In Cuba, a variety of genres of music have been established and are both

influenced by and influence societies throughout the world like with most genres. With the
age of radio broadcasting, this transfer of music across to various continents was achieved.
For this research paper, focused will be given to a particular genre of music popular in Cuba
known as Son. Son is a word of Spanish origin translating to English as rhythm and has been
the foundation for many new genres of music in Cuba.
Before Son can be expanded upon, its origins must first be known. In the late 1700s, Cuba was
known as the largest producer of sugar with Haiti being its predecessor. With this, a large
quantity of laborers would be needed. Within the next 40 years spanning from early to mid
1800s, over 200 000 African slaves were brought to Cuba against their will to work on
plantations. Work conditions were harsh and during the season of sugar harvest, many slaves
were worked to their last breath and were easily replaced by another. During the less busy
season, slaves were allowed to cultivate crops crucial to their survival but more importantly
as it pertains to their spiritual development, practice their religion. With the importation of
slaves from various parts of Africa and the Spanish plantation owns a syncretism of religion
occurred where the Ifa religion of Africans from Benin, Southwestern Nigeria and Togo is
combined with the Roman Catholicism of the Spaniards. This commenced the creation of a
new religion called Santeria that is Spanish for Way of the Saints (this religion is also called
Regla de Ocha, La Regla Lucumi or Lucumi). Attempts were made at first to completely
convert the Africans to Catholicism but they revolted against this decision, as it did not
provide them with sufficient religious fulfillment. In the Santeria religion, Orishas of the Ifa
religion are paralleled to Saints in the Catholic tradition for example Eleggua becomes St.
Anthony. Also linked to this religion is the strong use of drums for religion festivals to please
the various orishas. Sacred drums known as the bata drums are used and belong to a specific
group of drums known as talking drums that mimic the sound of human speech due to the

variety of tones they are able to produce around the human range of speech. This religion was
kept secret for many centuries with practices and rituals not made known to outsiders. In
their religion, one has to be initiated into the faith before information is made known openly.
In the latter portion of the 1800s a new style of music was defined as the slaves were already
performing music during their breaks and in the field. This form is the predecessor of the Son
and the Changui (another form of Cuban music very similar to the Son but does not contain a
clave) called the Nengon. The Nengon can be identified by its constant alteration of melody
between the singer and the chorus and is considered to be the Father of Son. Nengon also has
a very distinct instrument called la tumbandera which can be described as a very primitive
instrument where a tree is pulled down and tied by a rope forming an arch while the other
end is then tied to a rock in a hole pulling the string tight fulfilling the function of a contra
bass. La tumbandera was later replaced by the marimbula due to portability and convenience
then years later by the upright bass. Early instrumentation included:

The Cuban tres- A 3 stringed Cuban guitar mainly used to play melodic lines that are

very syncopated (the montuno) and function was considered to be heavily rhythmical. The
Cuban tres rarely strummed chords.

La marimbula- A large wooden box with metal fingers which are struck to produce

tones of varying pitches. This instrument can be tuned and therefore both possess a rhythmic
and harmonic function.

Bongos- Two small drums strapped together tuned at different pitches used to play

complex rhythmic motifs providing stability to the music

Guayo- Known in English as a scratcher, it is either shaped like a grater or has an oval

shape with ridges that is rubbed with the stick or a metal-toothed utensil.

Maracas- two ball shaped percussion instruments with beads inside and a handle with

one usually pitched high and the other low. Maracas are usually played in pairs and are shook
to produce sound.

Clave- Two short dowels sometimes carved out to amplify sound which are struck

against each other.

The illustration above shows an example of a modern day Nengon ensemble that is very
similar to the Changui shown below in terms of instrumentation but the Changui more
syncopated rhythmically and doesnt use the clave.

The Changui is not only the predecessor of the Nengon but it is a mix of the Nengon and Kiriba
music (like the Nengon, the Kiriba is identified by its constant exchange of verses between
soloist and chorus with improvised verses as well as ones known before). Both the Changui
and the Kiriba come out of the same region of Baracoa in Cuba. The Son however, is not tied to
the Kiriba and was a result of the Nengon evolving on its own. As this growth took place,
another form of music the Danzon took over Cuba, as its the most popular form with
influence from the English Contradanse, a form of dance music originating in the 17th Century
called the Contradanza in Cuban. This stemmed out of the migration of Haitian and French
colonist from Haiti after the Haitian revolution. With them came the Contradanse that is an
acculturation between the Europeans and Cubans then evolved into the Danzon.
As the Danzon grew in popularity in Cuba in the 19th Century, the Son also took shape
and was being noticed around this time. The Sons popularity grew without taking away from
the Danzon. The Danzon mainly incorporated the use of brass instruments and European
instruments such as the violin, flute, cello, piano and so on but with the rise of Son, African
instruments were brought into the mix and changed the dance music scene in Cuba. Unlike the
Danzon which was Nationally accepted being listened and danced to by all classes, the Son
because of its African origins started off as a low class form of music. Son being one of the first
Afro-Cuban genres to gain popularity initially was performed by a septet of Cuban tres, clave,
bongos, maracas, guitar, bass and vocalist with one or two of the instrumentalist doubling up
as vocalist as well. The defining distinction of Son that has changed the atmosphere of Cuban
is the clave.
With roots in Africa, the clave was originally a bell pattern found in Sub-Saharan African.
Like most music of the region, the clave rhythm was in a triple meter and can be divided into
two sides: the three side and the two side where three accented notes were played in one bar
and two in the other (the pattern can also be reversed). The bell pattern did not initially start

off with just three notes and two notes but with unaccented notes in between to fill the space
in the rhythm. Below is an example of an African bell pattern in 12/8 where the first, second
third notes would be accented forming the three side of the pattern and the 5th and 6th notes
forming the two side of the bell pattern. The other notes can be seen as embellishment as
these bell patterns were played in festivals and improvisations done around the bell pattern
form.

With the importation of slaves to Cuba, the Afro-Cuban blend of European and African sounds
began to mix and this clave changed with it. It was no longer only viewed in 12/8 but also in
2/4 as well.

SON
It is born in the eastern mountains of Cuba in the Nineteenth century. Agricultural workers, of both
African, Spanish and Cuban descent, in their breaks, used theirtaburetes wooden and goat leather
chairs, metal spoons and cups, and a bottle, to create their own music, the so called nengon, the father
of Son. The first known dance to Son is el baile de la Carolina, the Carolina dance. Carolina is a
mountain concave petal white and yellow flower that workers would place head down on the taburete, to
have it dance to their beat, and would shake, but not fall. Son brings together Spanish music guitar and
tres and African percussion. It has 2x 2 and 4 x 4 binary metrics. Its structure alternates verse and
chorus. All instruments involved in a son may improvise solos, specially the tres, the bongos, the
timbales and the trumpet. A deep bass sound repeats the metric accent. Rhythm, 3 x 2, is clearly marked
by the Cuban clave. Formats vary from trios to quartets, sextets, septets and full bands. Son styles
includeNengon, Son Montuno eastern rural areas Changui, Sucu Sucu,and Urban Son an
outstanding feature of this sophisticated style is the dialogue among instruments, or instruments and
voice, and the tumbao off the beat notes on the tonic and the dominant to enhance the melody. Among
the most historically known performers ofSon are Trio Matamoros, Benny More, Miguelito Valdes,
Chapotin, Arsenio Rodriguez, Abelardo Barroso and, among the most internationally known, from the
Vieja Trova Santiaguera, the Buena Vista Social Club, the AfroCuban All Stars and Soneros de Verdad,
are Ibrahim Ferrer, Compay Segundo, Eliades Ochoa, Manuel Puntillita Licea, Reynaldo Creagh,
Maracaibo and Luis Frank.

Plan:
Cuban Music: find a genre
Development: origin, history, instrumentation

Pinnacle figures

o
How society shaped it: specific historical events, socio-economic factors, political factors
How it shaped society: as above, dance, flim
World influence: immigration, globalization
Current influence: music, society
Future direction: how it may evolve

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