Function Elements – Music
Functional elements describe what the band, and above all the rhythm section, is doing at a given moment: which groove it plays, when it changes and how it gets from one groove to the next. They make every performance different, even when the song stays the same.
The elements
- Gears
According to Kevin Moore, a gear is a specific, rehearsed rhythm-section orchestration: what the conga, the bells, the bass and the piano play together. A timba band has several and switches between them on a cue from the singer or bandleader. Such…
- Gear changes
Gear changes in timba: the moment the percussionists and the bassist switch patterns together, cued by the singer or bandleader.
- Breaks & transitions
A break is a short rhythmic figure played by (part of) the band that interrupts a running gear or links two gears together. Kevin Moore calls such a figure an efecto; other names are bloque, break, punches and cierre.
- Solos in Timba
In timba (a Cuban popular music genre that grew out of son cubano, salsa, jazz, and funk), solos are one of the most exciting parts of the performance.
- Descarga
A descarga ("discharge", "unloading") is an open, improvised part of the song: the band holds a simple, energetic groove and the soloists take over. Unlike presión, masacote or bomba it is not defined by which instruments drop out, but by its…
How they relate
A gear is a rehearsed combination of piano, bass and percussion parts. In a gear change the percussionists and the bassist switch patterns together, on a cue from the singer or bandleader: a hand signal, or a call such as "¡bomba!". Short breaks (efectos, bloques, pares) interrupt a gear or link two gears. Solos and the descarga give the musicians room to improvise over a simple groove.
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