• Price $16.99
  
• By Mimi Rabson
• Sheet Music
• Published by String Letter Publishing

Beginning string ensembles will enjoy “Mimi’s Minor Mambo,” a dance tune inspired by the traditional Afro-Cuban music played by the Caribbean island nation’s charanga ensembles. Charanga, sometimes called the grandfather of salsa, combines several European musical ideas—such as harmony, instrumentation, and form—with the complex rhythmic structures of Afro-Cuban music. “Sambasaurus” is inspired by Brazilian samba. Expand your skill sets by playing these two originals with your string quintet or student string orchestra.

(Excerpted from the Performance Notes)

"Sambasaurus” is inspired by Brazilian Samba. It was written for a concert that my group, the Really Eclectic String Quartet, played at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. As with most Latin music, samba has its own recognizable underlying rhythm or clave. For this song, I used the rhythm that is played in the low drum in a typical samba band.

The emphasis is on the first and third beats, but the first beat is very short. That helps to propel the rhythm forward. I gave this part to the cello/bass. Throughout the piece, whenever there are chord changes, the cello/bass should play this rhythm. The root of the chord should be played on the downbeat and the last eighth note. The fifth of the chord should be played on the middle two notes. It doesn’t matter if the fifth is played above or below the root.

Listen to a sample of the original composition "Sambasaurus."

"Mimi’s Minor Mambo" was inspired by the traditional Afro-Cuban music played by the Caribbean island nation’s charanga ensembles. Charanga is sometimes called the grandfather of salsa. It was played at dances for the aristocratic classes beginning in the late 19th century (salsa evolved much more recently). Charanga combines several European musical ideas, such as harmony, instrumentation, and form, with the complex rhythmic structures of Afro-Cuban music. The instrumentation typically includes a wooden flute as the lead instrument, often a piano, a percussion section and an assortment of strings.

Listen to a sample of the original composition "Mimi's Minor Mambo."

The strings are a very important part of the rhythm section and that’s what attracted me to the music. The string parts add pitch to the complex rhythms going on in the percussion section and keep the dances moving.

Most Latin music has an underlying rhythm throughout the piece. That rhythmic pattern is called the clave.

—Mimi Rabson