A good Salsa song for Beginners need to be clean (not too busy), not too fast, and has one or two relatively easy-to-hear instruments that the student can match their steps to. If you’d prefer to use a salsa version of a pop song, that’d probably work too, although we prefer to play “real” salsa songs from well known Cuban bands that are commonly played in any Salsa/Timba party. This way the students will be familiar with the songs when they’re ready to do some social dancing. All of these should be available on Spotify or YouTube.
Havana City – Los Van Van
Loco por Tus Besos – Manolito Simonet y su Trabuco
Caramelo con Picante – Lazarito Valdes y Bamboleo
Duplicandote la Dosis – TIMBALIVE
Conmigo No – TIMBALIVE
Pasaporte – Alexander Abreu
Todo Se Acabo – Juan Formell, Los Van Van
Conga Tour – Juan Formell, Los Van Van
El Diablo – Barbaro Fines y su Mayimbe
Conmigo No – Berna Jam, Barbara Jimenez (skipping the rap intro)
Exposing the students to well known Cuban bands should be a part of the early on learning process too, getting them excited not only about the dance, but also the music.
In addition to all the above, Scuola Di Salsa from Berna Jam is a brilliant album to introduce Salsa rhythms through the different instruments that make up the Salsa music.
