Progressions in D — Cuban Tres

D major harmonises to D – Em – F#m – G – A – Bm – C#°; D minor to Dm – E° – F – Gm – Am – Bb – C. Each chord links to its Cuban Tres voicings, so a vamp in D becomes a short list of stations before the first repeat.

Most of what a tres plays lives on two or three of these chords at a time — a montuno is a loop, not a journey. Choose the pair the tune leans on, set a figure over them, and let the repetition do the work the arrangement expects of it.