Hear a rhythm across two bars

Listen past the first bar line

In this 3–2 son clave, the first bar has attacks on 1, & of 2, and 4. The second has attacks on 2 and 3. Count both bars before starting again.

● attack · — hold · · silence. The quiet high click is the pulse.

A reference cycle with an orientation

Son clave is an important rhythmic reference in Afro-Cuban music. The labels 3–2 and 2–3 describe which side of the two-bar pattern comes first: the side with three attacks or the side with two.

Son and rumba clave have distinct placements; other traditions use other timelines. Do not treat one five-attack pattern as the rule for all Latin music, or rename any syncopated funk pattern as clave.

Build the 3–2 son-clave cycle

First bar: 1, & of 2, 4. Second bar: 2, 3. Select all five attacks across the two bars.

Turn the cycle around without inventing new notes

The 2–3 version starts with the two-attack side. Compare the orientation while keeping the same tempo.

● attack · — hold · · silence. The quiet high click is the pulse.

What does 3–2 mean in this son-clave example?

Takeaways

• Hear the whole two-bar cycle before deciding where it begins.
• Name the specific tradition and pattern, not a universal Latin rule.