Pasaje arrebatado
A pasaje arrebatado ("snatched passage") happens when a phrase, motif, tumbao or mambo starts early, before the previous element has finished.
⏩ What happens?
- Overlap: the new part falls over the end of the previous one instead of neatly following it.
- For any element: it can be a phrase, a motif, a tumbao or a mambo.
- Also in solos: a soloist who does not wait for the end of an orchestral passage and starts over it is also playing a pasaje arrebatado.
⚡ What does it do?
Because the music does not wait, the transition feels rushed and excited. The band "snatches" the next passage, as it were, and that drives the energy up.
💃 For dancers
A pasaje arrebatado comes earlier than you expect. If you know the song you can anticipate it; if not, it takes you by surprise.
📝 Sources
The horn layer over the montuno: short, powerful and rhythmically intense riffs that the horns lay over the ongoing groove, building energy toward the climax of the song.
Lees meer >A tumbao is a rhythmic and melodic pattern that is repeated over and over, usually in a cycle of two, four or eight bars. Piano, bass, tres, guitar and percussion each have their own tumbao; together they make up the groove a song rests on.
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