Orchestra Harlow, EL MALECON, salsa classic, meanspeed=71.6 bpm, meanemotion=graceful, also heard as 143.2 bpm in the complex poly-rhythms

On this Latin salsa piece, El Malecon by Orchestra Harlow I charted the four underlying quarters notes of the measure—so if you are hearing a speed double this one, you are hearing the 8th notes playing poly-rhythmically above the steady pulse of 71.6 beats per minute.

The graph features 4 beat groups that are continuous moving averages. Said Luis, of 83rd street, who owns 880 salsa CDs and will slow down when he “reaches a thousand,” called this Harlow piece “of the ultimate Latin classic roots of salsa."


Meanspeed-Carlton Summary
song title="El Malecon"
standard tempo/mean speed=71.6 beats per minute, using a 1/2 note as the beat
mean-emotion=grace
beat frequency=1.193 beats per second
average beat length=838 milliseconds per beat.
mean slow phase=1.193 cycles per second.
corresponding pitch= 305.49 Hertz, 70 cents above D4=293.665 Hertz and 30 cents below D#4/Eb4=311.127 Hertz.

The liner notes indicate that:
Vocals-Ismael Miranda
Producer-Jerry Masucci
Recording Director-Larry Harlow

Ian Andrew Schneider