Metronome for bambuco

Time signature and tempo bambuco

6/8 or 3/4? A debate more than a century old

Pedro Morales Pino started the practice of writing bambuco in 3/4 in the early 20th century, when he notated his “Cuatro preguntas.” Since then, musicians and researchers have argued for one notation or the other. Enrique Mazuera (1972) defended 3/4 because, in his view, bambuco loses its singing character in 6/8; Mario Gómez-Vignes (1981) argued that 6/8 fits its rhythm best. Luis Uribe Bueno wrote bambucos in 3/4 and later rewrote them in 6/8, after a symphony orchestra had trouble playing them.

Recent studies describe 6/8 as the most widely used notation by convention, with an accompaniment that blends both feels. To play it, what matters is feeling the sesquialtera: the back-and-forth between two groups of three eighth notes (6/8) and three groups of two (3/4). We explain it with examples in our guide to Colombian rhythms.

Festive bambuco and slow bambuco

There's no single tempo. Sources distinguish a livelier festive bambuco, associated with Greater Tolima and the Santanderes, and a slow, melancholy bambuco associated with Cauca. That's why the button tempo is only a starting point: use Tap tempo on the recording you're studying to find its own.

Another feature that sets it apart from pasillo is its anacrusic drive: many phrases start before the downbeat, and in the accompaniment the bass usually lands on beats 2 and 3.

How to practice bambuco with the metronome

1. Start in 6/8 with eighth-note subdivision and count “1-2-3-4-5-6,” tapping 1 and 4 with your foot.
2. Without stopping your count, switch to 3/4: the eighth notes stay the same, but now the stresses fall on 1, 3 and 5.
3. Alternate between the two time signatures every four measures until you can feel both pulses at once.
4. Play the tiple or guitar accompaniment over the click and go up 4 BPM each time it comes out clean three times in a row.

How to read the tempos on this page

BPM count the beat of the time signature, which isn't always a quarter note: in 6/8 each beat is a dotted quarter note (three eighth notes), in 2/2 it's a half note (four eighth notes) and in 3/4, a quarter note (two eighth notes). That's why it also helps to think in eighth notes per minute:

• In 6/8: 90 BPM to the dotted quarter note, that is, 270 eighth notes per minute.
• In 3/4: 135 BPM to the negra, that is, 270 eighth notes per minute.

Since the eighth notes move at the same speed, switching time signatures doesn't change the underlying rhythm: only how the notes are grouped and where the stresses fall.

How to set up the metronome

• Time signature: in 6/8 the metronome counts dotted quarter notes (two beats per measure); in 2/2 it counts half notes; in 3/4, quarter notes.
• Subdivision: adds soft clicks between beats. With eighth notes you hear the detail of the rhythm; with no subdivision, just the beat.
• Accents: tap each dot to make that beat strong, soft or unaccented, and build the pattern you're practicing.
• A recording's tempo: play the song and tap Tap tempo along with the beat; the metronome calculates the BPM.
• Raising the tempo: by 2 to 5 BPM once the passage comes out clean three times in a row. If it falls apart, drop 8 and work back up.

Common mistakes when practicing with a metronome

• Speeding up at the ends of phrases: it's the most common mistake. Record a few measures on your phone and listen for whether you're ahead of the click.
• Playing without listening to the click: when you're exactly in time, your hit and the click blend together and you almost stop hearing it; if you hear it before or after your note, adjust.
• Raising the tempo too soon: a clean, slow rhythm sounds better than a fast, messy one, and you'll learn it faster.
• Counting the meter the wrong way: at fast tempos, 6/8 is felt in two beats and 2/2 in two half notes; counting every eighth note out loud holds you back.

Frequently asked questions