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Music suitable for dancing ranges from about 150 bpm ( beats per minute ) to around 250 bpm, although most dancing is done to music somewhere between 160 – 220 bpm.

Every Salsa composition involves complex African percussion based around the Clave Rhythm ( which has four types ), though there can be moments when the clave is hidden for a while, often when quoting Charanga, Changüí and Bomba.

The key instrument that provides the core groove of a salsa song is the clave.

It is often played with two wooden sticks ( called clave ) that are hit together.

Every instrument in a Salsa band is either playing with the clave ( generally: congas, timbales, piano, tres guitar, bongos, claves ( instrument ), strings ) or playing independent of the clave rhythm ( generally: bass, maracas, güiro, cowbell ).

Melodic components of the music and dancers can choose to be in clave or out of clave at any point.

However it is taboo to play or dance to the wrong type of clave rhythm ( see salsa music ).

While dancers can mark the clave rhythm directly, it is more common to do so indirectly ( with, for example, a shoulder movement ).

This allows the dancing itself to look very fluent as if the rest of the body is just moving untouched with the legs.