Barasuayo

I’m Dave Crowder, just a random hobbyist with playing and singing Afro-Cuban music. It is my hope this lesson honors the Santeria tradition of Cuba. I am myself not a practitioner of any religion, but I do love the sound of this music, and it tugs at my heart just the same. This notation of the clave lock popped into my mind on a Friday night after zoom chatting with rumba buddies and was inspired from sharing our projects. I couldn’t sleep. My mind kept wandering, and eventually a creative muse caused me to jump up and write all this down in the middle of the night. Barasuayo is usually sung at the beginning of ceremonies. Since it is a starting song in the Afro-Cuban repertoire. It is really a Rezo, which means the song is generally sung without accompaniment. But, this song can be sung over bata as the first in an Oro-Cantado with the rhythm La-lubanche. And La-lubanche has clave running through it like all Cuban Folkloric music. So, what if you find yourself wanting to sing this at a Tambor, or a Rumba? How does it fit with Clave? I’ve found that hardly anyone agrees on a Clave lock. So, I’m proposing this way. Have fun with it!