What way is faster ?

[yoni]

Hello CongaTick,

Probably best if the heel doesn't strike too close to the edge of the drum head - the head is harder near the edge and could mash up the tendons in the wrist a bit if the heel knocks too hard there. You'll also get more resonance from the heel closer to the center of the head.

All the best,
Yonatan Bar Rashi

[Gemma]

Hola Untal,

si, si "la Madre Patria"!. Fortunately it was not all just slavery, robbery, explotation of human and natural resources, imposition of a foreign religion, etc. A certain cultural exchange did take place too, thank God!

When talking about the Spanish influence we should be aware that, what we "really" are talking about is "Moorish" influence. What a great luck for us Spaniards that the Moors lived in the Iberian Peninsula for almost eight centuries leaving us an enormous cultural treasure, among which we can luckily count their vibes and rhythms. The conquistadores brought them then to the Americas where the great fusion with the black African rhythms, brought by the many millions of African slaves, took place. Cuba, among other Caribean countries, was the melting pot for the huge amount of rhythms from which we all benefit today.

We cannot thank enough the many many people who suffered and still managed to give us this incredible musical, cultural heritage. All these rhythms that touch our souls and put warmth and color in our lives.

What my favorite drum is concerned, I have three Meinl Fibercraft Congas (two congas+ one tumba). But not the new ones they have brought out now, which I don't like that much. Mine still have the older barrel, belly shape, are 28", with "traditional" rim! I like them very much. I also have a set of LP Classic Congas (conga+quinto). I would not say that I prefere them to the Meinls, they are just different. Although wood congas, maybe through the thinner heads, they sound somehow brighter, have more overtones, are louder. Perhaps because they are 30" tall and have therefore more volume. I also have two djembes, one Remo 12" and one Pearl Fiberglass 12,5" which are perfect to be played outdoors and be very very loud.

How about you? Which is your drum?

Hasta siempre!

Gemma

[untaltumbador]

Hola Gemma! It is nice of you to speak well of “Los Moros”. It is too bad that things had to end the way they did. What came afterwards remains shameful.
I have several drums set, one is a Patato Valdez trio (quinto, conga (tumbadora) and tumba), the other is a Poncho Sanchez tumbadora and tumba combo and an old Gun Bop quinto, who believe or not, it endured Hurricane Andrews when it visited Homestead Florida. This is my practice drum and I usually take it along to the Appalachian Trail, Trail Days in Damascus VA, and every year in May; the hikers build this super huge bonfire and a Drum circle emerges full of energy and free will abandonment, one does not know how good of a time one is having until the next day.
I play my drums around with friends but mostly at home by myself. I like to think of myself as a self taught but in reality I am a “practice junkie”.
What is you playing level? Percussion major perhaps?
Gemma this is a great web site full of tips and random entertainment from a few more outspoken (sin pelos en la lengua) members, but, nevertheless it is the best thing happenings for Congas lovers.

Respetuosamente

Untal

[windhorse]

Might as well share the 6/8 version of the Bass/Touches.
I'm sure many of you do this one too..

RLRLRLRLRLRL
BTTBTTBTTBTT

Dave

[Gemma]

Hello Windhorse,

Hola Untal,

I didn't know that 6/8 version of the heel/toe exercise. Thank you. At present my favorite exercises are:

OTHT OTHT OTHT etc
r l l l r l l l r l l l

starting slowliy, encreasing gradually to a considerable tempo, trying to keep that tempo then for as long as I can.

And:

THO THO THO etc first with the left hand (my weak hand) and then with the right hand.

This last one, specially with the left hand, I find quite hard and cannot achieve a reasonable tempo yet. I also think that it is a fundamental movement, absolutely necessary to master. Perhaps Johnny Conga or Zaragemca can give us thier opinion on this.

Untal, my situation is prety much the same. I also play mostly by myself, except once a week, when I play with a couple of friends (drums, bongó, djembe and conga). But, since I don't have the privilege of living in a house, like most people in Europe I live in a flat, in my case on the 3rd floor, I cannot play at home. It wouldn't take five minutes for my neighbors to knock on our door to complain about "the noise"! I go to a fromer four-story 2nd world war buncker, that has been divided in a large number of rooms, which are rented to bands to practice in. Not the most welcoming and inspiring place for music to be born, but at least we can play as loud as we want, and that 24hrs a day. It is quite a paradox though to see and hear such warm instruments, as congas and djembes are for instance, in such a place and not outdoor where, in my opinion, they belong to. Specially the djembe. The bass and the slaps can (and should) travel long distances. In summer I often grab my djembe after work and go to the woods to let it crack. What a "descarga" it is sometimes! The amazing thing is that animals do not seem to bother at all. On the contrary, they seem to ge attracted by the drumming. I have experienced several times how eagles fly in circles for quite a while over my head making that particular noise or call (quiiiiii). Even occasionally deer comes up to a reasonable distance too look and listen. The magic of drumming!

I am also mostly self tought. I started, at the age of 40!, in the sommer of 2003, when I bought my first set of congas. I had been drumming all my life on desk tops, boxes, my lap or whatever I could get my hands on and, although I had owned a set of bongos in my twenties, I had never taken it seriously until then. I've had two lessons with an experienced percussionist, bought several books, DVDs and videos and try to practice three to five times a week. Like you I am addicted to practicing. I could practice every single day, several times a day. If I cannot manage to get to the studio, as I have a 2,5 year old son, I try to sneack into the living room and practice for 15 to 30 minutes on the Pearl Practice conga.

I like the Patato Congas very much too. I've tried them a couple of times. Great sound! What your Gun Bop quinto is concerned, I think you are very lucky to have one of them. Here in Europe GunBop drums are, if you can get hold of one of them, which might be quite adventurous, very very expensive. So, treat him well!

Take all care and till next time

Gemma

[untaltumbador]

Gemma how are you doing? That exercise rudiment that you and Windhorse are explaining is very close to the fundamental Tumbao in 4/4

L L R L L L R R/
H T S T H T O O/

This is a mellow, lay back ritmo, who’s tempo can reflect your state of mind, you know how you feel at the moment. Under a bright night and with a nice Tropical wind blowing, when one feel free and creative. There is nothing more moving than the sound of a good Tumbao.

This bunker, that you described, sounds like a good place to play music. One of my big, big concerns with my drumming is my ever present desire not to bother anyone. I understand that there are some among us that just don’t deal well with our instrument’s sound. I don’t want to play around them.

Respetuosamente

Untal

[Gemma]

Hola Untal,

I'm very well, thank you. I flew to Madrid for the w/end to visit my family. It's always great to be back in good old Spain.

I agree with you completely about the tumbao. The odd thing is that, since the tumbao is probably for all of us the first rhythm we learn, we tend to ignore it after a while and/or consider it as a too basic thing and move on to more "complicated" patterns. Even the basic tumbao can be great sometimes when other istruments are involved. And how about all the endless variations!

And about this "playing aware of not disturbing anybody else.." I know exactly what you mean and I also think that it is absolutely wrong! One can not play like that. You are just not relaxed enough, which, if done permanetaly, can even have severe consequences on muscles and ligaments as the play doesn't flow, the muscles are somehow rigid, exactly the opposite of "mano secreta". I'm not talking about loudness, I'm talking about a "free mind"!

Lucky you living in Florida. You can probably play outdoors 350 days a year!

Paz y saludos!

Gemma

[untaltumbador]

Saludos Gemma. It’s good to know that you are back from Madrid.
It seems that you and I are, now, keeping this thread alive. The issue of “which way is faster” for rolls, will be forever up in the air, I mean, I imagine G Hidalgo, he is about the faster player of lately and I am thinking that he is even getting faster the more he plays. I don’t know if you have ever notice the physical change this fast player undergo. When I first saw Mongo Santamaria playing he was just an average built fellow. Years later Carmelo Garcia, a friend of mine, was playing Timbales with Mongo in San Francisco, CA in the early 70s. I said to my friend “wow! Mongo has gotten real fat”. My friend says, no, no, that’s not fat, his upper body is big because of his years playing. I can see a similar development with G. Hidalgo; however this is all my assumption.

Do you know of any exercise rudiment that develops all the basic sound on both hands?

Adios

[Gemma]

Hello everybody!

Hello Untal!

yes, indeed, we seem to be the only ones keeping this thread alive. Maybe we should start a new one.

What the body size after extensive playing is concerned, that's probably the only thing I do not wish to assimilate from Giovanni. :p

There is an exercise I very much like for practicing and warming up before playing:


HT HT HT OO / HT HT HT OO / OO OO OO OO /

LL RR LL RR LL RR LL RR LL RR LL RR


HT HT HT OO / HT HT HT OO / HT HT HT SS /

LL RR LL RR LL RR LL RR LL RR LL RL



HT HT HT OO / HT HT HT OO / OO OO OO OO /

RR LL RR LL RR LL RR LL RR LL RR LL



HT HT HT OO / HT HT HT OO / HT HT HT SS /

RR LL RR LL RR LL RR LL RR LL RR LR


and so on. The two slaps RL and LR in order to change the hand playing the opens in the next roll.

Have fun.

Gemma



Edited By Gemma on 1108126107

[Simon B]

My friend saw Anga play in Madrid a couple of months ago and said that he too had gone large! Far from the lithe young man on the video!

Simon B

[windhorse]

Gemma,, thanks for the bass touch variation exercise.
Very cool indeed!

[Gemma]

SimonB and Windhorse! Hello!

Good to see that Untal and I are not the only ones reading this thread. The trouble is, it's getting gradually too long, it already has five pages.

Yes indeed, Miguel Anga seems to be growing, not only thechnically, also physically. Maybe, literally speaking, the weight of success? A pity I couldn't go to the concert you mention. I saw it advertised in the net but couldn't get the next day off work, otherwise I wouldn't have missed it, in my hometown!

Windhorse, I'm glad you like the exercise. I'm sort of addicted to it. Once I get going and my hands and wrists get warm, I fall into a sort of trance and cannot stop practicing it.

A jolly good weekend to you all and..."que sigua la marcha, siempre"!

Gemma



Edited By Gemma on 1108127172

[yoni]

Hi Gemma,

Just saw the excercise - yes very nice, thanks! I like the LR, RL turnaround.
Am curious, why are your favorite drums fiberglass and not the wooden LPs? I have old LP fiberglass patatos but now miss wooden congas.

yoni

[untaltumbador]

Gemma, wow! You just have to take the lead and start a new thread, ha, ha, ha. Hey your warm-up exercise it’s great, I tried it this morning and liked it very much. At the moment my biggest preoccupation is with the closed slap. My biggest concern is that I do not seem to settle with a particular hand/ sound (style) combination. Some days I practiced this way and the next week I am doing it different, it does seems as if I am going around in circles. I am having a good time at it thou.
So, SimonB learned that Anga is getting a bit fuller? I have Anga’s video at home and I watched it from time to time but I do not have and recording were he is featured.

Thank you

Untal

[Gemma]

Shalom Yoni, Hola Untal!

Yes, I also like the LR, RL-Turn. That is also the toughest part, I find, to play the slaps and continue with the heel-toe strokes "keeping exactly the same tempo"!!!.

What the fiberglass congas are concerned, they are not my favorites. They are just..., what shall I say? more for everyday's use. Maybe because of the toughness of fiberglass I have the feeling that I don't have to worry as much about them, although I always treat them very carefully, as I do with the wood LPs. Specially now in the winter with the extreme temperature difference between my flat and the car outside when I go to the place I practice in. I don't know, maybe I'm too fussy. With the wood LPs I am probably far too careful, also because they cost me an arm and a leg. The Meinls, being here in Germany the "local matadores" cost me almost half of what the LPs did. But all these things are somehow superficial, the important thing is the sound and, what that is concern, I like both equally. Which one I use depends on the day really. They (do not laugh please!) somehow call me. Very, very important is the head, and when I say this I don't necessarily mean the sound, being the head the place where the sound really is, I mean the feeling of it, the texture, the color, the thicknes of the head, and the sound of course, but it is more something beyond acoustics only. Since we spend quite a bit of time touching those heads, remember we are talking about animal skins, unless you play with synthetic heads, a sort of relationship is devoloped between the heads and the player, at least that is so in my case. Those heads are not always the same, they vary according to temperature and levels of humidity, they give us great satisfaction and sometimes terrible frustration. And thus one day I hear the call of the Meinl Fiberglass and the next day maybe the Wood LPs call me. All this might sound crazy to you, it is maybe a bit silly, but that's the way it is, and I very much like it. Also, from a musical point of view, I like the fact that I have to adjust to various skin types. Although they are all water buffalo skin, their thickness and texture is different. That is also one thing I like very much doing while playing. After a while of playing congas I grab one of the djembes, either the Remo with its Fiberskyn head or the Pearl Fiberglass with its goat skin head and my hands and playing have to adjust to the new characteristics of the new head and instrument. To be honest, all this might sound quite obsceneingly capitalistic, and it probably is, to have the luxury of being able to play all these different instruments, while I've seen excellent congeueros in Cuba who would love to, not just have the choice, but would be for ever happy with either one of my Meinls or my LPs. But, since we have the greate privilege of living in such system and, in my case I hardly ever spend money on anything else, to the greatest regret of my family, who says to me: "you and your "bloody" congas"....! "You spend more time with them than with us"...etc, we might as well enjoy it and never ever take it for granted.

Wow!!!! I really got on going here! Sorry lads! This has absolutely nothing to do with this thread. It'd rather be excellent stuff for a new thread: "The intimate relationship between the drummer and his/her drum(s)"!

Be all greeted!

Que siga la marcha, siempre!

Gemma



Edited By Gemma on 1108388314