- Year 10
- OCR
Salsa and merengue
I can describe the core features of salsa and merengue and can recreate a salsa groove.
Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and
- Year 10
- OCR
Salsa and merengue
I can describe the core features of salsa and merengue and can recreate a salsa groove.
Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.
These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Salsa and merengue are popular forms of music and dance that both use Latin percussion and syncopated rhythms.
- Key features of salsa include the piano montuno, tresillo bass pattern and son clave rhythm.
- Salsa often uses a large band, similar to a Western jazz ‘big band’ with saxophones, brass, and a rhythm section.
- Merengue typically has a smaller group, using traditional Dominican instruments such as the tambora.
- The quintillo is a defining rhythmic pattern in merengue.
Keywords
Salsa - Salsa is a style of music and dance that developed from Cuban son music.
Montuno - A montuno is a syncopated, repeating piano pattern that is typical of salsa.
Tresillo - The tresillo is a three-note rhythm that is the same as the ‘3’ of the son clave.
Merengue - Merengue is a style of music and dance from the Dominican Republic that often uses traditional Dominican instruments.
Quintillo - A quintillo is a rhythmic pattern of five fast notes that is a typical feature of merengue.
Common misconception
Latin dance music all sounds the same.
Many of the styles of music from this region include similar features, such as syncopated rhythms, Latin percussion, Spanish lyrics etc. However, they all have distinct differences that allow us to tell the different traditions apart.
To help you plan your year 10 music lesson on: Salsa and merengue, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 10 music lesson on: Salsa and merengue, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom.
Explore more key stage 4 music lessons from the Rhythms and conventions of Latin and Caribbean music unit, dive into the full secondary music curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
Piano/keyboard, bass and latin percussion instruments; or DAW.
Licence
Sign in to continue
Our content remains 100% free, but to access certain copyrighted materials, you'll need to sign in. This ensures we’re both staying within the rules.
P.S. Signing in also gives you more ways to make the most of Oak like unit downloads!
