The genesis of my doctoral research into how Cuban musicians learn clave-based music within their natural learning ecologies lies in the observation of a striking paradox. On the one hand, Cuban musicians are internationally recognised for their exceptional musical abilities. On the other hand, the learning processes through which this expertise is transmitted remain largely absent in scholarly literature. The vast influence Cuban music exerted on music in the Americas and beyond during the twentieth century makes this gap particularly notable. 

In Cuba, learning unfolds within a unique learning ecosystem, in which music is almost inseparable from dance, thus sustaning the embodied and participatory nature that characterise African diasporic music. This ecosystem integrates Western conservatoire training, community-based apprenticeship, sacred African diasporic practices, and highly innovative popular genres. Taken together, these intertwined domains offer pedagogical discourse a concrete intercultural model with significant potential for reframing twenty-first-century music education.  

My doctoral research addresses this gap through a multi-layered enquiry. First, it maps learning contexts across the formal–informal spectrum in contemporary Cuban musical life. Second, it examines the pedagogical models – whether explicit or implicit – that emerge within musical practices embedded in each domain. 

Finally, the study focuses on the foundational principle of much Cuban music: the Cuban clave. Supported by a detailed musicological analysis and extensive ethnographic accounts, the research aims to describe for the first time, systematically,  how knowledge of playing in-clave is acquired, understood, and experienced by Cuban musicians.

Importantly, the clave’s structural function represents a distinct rhythmic paradigm that remains elusive within traditional European musical training. With this in mind, this study seeks to contribute not only to the understanding of Cuban musical practice per se, but also to broaden academic discussion of rhythm, embodiment, and the transmission of musical knowledge.