Hemiola: six-eight against three-four
· 47 rhythms · 6 traditions
47 Latin American rhythms and time signatures: tango, cumbia, chacarera, joropo and son jarocho among them, each playable on a metronome at its own tempo.
Marcato in four; the bandoneón's bite on every beat.
This page holds 47 rhythms of the Spanish-speaking Americas, from Argentina and Uruguay, the Andes and Pacific, Colombia and Venezuela, Mexico and Central America, Paraguay and Panama, each with its time signature and each playable on the metronome at its own tempo. Tango, milonga, cumbia, chacarera, zamba, joropo and son jarocho are among them, and many pull 6/8 against 3/4.
That pull is hemiola, six heard as two groups of three in 6/8 or three groups of two in 3/4. Chacarera, cueca, marinera, bambuco, huapango, son jarocho and many other forms move between the two hearings without asking permission from the bar line.
The catalogue usually writes them as 6/8 grouped 3+3, accented on units 1 and 4, which gives a stable practice pulse; the three against two belongs in the hands and feet. Tap two broad beats with one hand and three even beats with the other, then swap.
Argentina and Uruguay bring tango's marcato four, milonga's habanera figure, vals criollo, chacarera and candombe. Tango's row accents 1 and 3, though bandoneón, piano and bass can bite on every beat. Milonga spreads a syncopated figure across eight sixteenths, and chacarera, tied to Santiago del Estero and Argentina's northwest, lives in 6/8 with a persistent 3/4 shadow.
Cumbia uses a four-beat frame, bass on the beat and güiro or guacharaca filling the offbeats, in national forms from Colombian roots to the slowed cumbia rebajada of Monterrey.
Joropo is a fast Venezuelan three also heard as 6/8, with harp, cuatro and maracas creating the cross-rhythm. Venezuelan merengue is an unexpected five, often 2+3, though a 3+2 reading also exists; follow the musicians you learn from rather than the app.
The Andes and Pacific add huayno in two, marinera in six, festejo and landó in twelve and the heavy morenada two. Mexico and Central America add son jarocho, huapango, ranchera, norteño, banda, jarabe, punta and marimba son.
There are no marks, because the rows give pulse and grouping rather than drum syllables. If 6/8 becomes six identical clicks, clap three across it; if 3/4 becomes a waltz by habit, put two broad steps underneath.
Start with Tango, Chacarera and Joropo.
Tango is marcato, a marked four, with the bandoneón biting on every beat. The strip accents 1 and 3 as a guide to the count, not a whole tango arrangement. Milonga puts a habanera figure on eight sixteenth-note boxes, its gaps hollow. Count the small units quietly and speak only the sounded ones. Vals criollo is a quick three.
Chacarera is a good first meeting with hemiola, hearing the same six small units as two groups of three or as three groups of two. Its boxes show 3+3, with an accent at the start of each group, while the music keeps turning towards the other hearing. It is the dance of Santiago del Estero and the northwest. Zamba is a slower 3+3 six and Malambo a faster one. Cueca is another six, with three against two changing through it. Zamba and Brazil’s Samba are different rhythms, however close the names.
Candombe returns to four, Montevideo’s three drums over a madera clave, and again the four counts are a foothold, not three drum parts. Walk all four beats of Tango first. Then take Chacarera slowly. Tap six equal units with one hand and clap 1 and 4 for two cycles, then 1, 3 and 5 for two, keeping the six taps and their first unit exactly where they were.
Start with Tango, Chacarera and Zamba.
Marcato in four; the bandoneón's bite on every beat.
Tango is represented as marcato in 4/4, with landmarks on 1 and 3. Count all four quarter notes and give each a clean edge rather than a rock backbeat. You hear this pulse in Argentine and Uruguayan tango ensembles, especially through bass and piano. Practise walking four equal steps while playing short chords. Keep the tempo steady before adding anticipations or dramatic rubato.
The habanera figure at a walk: tango's older, faster cousin.
Milonga uses a habanera-derived figure across eight sixteenth-note units, sounding 1, 4, 5 and 7. Count all eight evenly and hear the attacks as a walking syncopation. It is tango’s older, quicker cousin in Argentina and Uruguay. Tap the full grid quietly with one hand while accenting the four attacks with the other. Keep the two adjacent middle strokes from rushing.
The tango waltz, quick.
Count it as 3 even units, with the weight on 1.
Six-eight that keeps turning into three-four: the hemiola of Santiago del Estero and the northwest.
Chacarera is a 6/8 dance with a strong 3/4 shadow, associated with Santiago del Estero and Argentina’s northwest. Count two groups of three, then clap three groups of two across the same six units. Both hearings must coexist. Practise the foot in two and the hands in three, then reverse them. Do not make the 3/4 layer sound like an imported waltz.
The slow handkerchief dance in six.
Count it as 3 + 3, with the weight on 1, 4.
The gaucho's stamping six.
Count it as 3 + 3, with the weight on 1, 4.
Montevideo's three drums over the madera clave.
Count it as 4 even units, with the weight on 1, 3.
Chile's and Bolivia's courtship six, hemiola throughout.
Cueca is a courtship dance in 6/8 with hemiola running through it. Count two groups of three while hearing three groups of two underneath. It belongs to Chile and Bolivia in distinct regional forms. Keep both broad pulses equal before adding local accents.
Huayno is a two-count pulse, with long and short movement in the melody above the click. Morenada is a slower, heavier two and Carnavalito a quick one. Saya and Caporales have their own rows and names, and a shared 2/4 scaffold does not make them one dance. No instrument strokes are written under these boxes; the accent finds the count and the music does the rest.
Marinera is a six grouped 3+3, with three against two running through it. Count six small units and clap on 1 and 4, then on 1, 3 and 5 without stopping the small count. Festejo and Landó are both twelve in four groups of three, Festejo fast and Landó slow. The cajón belongs to this music, but one accent lane does not write out its part.
Vals peruano and Pasillo are threes, and Sanjuanito is another two. Play four easy cycles of Huayno, then move slowly between Marinera’s two hearings of six, keeping its first unit in place. If the three claps come early as you switch from two, that switch is the spot to practise.
Start with Huayno, Marinera and Festejo.
The Andes' two, long-short in the melody.
Count it as 2 even units, with the weight on 1.
Bolivia's Afro-descended two, from the Yungas.
Count it as 2 even units, with the weight on 1.
The heavy slow two of the Oruro carnival.
Count it as 2 even units, with the weight on 1.
The quick two of the high plateau.
Count it as 2 even units, with the weight on 1.
Peru's national dance, six against three.
Marinera is Peru’s national dance, written here in 6/8 with accents on units 1 and 4. Its motion continually suggests three against two. Count six, step the two broad beats and clap three across them. Guitar and percussion articulate more detail than the row can show. Practise the hemiola without speeding up when the three-beat hearing takes over.
Afro-Peruvian twelve, the cajón at full tilt.
Count it as 3 + 3 + 3 + 3, with the weight on 1, 4, 7, 10.
The slow Afro-Peruvian twelve.
Count it as 3 + 3 + 3 + 3, with the weight on 1, 4, 7, 10.
Lima's guitar waltz.
Count it as 3 even units, with the weight on 1.
Ecuador's and Colombia's melancholy three.
Count it as 3 even units, with the weight on 1.
Ecuador's two.
Count it as 2 even units, with the weight on 1.
The modern Bolivian dance's driving two.
Count it as 2 even units, with the weight on 1.
Cumbia is a four with the bass on the beat and the güiro and guacharaca on the offbeat. The strip marks 1 and 3 and has no separate lines for those parts, so count four with your foot and listen for the sound that lands between footfalls. Porro and Vallenato paseo are twos, and Vallenato son is the slow air of the same family.
Bambuco and Currulao are both sixes grouped 3+3. Bambuco carries a three-four shadow; Currulao is the Pacific marimba’s six. Vallenato puya is vallenato’s fastest air, in six, and Vallenato merengue is another six, not the Dominican two on the Caribbean page. Gaita zuliana is Maracaibo’s Christmas six. Count two large groups of three before you follow the smaller figures.
Joropo is written as a very fast three, and Venezuela’s harp and maracas also pull it towards six-eight. Hear both readings of the same six small units rather than letting one notation win. Merengue venezolano is a different puzzle, five grouped 2+3 here, though a 3+2 reading also exists. Practise this row’s 2+3 and keep the other reading in your ears.
Mapalé is a very fast two and Champeta a four. Begin with Cumbia, counting four and tapping the offbeats lightly with your fingers. Then play Bambuco’s six and clap the two group openings. Leave Joropo and Merengue venezolano until those small counts stay steady under a changing accent pattern.
Start with Cumbia, Bambuco and Joropo.
Bass on the beat, güiro and guacharaca on the off: the whole continent's cumbia.
Cumbia uses a 4/4 frame with broad weight on 1 and 3, while bass, drums and guacharaca create its characteristic motion. It began on Colombia’s Caribbean coast and now has many regional forms across the continent. Count four and keep the offbeat subdivision alive. Practise a bass note on each beat with light offbeat taps, then listen to the specific cumbia style you mean to play.
The brass-band two of the coast.
Count it as 2 even units, with the weight on 1.
The accordion's storytelling two.
Count it as 2 even units, with the weight on 1.
Vallenato's fastest air, in six.
Count it as 3 + 3, with the weight on 1, 4.
The Andean Colombian six with its three-four shadow.
Count it as 3 + 3, with the weight on 1, 4.
The Pacific marimba's six.
Count it as 3 + 3, with the weight on 1, 4.
The frantic fish-dance two.
Count it as 2 even units, with the weight on 1.
Cartagena's soukous-born four.
Count it as 4 even units, with the weight on 1, 3.
Venezuela's harp and maracas: three that is also six-eight, fast.
Joropo is a fast Venezuelan three that also sounds as 6/8. Count “one two three” while feeling two larger pulses across the same span. Harp, cuatro and maracas keep that cross-rhythm constantly active. Practise slowly with the foot in three and claps in two, then swap. At performance tempo, around 200 quarter notes per minute, use small motions.
Maracaibo's Christmas six.
Count it as 3 + 3, with the weight on 1, 4.
Caracas's merengue in FIVE, two-three.
Count it as 2 + 3, with the weight on 1, 3.
Vallenato's six, its own merengue.
Count it as 3 + 3, with the weight on 1, 4.
Vallenato's slow air.
Count it as 2 even units, with the weight on 1.
Son jarocho is a six grouped 3+3, with Veracruz’s jarana strumming around a strong pull of three against two. Huapango works the same shifting hearing in the Huasteca, and Son jalisciense brings another six into mariachi music. The accents mark the two groups of three. No strum is written under them, so keep the small units light and let a recording supply the instrument’s part.
Ranchera (vals) is a three and Ranchera (polka) a two. Corrido is shown as a ballad three, though it can also be a two. Norteño and Banda are different twos, accordion and bajo sexto in one, brass and tambora in the other. Jarabe returns to six, as does Son (marimba) in Guatemala.
Punta is a fast four. Cumbia rebajada is a much slower four, Monterrey’s pitched-down cumbia, and that slow row is a hard place to hold time, because the gap between clicks leaves room for your inner count to wander. Start with Ranchera (polka), then Son jarocho. Tap all six small units and clap the two group openings, then clap three groups of two over the same six taps. Leave Huapango until you can change the larger hearing without losing the first unit.
Start with Ranchera (polka), Son jarocho and Huapango.
Veracruz's six against three, the jarana strumming.
Son jarocho is Veracruz’s 6/8 tradition, with jarana strumming moving between two groups of three and three groups of two. Count the six units, then say “one and a, two and a” over the broad beats. You hear the cross-rhythm in dance and ensemble accompaniment. Practise one open chord through the strumming pattern before attempting rapid chord changes or sung verses.
The Huasteca's six, falsetto over hemiola.
Count it as 3 + 3, with the weight on 1, 4.
The mariachi three.
Count it as 3 even units, with the weight on 1.
The mariachi two.
Count it as 2 even units, with the weight on 1.
The ballad three, or a two.
Count it as 3 even units, with the weight on 1.
Accordion and bajo sexto, a polka two.
Count it as 2 even units, with the weight on 1.
Sinaloa's brass two with the tambora.
Count it as 2 even units, with the weight on 1.
The hat dance's six.
Count it as 3 + 3, with the weight on 1, 4.
The Garifuna's fast four.
Count it as 4 even units, with the weight on 1, 3.
Guatemala's marimba six.
Count it as 3 + 3, with the weight on 1, 4.
Monterrey's pitched-down, hypnotic cumbia.
Count it as 4 even units, with the weight on 1, 3.
The mariachi's six, hemiola throughout.
Count it as 3 + 3, with the weight on 1, 4.
Paraguay’s Guarania and Polca paraguaya are each six small units grouped 3+3, accented at the start of each half. Guarania is slow, Polca paraguaya a dance pace. Both also carry a three-four shadow, the same six heard as three groups of two. The boxes take the two groups of three for practice, which is not a ruling on what your ears must hear. No instrument strokes are written under either row.
Start with Guarania, tapping all six units and clapping on 1 and 4. Keep the taps going and move the claps to 1, 3 and 5. When both versions return to the same first unit, try Polca paraguaya, whose quicker pace makes the switch harder. Keep the small taps quiet and the claps clear.
Start with Guarania and Polca paraguaya.
Paraguay's slow six, three against two underneath.
Count it as 3 + 3, with the weight on 1, 4.
The Paraguayan polka: six with a three-four shadow.
Count it as 3 + 3, with the weight on 1, 4.
Tamborito gives a two-count pulse for Panama’s drum-and-chorus tradition, with the first box accented where the short cycle begins. No drum or chorus syllables sit under the boxes, so the click is a place to stand while you listen, not a small performance.
Count “one two” with your foot for four cycles, then clap on one while the foot carries two. Stop counting aloud but keep the two moving, and say “one” again as a new cycle starts to check that it agrees with the accent.
Start with Tamborito.
Panama's drum-and-chorus two.
Count it as 2 even units, with the weight on 1.