Improvising Over Montunos
In this lesson Elio shares tips and insights on improvising over montunos. Elio shares improvisation principles that can be used when playing with a bass player and also when playing montunos in a solo piano context.
Cuban Descargas
The basic form of the improvisation over montunos started within the cuban descargas in the 1950s by musicians such as Israel “Cachao” López who started exploring ideas on how to improvise over this music.
Cuban Improvisation Devices
In this lesson we cover a wide range of improvisation devices that can be used when playing Cuban piano styles. Elio demonstrates the following ideas and principles:
- Arpeggio patterns
- Chordal patterns
- Creating motifs
- Adding accents to motifs
- Improvising with octaves
Improvisation in Cha-Cha-Cha
All of the improvisation principles covered in this lesson can be applied to the cha-cha-cha style of Cuban music. Elio finishes this lesson with a demonstration of the concepts over a Cha-Cha-Cha groove.
In the next lesson of this course we explore the Cha-Cha-Cha in detail and how to use the same improvisational patterns and devices that can be used to improvise over montunos.
Lesson Downloads
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Improvising Over Montunos – Patterns File Type: pdf
Related Lessons
In this lesson we explore some common exercises that are useful for students who have never played Cuban piano styles or montunos.
Practice Tips
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First try to create improvised lines with the arpeggio and chordal patterns outlined in the first lesson of this module.
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Next incorporate motifs and repeated phrases to create interesting rhythmic divisions over the left hand bass lines as Elio demonstrates.
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Emulate the accents that Elio adds to his improvised phrases and motifs to create more motion against the bass line.
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Combine octave lines with motifs and chordal patterns to create melodic variety. See Elio's demonstrations in the 4th chapter.
