The Clave Matrix: Afro-Cuban Rhythm: its Principles and African Origins

CLAVE MATRIX: The entire interwoven structure of clave-based music as it relates to its generative source. CLAVE: A Spanish word meaning 'code,' or 'key,' as in the key to a mystery or puzzle. Also 'keystone,' the wedge-shaped stone in the center of an arch that ties all the stones together. Clave is the key pattern that both binds and decodes the rhythmic structure of Afro-Cuban music. MATRIX: The point of origin from which something takes form and develops; a grid-like array of elements, an interwoven pattern.