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Claves
Two sticks knocked together — the skeleton of latin rhythm.
1 · Hear it
Listen twice: once alone, once with the band. The second one is how you'll actually hear it in songs.
2 · What it actually is
A pair of hardwood dowels, one resting in a cupped hand as a resonator.
Its job
States the rhythmic pattern everything else agrees with.
Listen for
A very short, very high wooden 'tok'.
You've heard it in: Son, salsa, and countless pop songs borrowing the pattern.
3 · Words that go with it