Open slaps - method

[L.Fonseca]

Hi congueros

I suggest every one in this forum, whenever needs to do an hard-critic on someone do it by private messaging; like in real life, (altough a forum can´t be compared to it obviously) if you really wan´t to make a critic to someone a want for it to have a positive effect you can´t just do it in front of everyone, call that person and speak to him privately, same here. Altough forum is a place for people to discuss, it´s not an open public court to atack others, and i am not taking party of either abakua or zaragemca. These discussions don´t give anything good to the forum.

Greetings and good year for everyone

[windhorse]

OK, allow me to take a stab at the actual question which was never really answered.

First the closed slap: almost the whole hand hits like a tone, but slightly cupped with the wrist placed either right on top, or just inside the bearing edge of the drum. The tips of fingers just past the center of the drum.
I could be wrong, but believe that most people don't stretch the hands out enough, cup too much and thus bang the hand innapropriately against the surface of the drum, eventually injuring themselves. So practice stretching the hands flatter.

Open slap: You can work into it by working on closed slaps and playing them faster and faster, while relaxing the hands.
So, the open slap is a relaxed closed slap. The tips aren't applying quite as much pressure, , but the difference is very slight. The placement on the drum the same.

Hope this helps...

Dave



Edited By windhorse on 1107097520

[Tone]

Windhorse,

thank you for a really good and helpful explanation. This is exactly what my very good teachers told me. I would add just one thing which is as important as position and it is that the hand must be completely loose at all times. It is easy to say but can only be achieved progressivly with a lot of practise. I was talking with a percussionist friend last week and he told me that his Ghanean teacher said that back home people talk of the cats'paw to describe that complete looseness that becomes almost heavy. I find it a pretty useful image.

Tone

[yoni]

Wow - what a thread!!!

Just checked out these exchanges, almost fell out! It's obvious all of us have different ways of writing, but nobody's forced to read any of this stuff, so why give each other all the slaps? (open or closed).

Some may be bored or put off by writings of others, but so what? Why antagonize? I'm no angel but I try to restrict personal comments on the forum to the positive if I can -

Zaragemca once gave me some excellent advice to remove a green oxidation spot from a cymbal - with lemon juice and cigarette ash - it worked great!

Mr.NoChops' psychedelic ramblings can crack me up at times!

But when things get antagonistic, what's the point? If you feel to disagree with someone, why not just disagree, and save the serious slaps for the drums?

For the sharpest slaps I learned to bring the hand straight down onto the drum, like a "wet rag" as Mr.NoChops mentioned earlier, til the very last moment, no sideways waste of motion. Fingers curved for conga, straight for djembe, but I guess one can try whatever way they want on whatever drum they want.

Good thing I don't own a computer, or I'd likely be around here more often and might take to some verbal slapping also - BIFF, BOOM BAM!!!!