Tres Cubano Training Sheets
Chord progressions for popular son, guajira, bolero, and cha-cha-chá repertoire on the Cuban tres. Tuning follows the standard Renesito Avich uses: G – C – E (low to high), with the G course strung in octaves. Each sheet shows the progression and the unique tres chord shapes used.
Chan Chan
Four-bar vamp the whole tune. The tres montuno hangs on the A7 → Dm pull, with the F and Gm passing through the middle of each cycle.…
El Cuarto de Tula
Two-chord montuno on Em – B7. The tres improvises endlessly over this pull, with the B7 acting as the dominant magnet back to Em.…
Candela
Verse moves through Am – Dm – E7 – Am; the montuno simplifies to a two-chord Am – E7 vamp where the tres takes over.…
El Carretero
Classic guajira cadence in D, the tres comping open D and D7 voicings between the A7 pulls.…
Guantanamera
I – IV – V – I in C, repeated. The most-played guajira in the repertoire — every tres player learns this first.…
Lágrimas Negras
Modulates from minor verse (Dm) to its relative major montuno (F). The bolero is the verse; the son montuno is the call-and-response payoff.…
Son de la Loma
A foundational son in C, alternating tonic and dominant with an F lift through the bridge.…
El Manisero (The Peanut Vendor)
Two-chord montuno (C – G7) for the entire tune. The pregón (street-vendor call) sits on top while the tres comps the cycle.…
Pueblo Nuevo
Head moves through F – Bb – C7 – F; the descarga montuno settles into a two-chord F – C7 cycle the tres improvises over.…
Yiri Yiri Bon
Hypnotic Dm – A7 vamp; the horn shout opens it up with Gm – A7 – Dm before settling back into the cycle.…
De Camino a la Vereda
Verse cycles Am – Dm – E7 – Am; the montuno tightens to Dm – E7 → Am, the tres comping the ii–V–i.…
Quizás, Quizás, Quizás
Bolero with a circle-of-fifths turnaround. Excellent comping vehicle — every shape in the tres library shows up here in turn.…
Dos Gardenias
Bolero standard. The bridge slides Bb → Bbm → F → D7 — that Bbm and D7 are the colour the tres leans into.…
Veinte Años
A 1935 trova standard — "¿Qué te importa que te ame, si tú no me quieres ya?" The tres comps gently behind the voice, leaning on the Am – E7 pull through the verse and lifting to C – G7 in the bridge.…
Vámonos Pa'l Monte
Eddie Palmieri's 1971 classic — the piano montuno is iconic, but the same i – V7 pull translates straight onto the tres. Verse cycles Em – Am – B7 – Em; the montuno tightens to a two-chord Em – B7 vam…
El Bodeguero
I – vi – ii – V vamp the whole tune. The tres plays the cha-cha-chá scratch on the upbeats while the flute carries the melody.…