Masacote Gears – Music
In timba (a Cuban music style related to salsa, but with stronger influences from funk, Afro-Cuban rhythms and jazz), a "masacote" usually refers to a powerful, rhythmic burst in the music. It is a short, intense moment where the instrumentation — especially the rhythm section — becomes extra groovy, syncopated or funky.
Key points
- Piano: tumbao
- Bass: doesn't play or holds a pedal note, as in presión
- Conga (tumbadora): does play a marcha — the difference from presión
- Timbal: campana (bell)
- Other instruments: become more rhythmic; the horns often play bloques
- Dancing: expressive, improvised movement
Daniel Ponce Drums: Pt. 2 MASACOTE
- Hello, how are you? Welcome once again to the channel. I'm Daniel Ponce, and I hope
- you're all doing well. Today is the second of the three chapters in which
- we'll talk about presión, masacote and bomba in Cuban timba. Today we're going to talk
- about the masacote. The masacote is perhaps the hardest section to define, mainly
- because as a foreigner, as someone who isn't Cuban, I've come across different definitions over
- the years — and compared to the presión the differences are very subtle, so you can
- get confused very easily. One of the first definitions I found
- of the masacote defines it as the introduction of a new coro within the song,
- no matter whether it's the first, the third, and so on. As an example of this masacote we could
- take the song "Para ser cantante" by El Niño y la Verdad, honestly one of my favourite bands.
- It happens at 2:37, coming out of a contracampana; then the masacote enters and it goes to marcha arriba.
- Let's listen. Out of a contracampana, an obligado, the masacote comes in.
- Another way of referring to the masacote is when the bass and the piano play the same rhythmic
- and melodic figure and become more like rhythmic instruments. This definition of the
- masacote can be heard in the song "Consúmelo" by the group Timbalive, and it happens
- at around 2:50. Let's listen.
- And finally, the third way of defining it, the one I base myself on and the one I teach, and which,
- seen from a drummer's or percussionist's or rhythmic point of view, strikes me as the best definition.
- In this one the piano still has the leading role, and the bass can do the same as
- in the presión: not play, hold a pedal note, or just hint at the tumbao. But the
- biggest change comes in the percussion section. Usually the tumbadora, the conga, keeps
- playing a marcha, a different marcha from the one it was playing, a marcha with slaps or muted tones,
- closed tones, and so on. The timbales can add certain bells in there; the drum kit
- also keeps playing on the kick, the hi-hat and the snare, and in this masacote section
- it's very common to go into songo with bells. I have a couple of videos
- in which I explain some examples of songo with bells, and those examples work very well
- inside masacotes. Let's look at a first example of the masacote under this definition.
- This song is called "Resumen de los 90", by Alexander Abreu and Havana D'Primera,
- one of my favourite timba bands, I love them. The masacote happens at roughly
- 2:01, it comes out of a mambo, the masacote enters and it goes to marcha arriba. Let's listen.
- Let's look at a second example. This song is called "La abuela quiere coco" and it's by Alain
- Pérez, also one of my favourite timba artists. The song comes out of a danzón:
- the rhythm section is playing a danzón, then the masacote comes in and it goes to marcha
- arriba, and this happens at around 2:05. Let's listen.
- Just as we did with the presión, we're going to look at examples of masacote but with blocks
- or obligados. The first example is a song called "Aguapayamaya" by Elito Revé y su
- Charangón. It happens at around 2:30, coming out of a marcha arriba in which the
- rhythm section is playing a changüí; then the masacote enters and from there it goes back to a marcha
- arriba. Let's listen and analyse it. The masacote comes in with blocks: notice a bell in there and the
- conga's marcha with the blocks. The second example is by Pablo FG. This song is called
- "Sin etiqueta" and it happens at around 3:32. It comes out of a marcha arriba,
- the masacote comes in, and back to a marcha arriba. Let's listen.
- Finally, we're going to look at an example of a masacote, but coming out of a presión. This example
- is by Alain Pérez, the song is called "Sin luz y sin agua" and it happens at 3:38.
- This particular part of the song is very interesting, because a presión with blocks comes in,
- then the masacote, then a bomba, but we'll look at the bomba in the next chapter.
- Right now we'll only analyse the presión and the masacote. The presión comes in with blocks,
- then the masacote, because there we can hear the tumbadora and the bell.
- It continues with the masacote. Right, that'll be all for today. This was the second chapter of three.
- Remember that if you have questions, suggestions or comments you can write them below and I'll
- answer them. Give it a like and share it, subscribe to the channel and hit the bell
- if you haven't already, so you don't miss any videos. I'm Daniel Ponce, and let me remind you of
- my social media: I'm Daniel Ponce Drums on both Instagram and Facebook, and I'll
- see you in the third chapter, where I'll talk about the bomba. That was all for today.
- Thanks a lot for watching and commenting, and see you in the next one.
Examples
Para ser cantante – El Niño y La Verdad (2:37)
- Masacote
- Marcha arriba
Consúmelo – Timbalive (2:50)
Same bass and piano figure, and more instruments turn rhythmic.
- Masacote
- Keyboard comes in
- Marcha arriba
- Mambo
Resumen de los 90's – Havana D'Primera (2:01)
Characteristics of a masacote:
Often instrumental, with lots of space for bass, piano (tumbao), percussion and horns.
Used to build energy or to mark a transition in the song.
Can be accompanied by dance accents or "breaks" during a performance or social dancing.
It often feels like a kind of musical explosion or a funky groove pocket that takes center stage.
In the context of dance, such as Rueda de Casino or timba solo, dancers can respond to a masacote with expressive or improvised movements, just as they would during a "break".
When you hear it, you often recognize it immediately: a sudden burst of funky intensity that electrifies the dance floor.
More examples:
Listen for example to Los Van Van, NG La Banda or Elito Revé y su Charangón — they regularly use masacotes as part of their arrangements.