

rt ^^_

_ ,>

x-
 AnticipatedBass in Cuban PopularMusic : 259

Conclusions
In the twentieth century the Cuban son synthesized African and Euro-
pean musical elements to a degree unprecedented in Cuban musical
history, where derivations and orientations of previous genres had been
easily classifiable into European (e.g., danzon, guajira) or African (e.g.,
rumba, music of the santer'acult) categories. Salsa and the son-from the
Sexteto Habanero sound of the 1920s to the horn-dominated ensemble of
Arsenio Rodriguezl8-incorporated, on the one hand, the formal struc-
ture, basic rhythms, and percussion instruments of the rumbaand, on the
other, European chordophones, aerophones, and functional harmony.
Accordingly, the single most distinctive feature of the son-its anticipated
bass-was itself a natural development of tendencies inherent in the
rhythms both of the rumbaguaguanco and the Europeanized habaneraand
danzon. The efficacy of the synthesis of its development and of its function
in the sonlsalsa context is manifest not only in its spread to other Latin
American genres but also in the extent to which the son has become per-
ceived and heralded as a Cuban national genre whose popularity is not
limited to any single class or race.

Notes

1. See, for example, the bridge section of Arsenio Rodriguez' "Com-

prendo que tu Sufres" (Ansonia ALP 1337:A, 3).
2. As in the passage in the recording cited above, where the inserted
note is invariably an upper or lower leading tone to its successor.
See Meyer (1956:102ff.) for an introduction to the type of rhythmic
analysis employed here.
3. Note, for example, the cinquillo in the melody of the familiar "Yellow
Bird" (also sung in Creole as a Haitian meringueon Monitor MFS
355).
4. See, for example, "Banda" and "Petro" on VoodooTranceMusic.
Ritual Drums of Haiti (Lyrichord LLST 7279:A, 3 and 4).
5. See, for example, "Pensamiento" on Danzones de Cuba (Areito LD-
3307:A,2).
6. See Crook (1982) for an analysis of the traditional rumbaguaguanco'.
7. For example, the Rolling Stones' "Not Fade Away."
8. Audiences at salsa concerts often spontaneously clap the clave pattern.
9. Septeto Nacional's "Sutileza" on Black Music of Two Worlds (Folk-
ways FE 4602).
260 : Peter Manuel

10. Personal communication with Theodore Beardsley. See Roberts

(1979:226, 228) for a discussion of the guarachaand mambo.
11. In slower tempo chachachdsand son montunos(e.g., J = ca. 120),
different cowbell and bass patterns may be employed in which the
bass frequently stresses the downbeats. Recordings used in the sample
included those, among others, of Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente,
Charlie Rodriguez, Bobby Rodriguez, El Gran Combo, Orquesta
Aragon, Johnny Pacheco, Rafael Cortijo, and Oscar d'Leon.
12. Because the second measure iambically anticipates the downbeat of
the first measure, the pattern is better regarded as ending with the
first note of the first bar rather than commencing with it (just as a
gamelan gong-cycle progresses toward the gong rather than away
from it), such that the cadential groupings would be better described
as "open-closed," as shown below:

Ex. 13

H (j)J PD 7mj n M
IVV lI

Crook (1982:100) cites five other alternate rumbapatterns sometimes

played by the palitos (drum sticks) on the cascara;all of these patterns
are only occasionally encountered in modern salsa contexts, perhaps
because, with one exception, they stress both downbeats of the two
measures involved and therefore lack the "open-closed" structure of
the standard pattern given above.
13. Source is Coco CLP-109XX (Eddie Palmieri).
14. Source is EGG LPS 002 (El Gran Combo).
15. See, for example, Toboga TLP 601 Serie 0788:A,2. J = ca. 180 in
most cumbias.
16. See, for example, Lyrichord LLST 7351:A, 1.
17. See, for example, the guarachaon Rounder 5003:B,9 and modern
stylized versions of the seis by nueva cancion artists like Roy Brown
(DISCOS LARA YARI DM 8915:B,3).
18. See Singer and Friedman (1977) for a brief summary of the evolu-
tion of the son.
 AnticipatedBass in Cuban PopularMusic : 261

References Cited

Borbolla, Carlos
1980 "Cuba: Folk Music." The New GroveDictionary of Music
and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan.
Vol. 5, pp. 85-89.
Carpentier, Alejo
1979 La musica en Cuba. Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Economica
(reprint of the 1946 edition).
Crook, Larry
1982 "A Musical Analysis of the Cuban Rumba." Latin Ameri-
can Music Review 3, no. 1.
Meyer, Leonard
1956 Emotion and Meaning in Music. Chicago: University of Chi-
cago Press.
Roberts, John Storm
1979 The Latin Tinge. New York: Oxford University Press.
Sanchez de Fuentes, Eduardo
1923 El folk-lore en la musica cubana. Havana.
Singer, Roberta, and Robert Friedman
1977 "Puerto Rican and Cuban Musical Expression in New
York." Liner notes accompanying Caliente = Hot: Puerto
Rican and Cuban Musical Expression in New York(New World
244).
Vega, Carlos
1936 Danzas y cancionesargentinas. Teorias e investigaciones.Buenos
Aires.