Talk:Claves

Origin
Claves were originally hardwood roller bearings used in the hubs of wooden cart wheels. I was taught to hold claves with the first clave floating on the top of an open fist. It touched only the end of the index finger and the crotch of the thumb. My Flatley (talk) 23:55, 10 December 2008 (UTC)

Claves = palitos?
Are claves and palitos the same? Mikkalai 18:54, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)


 * I think they may be. Possible merge. Jason Quinn (talk) 16:04, 13 October 2014 (UTC)

Clave or Claves?
Is "claves" plural or singular? It feels as if one clave is a wooden dowel, while the instrument consists of two claves, hence "claves". Han-Kwang (talk) 14:18, 20 Nov 2004 (UTC)


 * In Spanish, where the name comes from, clave is singular and claves is plural. The plural form is often used, of course, because the claves normally come in pairs. So, you're correct. [See RAE (definition 10) (the definition is given for the singular form, but it notes that the word is usually used in plural) and also the Spanish Wikipedia entry ] --Jonik 18:00, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

Removing of rhythm
I suggest to remove the image of the clave rhythm from this page because this rhythm is described in the article about the clave_(rhythm) and isn't actually a description for the instrument. --Melligem 13:03, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

I agree, so have got rid of it. As well as not really being relevant, its description was incomplete, and if completed, it would have been simply repeating the article on clave (rhythm). --Pscholl 21:43, 14 June 2006 (UTC)

Shouldn't there be a link to that page then? --Goldencrisp87 19:26, 17 June 2006 (UTC)

There already is - it's in the second paragraph. --Pscholl 23:00, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

Another Picture
I highly reccomend a picture of someone holding claves.

Cut out waffle
This reads like it is a wholesale cut and paste from someones PHd thesis complete with notation of references which don't lead anywhere in this article Could do with a lot of cutting to make it readable. Freddythehat 16:04, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

cut superfluous info
I cut this.. it would be better placed on his bio page. >>Ortiz, Cuba's foremost authority on ethnographic and anthropological studies, was perhaps the only scholar to catalog the island's hundreds of musicological innovations and instruments, the clave among them. The result was a five-volume compilation, published over a period of three years (1952-55), which remains unparalleled in the world of Afro-Caribbean musicology.>> Freddythehat 19:04, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

more cuts
This bit belongs in an article on the history of cuban music more generally: >>>>However, there has never been a comprehensive musicological study of the clave's diverse and multi-faceted parameters, particularly within the last several decades, which have seen numerous developments since Ortiz's research was published. Perhaps the most significant factors impacting the clave's evolution are linked to geographic and political events within recent years, the most obvious being the Cuban Revolution, which undoubtedly shaped the musical events of several hemispheres. The influence of Cuban music throughout the world may be witnessed on a variety levels, particularly its most fundamental yet most complex level: its rhythm. The Cuban clave has evolved on a multitude of levels, bringing with it a full range of musicological and even sociological questions which often create more confusion than necessary. It is the author's wish that this endeavor will help to "demystify" the clave's role, both within the structural components of Afro-Cuban music as well as its impact on other world musics. It is important to this study, therefore, to place the developments of Cuban rhythmic structures and the clave, in particular, within a chronological as well as a global context as we approach the twenty-first century.

But before launching into this study of the clave, it is important to recognize several factors pertaining to Cuba's historical, cultural and musical development, which will shed some light as to the clave's place in the music world. Perhaps the most accurate and concise view is summarized in John Storm Roberts' seminal work, The Latin Tinge:

Taken as a whole, Cuban music presents a more equal balance of African and Spanish ingredients than that of any other Latin country except Brazilian. Spanish folklore enriched the music of the countryside, of the city, and of the salon. At the same time, aided by an illicit slave trade that continued right through the 19th century , the pure African strain remained stronger in Cuba than anywhere else. As a result, western African melody and drumming, and even the Yoruba [and other African] language, were brought cheek by jowl with country music based on Spanish ten-line décima verses and southern Spanish [flamenco] melody. The co-existence of European and African rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic procedures led, of course, to their blending, and that blending took place at the most profound level.>>>>> Freddythehat 11:19, 19 February 2007 (UTC) WAFFLEZ