Progressions in F — Cuban Tres

F major harmonises to F – Gm – Am – Bb – C – Dm – E°; F minor to Fm – G° – Ab – Bbm – Cm – Db – Eb. Each chord links to its Cuban Tres voicings, so a vamp in F 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.