Beyond Salsa for Beginners: The Cuban Timba Revolution: An Introduction to Latin Music for Dancers and Listeners Paperback – November 15, 2012

If you are in to Rueda de Casino or Cuban salsa this is a great resource guide for you. It has everything in it that I need. Don't let the title confuse you. It is not only for beginners its for all levels. I have been dancing 3+ years.

What a great book! It explains how the rhythm and instrumentation works in a Salsa/Timba compositions in great detail. If you are interested in playing Salsa on a particular instrument such as Piano, make sure to check out his other books from the series Beyond Salsa. I highly recommend them all.

I keep this one out whenever I'm studying. It constantly points me at good music, provides some interesting insights, and helps clarify some tricky things about the music. It's the perfect music recommendation source and condensed original and entertaining guide through cuban music. I think it's got what everyone needs. You'll be better off for having a copy.

While this latest volume of the excellent Beyond Salsa series is titled "For Beginners," just about any musician not born and raised in Havana can learn quite a bit from this book. It's a well done and comprehensive music appreciation course covering the history and development of Latin music, with an emphasis on Cuban music.It alternates between "listening tours," the author's four guided tours that cover the development of Cuban music from 1900 to the present, and various exercises designed to help you gain greater awareness of the rhythms. There are a multitude of audio files available to download (free with the purchase of the book)that will demystify the rhythms and help you feel the groove. Numerous exercises for dancers are included as well.There are also overviews and listening recommendations for nearly all the major Cuban artists, as well as a section covering Cuban folkloric music.There is a whole lot of material in this book, the result of years of research. It can change the way you listen (or dance) to this great music.