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Matias Löyttyniemi / Timbero.fi/The Roots of Salsa - Level Up Your Musicality!
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  • €109

The Roots of Salsa - Level Up Your Musicality!

  • Course
  • 37 Lessons

See behind the curtains into what's actually happening in salsa music, and take your social dancing musicality to the next level!

Join the course now!

Dive deeper into Cuban dance & music!

Learn to connect with the music!

Learn to understand afro-cuban music, son, rumba and beyond on a deeper level! From birth of salsa in NY to the Cuban timba classics of today. All to enjoy the music as a dancer and with your partner, on the social dance floor!

Over 6.5 hours of clear and progressive video material and over 4 hours of follow-up material to really drive things home!

You will understand the foundations of musicality and then take it further, with three progressive levels of musicality for salsa dancers! From general understanding of musical layers and ideas to phrasing and hitting the groove in music.

Music and dance videos!

What is happening in salsa music and how should we approach it as dancers? What is the music "asking" from us?

Salsa, timba, changüí, bomba, mazacote, gears, montuno, tumbao and so on. The world of salsa & Cuban music is deep and full of terms, but this course will help you make sense of it all!

Clear video examples from various music genres, played by professional musicians! Includes genre breakdowns and full pieces of music.  Every module has additional follow-up material with guides and insights, for further learning!

  • €109

COURSE CONTENTS

  • Course
  • 37 Lessons

Over 6.5 hours of clear and progressive video material and over 4 hours of follow-up material to really drive things home! The course material is divided into easy-to-follow sections, each of which is watchable in one go, even after a long day of work.

Follow-up materials include song breakdowns, further discussion on the topics and links for even more listening or watching!

Join the course now!

Your journey to musicality starts here!

Welcome to a deep dive of Cuban popular dance music! After this course, you will never listen to the music in the same way and your enjoyment of salsa music as a dancer will be on a totally new level!
Course Trailer
Preview
Introduction to the course
Preview
Table of Contents With Timestamps
Preview

1 | The Pillars Behind Cuban Music

What is behind all Cuban (and most Latin American) popular dance music? What are the biggest contributors and ways of constructing music that help us understand everything that comes after?
The African Roots in Cuban Music
Afro-Cuban Music
European Roots
Follow-up learning material (~20 min)

2 | The Rumba Complex

One of the most iconic and important music/dance cultures of Cuba! Let's dive straight into the rumba complex and understand the amazing music and dance that it includes!
Orientation to Rumba
Guaguancó - "Vacúnala!"
Yambú - "Que lindo el yambú"
Columbia - "The Dance Battle"
Follow-up learning material (~30 min)

3 | Son - "For the soul to rejoice"

The "magic" glue that holds everything together moving forwards! Here the African and European roots are getting more and more visible together, and the outlines of modern day salsa are getting set for generations to come!
Origins of "The Mother of Salsa"
Connections between dance & music
Follow-up learning material (~30 min)

4 | Salsa - Umbrellas, Sauces and "A Way of Making Music"?

What does it mean that salsa is a "way of making music", and why are people talking about umbrellas and tasty sauces?
The Cuban Seeds and the Birth of Salsa
Salsa as a "Way of making music"
Follow-up learning material (~30 min)

5 | Timba & Cuban popular dance music - "Somos cubanos!"

Turn it all to 11, put some rock in your son music and paint the town red!
Cuba After the Revolution & Songo
Follow-up learning material 1 (~20 min)
The Birth of Timba
Follow-up learning material 2 (~30-40 min)
Here & now: MPBC in 2000s
Follow-up learning material 3 (~30 min)

6 | The Three Levels of Musicality

Let's take everything we have learned and level up our musicality on the social dance floor!
Foundations 1: How to follow and predict changes in all music?
Follow-up learning material 1 (~30 min)
Foundations 2: Phrasing in Cuban popular dance music
Follow-up learning material 2 (~20 min)
Level 1 - Connecting with the dynamics in music
Level 1 - Follow-up learning material (~25 min)
Level 2 - Utilizing Gears & Playing With Genres
Level 2 - Follow-up learning material (~35 min)
Level 3 / Part 1 - Bloques, Hits & Accents
Level 3 / Part 1 - Follow-up learning material (~40 min)
Level 3 / Part 2 - That Special Groove!
Level 3 / Part 2 - Follow-up learning material (~35 min)
End of Course

Enjoy 30 minutes of the full course for free!

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The African Roots in All Salsa Music
The Origins of Son - "The Mother of Salsa"
How to Follow Along and Predict Changes in All Music?

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Years of learning condensed into one well-proven course!

It took me years and years of going to dance classes, playing Cuban music and studying musicology in university before I was finally confident in my knowledge on Cuban dance & music.

That's why I started doing these lectures 6 years ago, so that dancers just like me and you could get a useful grasp of things in a well-structured and entertaining way, in a much shorter time-period than I did!

There's too much unnecessary mystique like "you just need to feel it" and too many conflicting personal opinions on what's "right" or "correct". Let's cut through all that and go straight to the point!

No, you're not going to learn "12+ new figures" or a "fun choreography". But you will see behind the curtains and learn to connect with the music on a much deeper level on the social dance floor!

Now that's what I call musicality. And your dance partners will do as well! 

30-day money back guarantee!

Either you will experience a well-thought-out course that will make you understand and appreciate salsa and Cuban music in general on a deeper level, or you get your money back! No risk involved!

I'll even eat the credit-card fees as my personal loss!

FAQs

I dance a specific style of salsa (casino, salsa on2, cali salsa etc), is this course still good for me?

Yes, absolutely! The very last portion uses casino (cuban salsa) as an example, but the ideas are just as usable for other types of salsa!

Is this course suitable for me? I have danced for [X] years, is there too much/little information?

I would recommend this course for anyone who is interested in salsa or Cuban music in general, regardless of their dance history! You can check out the course topics before purchasing and see what it's all about, but in general the course has so many topics and deep dives, that there's bound to be new stuff even for the more experienced salsero!

In general, I have always aimed for the perfect balance between easy-to-understand and entertaining presentation, academic ideas, and the actual needs of dancers with different backgrounds! 

How long can I attend the courses I buy?

For the foreseeable future, meaning some years. I could say "lifetime access", but I think we all know that when a company says that, they mean the life of the product and not the buyer! ;) 

How can I access the course after purchasing it?

You can login from the top-right portion of this page! You will then see it on your student dashboard and study it at your own pace.

Matias Löyttyniemi

As a dance teacher, I have toured all over Finland for the last 16 years, bringing the joy of Cuban salsa to every corner of the country! 

For me, the most important parts of dancing are partner connection and musicality, and I always take the classes from technique to improvised dancing and enjoying the movement with your partner! 

I have a Master's degree in Musicology from the University of Helsinki, where I specialized in Cuban popular dance music.
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