Texture and arrangement Elements – Music

Texture and arrangement is about how the music sounds: which layers are playing, how dense it is and which arranged figures stand out above the groove, often from the horns.

The elements

• Champola
  A champola is a horn passage of four to eight bars in the montuno, in which two or more different phrases run through each other. The horns join in layer by layer, making the montuno fuller and more complex.
• Moña
  Moña in timba and salsa: a short, repeated embellishment by the horns (or voices) in the montuno, often made up on the spot. How it differs from the mambo.
• Ponche
  Ponche in timba and salsa: a single accented horn note, hit together with the timbales or drum kit. How it differs from a bloque.

How it relates

Some figures sit on the border with other dimensions. A bloque is listed under breaks, because it interrupts the groove. A moña and a mambo are both horn riffs over the montuno; the mambo is listed under structure, as a section of the montuno.

📝 Sources

• Universal Cuban Music – Diccionario de la música de Cuba
• Wikipedia (EN) – Timba