Tito Gonzalez – Cuban Music Workshop – The Tres & Minor Percussion

Come meet the Cuban tres and get a taste of the minor percussion instruments associated with Afro-Cuban rhythms. The Cuban tres is a guitar-like instrument with three double strings (six in all). It plays a key role in the Cuban “son,” the heartbeat of salsa. The minor percussion instruments include the maracas, guiro (gourd scraper) and clave sticks. Learn how these instruments weave together to create the rich polyrhythms of Afro-Cuban music. This workshop includes an explanation and hands-on demonstration of the Cuban tres, and a demonstration of the techniques used in playing claves, maracas and guiro. Time permitting: a descarga (jam session) with all of the instruments. Open to all musicians.

Heriberto “Tito” Gonzalez, “El Tresero mayor,” arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area in the summer of 2000. His music is typical and primarily “El Son,” as exemplified by the Buena Vista Social Club. Tito studied with Tres master Papi Oviedo of the Buena Vista Social Club and then with the greatest guitarist in Cuba, Octavio Sanchez Cotán. He has played with such famous Cuban groups as Conjunto Estrellas de Chocolate, Aribu Quartet and Chapotin y sus estrellas, all from Havana, Cuba.

$30 advance purchase/$45 day of the workshop