Posts Tagged ‘piano’

3 New Piano Patterns, 1 New Bass Pattern

Saturday, July 23rd, 2011

We have just added 3 new Piano patterns, contributed by Tyrone Collis from Germany. While at it, we also added a new Bass pattern that matches the existing I-IV-V-IV piano pattern, suggested by the trumpet player Pete Nater from New York. Finally, we added some new percussion patterns contributed by Jürgen Messerer from Switzerland. Jürgen is currently working on creating additional bongo patterns for us, so expect another update soon.

Here is the list of the new Salsa music patterns:

Piano

  • Montuno I-V-V-I + Passing Tones
  • Montuno i-V-V-i (minor)
  • Montuno V-V-I-I

Bass

The new bass pattern is called “Tumbao I-IV-V-IV”. It matches the first two piano patterns, “Montuno I-IV-V-IV” and “Montuno I-IV-V-IV + arpg. + passtone”, as well as the minor variation “Montuno i-iv-V-iv” and the ‘light’ variation “Montuno I-IV-V-IV Triads”.

Percussion

  • Bongos – Martillo Var1
  • Bongos – Martillo Var2
  • Bongos – Martillo para clave
  • Cowbell – Every Beat
  • Güiro – Güiro Danzón
  • Maracas – Maracas Son
  • Maracas – Maracas Son Montuno
  • Maracas – Maracas Son Montuno 2

iPhone version updated

Yesterday we also released a new version of Salsa Rhythm for iPhone. The Salsa Rhythm application version 1.7 now includes all the new patterns mentioned above, along with a new Rhythm & Timing videos page providing direct access to our online Salsa Rhythm & Timing video collection.

Salsa Rhythm app on the iTunes AppStore

Downloadable version

All registered members can download an updated version with all the new patterns. To download the new version, please follow this link: http://www.salsabeatmachine.org/download.html.

If you want to become a registered member, you may consider donating to support the project.

Eddie Palmieri, a famous Latin Pianist

iPhone 4 Retina Crisp Graphics

Saturday, August 14th, 2010

We have been working for about a month on a new version of the Salsa Rhythm iPhone Application. Our focus was to create a better user experience by improving the graphics and sound sample quality.

One of the main features that will be visible for all the iPhone 4 users is the new Retina resolution graphics we have included. The instrument icons will suddenly look much sharper and crispier on your mobile device screen, along with new glyphs for the Piano, the bass and the conga drums.

To see how big the difference is, I have prepared an illustration, containing real graphics from the application. In this illustration, you can see the low resolution graphics and the Retina resolution graphics side-by-side, so you can get a good feeling of what it looks like:

Salsa Rhythm App 1.1 Graphics

The pixelated image on the left is what you see in the old app version. However, after you upgrade to the new version you will see the high resolution image on the right (you must have iPhone 4).

There are even additional improvements waiting for you in version 1.1 of the Salsa Rhythm App for iPhone, and it has just been dispatched to the Appstore approval process, meaning it will be available within a few days.

You can sign-up to our mailing list and get updates about the new version, also a chance to win a free copy.
Join here:  http://www.salsarhythmsoftware.com/iPhone/

Tambora – A new topping for the Merengue Beat Machine

Monday, January 25th, 2010

Hi everyone,

This week comes with a few additions to the Salsa and the Merengue Beat Machines:

The Salsa Beat Machine has just gained a new Piano pattern called “Montuno I-IV-V-I Triads”.

If you ever wanted to start playing Salsa on your piano, this is a great pattern to start with. You can start practicing first with your right hand and then later add the left hand when you are ready. Watch out for the interactive Piano keyboard which displays when you choose the Piano in the Salsa Beat Machine.

The Merengue Beat Machine has gained a new feature – The Tambora instrument. This traditional percussion Caribbean instrument is very common in Merengue music. Musician Alex Wilson was very kind in providing the notation of this instrument (attached image) where it demonstrates the basic pattern followed during musical pieces.
You can find more information about the Tambora drum in wikipedia.

Typical Tambora rhythm, Provided by Alex Wilson

Typical Tambora rhythm, Provided by Alex Wilson

I hope you enjoy these new additions, let me know what you think!

New Piano pattern from “Ain’t Nobody” by Alex Wilson

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

Following the last post, we have added a new Piano pattern to the Salsa Beat Machine: The montuno section from the song “Ain’t Nobody” by Alex Wilson.

If you want this pattern to sound like the original song, you should play it in the “E” key, and in the speed of 98 BPM. Also make sure that “Play both hands” and “Tonic + 8″ options are enabled under the Piano instrument configuration tab.

You can see an example in the following screenshot:

Screenshot: Playing "Ain't Nobody" montuno section on the Salsa Beat Machine