…he has filled him with divine spirit, with skill, intelligence, and knowledge in every kind of craft, to devise artistic designs… Exodus 35: 31-32
In Latin music, everything is held together by the clave (“klá-vey”), which translates as “key.” Clave is not the tonal key of the song, rather a rhythmic pattern played on what seems the simplest of instruments, two thick, round sticks of wood called claves. Clave is the organizing principle around which all of the other percussion instruments as well as the piano and bass must fall into place. There are a few variations of the basic clave pattern, and depending on which is being played, the other instruments must adjust accordingly. Though master musicians invent intricate, imaginative and complex parts, what they play is never random; they are always following the rule of the clave.
Here’s the thing: There are times when no one is actually playing the clave outright. Yet the musicians are still playing to the clave, which they hear internally and feel as the heartbeat holding them all together. If the clave is lost or someone “crosses the clave” by playing a 3-2 pattern instead of the 2-3 pattern everyone else is playing to, things fall apart and the music comes to an abrupt halt. It is as if someone were playing the melody backwards, and the clash is too much to bear.
This is what the Holy Spirit is, the clave that all of us have inside us which keeps us together; our collective heartbeat. Sometimes it’s being played plain and loud, and it’s easier to pick out; at other times it’s implied. But it’s always there, and it’s our job to listen for it, feel it, and play in accordance with it. It’s what keeps us ever mindful of God’s presence in ourselves and in all those with whom we make the music of life.
Master Musician God, help me always to listen to the clave and remember that the same rhythm lives in everyone I encounter. Forgive me when I get so engrossed in my own part that I forget this, and cross the clave.