Montuno

This article is about the term in Cuban music. For the Italian wine grape, seeMontuno (grape).For the star in Eridanus, seeWASP-79.

Montunohas several meanings pertaining toCuban musicand its derivatives. Literally,montunomeans 'comes from the mountain', and soson montunomay refer to the older type ofsonplayed in the mountainous rural areas ofOriente.Another possibility is that the wordmontunocomes from the wordmontura,the Spanish word for "saddle", because the rhythm in son music is like riding a horse. Or it may mean the final section of a song-based composition; in this sense it is simply part of a piece of music. Here it is usually a faster, brasher, semi-improvised instrumental section, sometimes with a repetitive vocal refrain. Finally, the termmontunois also used for a pianoguajeo,theostinatofigure accompanying the montuno section, when it describes a repeatedsyncopatedpianovamp,often withchromaticrootmovement.

See also

• Son montuno
• Call and response (music)
• Coro-pregón