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Examples

Home > Music > Genres > Son > Examples

Son songs to listen and dance to, from traditional son to Los Van Van.

Son a Yemayá
Comiendo y Cantando
Dame tu amor Guantanamera

Songo

Songo is the direct bridge between traditional Cuban music and timba. Developed by Los Van Van in the early 1970s, it rewired Cuban popular music by absorbing funk, rock, and jazz into the Afro-Cuban rhythmic foundation — and laid the groundwork that timba would build on.

Son

Types of son

Music

Genres

Timba
Timba

A Cuban popular dance music genre that emerged in the 1980s–90s
- emerged in the 1980s–90s
- influenced by songo, rumba, funk, blues, jazz, pop, rock and Afro-Cuban rhythms.
- Known for complex rhythm shifts, aggressive bass lines, and high energy that push dancers to improvise.
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Songo
Songo

Songo is a Cuban music and dance style that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It bridges Afro-Cuban rhythms with modern influences like funk, rock, and jazz.
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- Examples
  Examples
  
  Songo songs to listen to: the Los Van Van style that paved the way for timba.
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  - De la Habana a Matanzas
Son
Son

Types of son
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Charanga
Charanga

Dances
- Danzón – The quintessential Cuban ballroom dance, elegant and formal, often seen as the "national dance of Cuba."
- Danzonete – A sung variant of danzón that became popular in the 1920s–30s.
- Cha-cha-chá – Created in the 1950s by Enrique Jorrín while playing with a charanga; specifically designed for charanga orchestras.
- Pachanga – A playful dance and rhythm from the late 1950s/early 1960s, closely linked to charanga bands.
- Mambo (in its earlier Cuban form) – Before the big-band New York mambo, charangas also played early mambo-style danzones.
- Charanga is a Cuban ensemble style and musical tradition that dates back to the early 20th century. It became especially popular in the 1940s–50s and played a crucial role in the evolution of salsa, timba, and Latin jazz.
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Danzón
Contradanza
Changüí
Nengón
Rumba
- Guaguancó

Instruments

Percussion
Percussion Instruments

Cuban music is built on percussion. The extraordinary density and variety of Cuban rhythmic culture reflects the meeting of West and Central African drumming traditions with Spanish, Haitian, and creole musical practices over four centuries. The instruments below form the core percussive vocabulary heard across Son, Rumba, Timba, Danzón, and their descendants.
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Strings
String

String instruments in Cuban music span a wide range, from the rural Spanish-derived guitar traditions of eastern Cuba to the sophisticated double bass lines of urban son and the refined violin textures of the charanga orchestra. Each instrument carries a specific historical and functional role.
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Wind
Wind

Wind instruments in Cuban music define the character and sonic identity of the major ensemble types. The choice of wind instrument is not incidental — it determines whether an ensemble sounds like a charanga, a conjunto, a big band, or a timba group. Each instrument carries a history and a functional role specific to Cuban musical culture.
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Rhythms

Clave
Cha-cha-chá
Pilón
Brikamo
Tumbao
Mozambique
Batanga

Batá toques

Njongo
Chachalokafún
Aluya
Agueré
Iyesá

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