The syncopated blues rhythm contains the same rhythm heard in the son clave of Afro-Cuban music. "Clave" means "key" in Spanish. Just as the syncopated blues rhythm is the key to many blues-based songs, the son clave is the key rhythm in many Afro-Cuban compositions.

Analyze the Rhythm

• Four measures of the syncopated blues rhythm are written like this:

• Clap the rhythm and notice that it is basically a two-measure pattern. This pattern can be seen as an "A" measure, followed by a "B" measure, followed by another "A", and so on.

The 2:3 Son Clave Rhythm

• Four measures of the frequently used 2:3 son clave are written like this:

• Clap the rhythm, and then describe how differently it feels when compared to the syncopated blues rhythm.
• Now clap the son clave again, but this time stay silent during the first "A" measure. Note that the syncopated blues rhythm and the 2:3 son clave are essentially the same. However, they start at different places in the pattern.

This similarity is not surprising. Both the African-American syncopated blues rhythm and the Afro-Cuban son clave have similar roots. These roots are in the African music that was brought to the Americas, primarily in the 1800s with the slave trade. Like African music, both African-American and Afro-Cuban musical styles emphasize strong, recurring syncopated rhythmic patterns, or "grooves," as shown above.

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