ChaChaCha Groove

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The ChaCha is one of the latin grooves that became popular during the 40s-50s. When performed in a latin band setting, it required 4 percussionists: 1. the timbalero playing the cowbell, clave, and timbales, 2. congero,  3) guiro player, and optional bongocero. It is a simple 4/4 two bar groove played at a typical tempo of quarter note = 120. The clave is  3-2 (3 beats in the 1st bar and 2 beats in the second bar.

Here are some basic things to consider when playing this groove. The cowbell drive the tempo on the chacha or quarter note bell. The congero needs to know his basic handing to get the slaps, open notes, and heel-toe action. The Guiro player needs to have that “swing” by driving those 1 & 3 beats.

The basic percussion groove sounds like:

 Basic percussion section 

 Add Vibes and bass to percussion section

NOTE: I will add a percussion section sheet music later.

   The above basic percussion loop is part of a Latin loop CD (World Beat Cafe) available through M-Audio. Click on the M-Audio icon to the left to get more information.

 

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