Soloing ideas - Developing solos with different approach

[TresGolpes]

"The following 3 posts where suggestions for Cliff's Rumba Improvisations book"

I have been through the book and like some I just went through the CD and its notation material.

As Volume I it definitely does the job of Quinto rides.

For Volume II I suggest the following:

1) Besides the current way the CD recording is made, include LIVE play of the licks to better portray the feeling of each phrase.

2) Include different approaches to Rhythmic progressions, for example:
A basic phrase, with Unaccented and Accented variations of the phrase
The Basic Phrase with 3,4 fills for the phrase as it rides in a series of bars.
Alternates of slaps and open and where they lead to:
SSO SSSSO S-S-S--O
Then
OOS OOOOS O-O-O--S

Then Muffled tones and open tone variations

3) Tighter phrases like those above, Volume I oriented itself to the sparse style of quinto playing (very traditional). Maybe Volume II should have "busier" phrases, common in other styles.

4) Different approaches to the drum head:

A descent from wide/high licks to very tight 16 note licks (Go from high to low, with lots of roll variations at the low end)

A choppy style, side-to-side of the licks, particularly slaps and muffled. Some people refer to this as a primitive "unpolished" style that is common with muffled tones, high on the drum, culminating in short 16 note short licks...e.g. Abakua style.

The "feel" of these can only be demonstrated in a live drum example.

5) More on rolls and what to insert in between short rolls to turn it into a different phrase

Bottom line: An approach to a percussion study of what to do with a phrase in the top of the page and develop it in various styles (High to low descent licks, alternate slap open variations) as you go to the bottom of the page. I find it particularly intense when a player "obsesses" over a phrase and begins a progression of the phrase, over and over again, but each with a different feel !

All in all, how I practice only has about 40 different distinct phrases, yet when I apply the different approaches I systematically can go to 300 variations (total) that can go into a solo. I don't want to suggest a very complicated approach to all this, more of a "Here is a phrase, now apply some variation rules(I use about 8 blocks of rules, varying the time, note groupings and descent positions---then I apply one of these rules to the phrase in which they sound best). After all of this I see what interesting feels come out of it" !!!

I suggest for all the rumberos out there to get a drum machine and plug in the initial phrase(you can also overlay a full ensemble with Palitos, claves, cowbell and Tumbaos), turn it on, and pound away the phrase and its variations, returning to the phrase that the drum machine relentlessly plays,, then shift and "distort" the phrase but all in the pocket of the original phrase...very tricky but incredibly captivating... I already programmed Cliff's material into my machine, so Cliff you will be forever etched into its memory !

In conclusion, these are my suggestions, Cliff: Volume I is a masterpiece for all the Repicadores !

-----------Post 2------------
Notes in music activate through your auditory nerves the neuron connections in the brain...so the strategy of what I mention below is to activate a cluster of neurons with a basic phrase and keep hammering at it from different directions, in novel ways, to keep those neurons looking in all directions !

For example: Take the phrase sSs-SS (the S is an accent for the everpresent sss-ss in so many solos). What can you do with such a simple building block and play it as if it a lot of different variations ?

1) Split the phrase - Take the first half, repeat it multiple times - sSs sSs sSs-SS or the ending SS SS

2) Play the phrase in a descent fashion, high on the s S s then lower into the SS down below

3) Add 16 note rolls in between - sSs-SS ssss sSs-ss ssss ssss

4) Add fills sSs-SS s-s-s sSs-SS ss-s sSs-SS s--s s--s

5) Play it choppy style (wide side to side licks, high from above)

6) Alternate it with opens sSs-OO or muffled mMm-OO, or oOo-SS

Some fills and rolls sound better with some basic phrases, all you need is a FILL BLOCK to choose from, then apply the whole FILL BLOCK to the basic phrase. For myself I have about 5 FILL BLOCKS that I apply as a template to a basic phrase, 4 fills to a block, here is a block

Ss,,,
SS-S
S-S-S
SsSs

Always aim for an unaccented fill (Ss) and after the phrase an accented fill (SS-S). This gives the solo excitement, the unaccented fills 'rewind' the phrase, while the accented ones 'emphasize' the phrase. As for myself I don't go beyond 15 seconds in a developing a phrase, it gets boring for everyone...so you take the ending of the 15 seconds and develop another phrase, go for another 15 seconds on that, and so on.

7) Finally you can Front Load the Phrase or Back Load the Phrase, by this I mean a phrase that starts with the fills or a phrase that ends with fills. This may turn the phrase into a different neural recognition, so use this with caution:

s-Ss-s-s-s sSs-SS (Front loaded)
sSs-SS s-ss-s--s--ss (Back loaded)

Sound totally different, as the phrases cluster with fills they become ever larger phrases !!

And finally you can go into a 6/8 feel with the phrase, "stretching" the notes ... or you can slow down the phrase by heightening your hands and descend really slow...by this point you should finish the phrase since psychologically most people tune off that phrase at that point...at this point whack them with a FLAM--FLAM--FLAM, begin to play low another phrase back at step 1.
-----Post 3-------
Yes, the s is a slap (any hand will do) and the S is a slap with an emphasis...I don't use Left-Right notation for two reasons: some people are left handed and also because I always aim to be ambidextrous with both hands as it comes to emphasis...Sometimes my starting position is always the right dominant hand, but the pattern may demand a dominant emphasis on the left midpoint into it...The small s meant unemphasized slaps in 4/4. So sSs are quarter notes, the first count at the beginning of a beat. And for emphasis you don't need to hit the head so hard, congas sound much deeper when you "surprise" the drum, suddenly and with authority, then bounce out it immediately. Practice a "falling movement" instead of a beating movement where the hand/arm is always exerting force.

I realize that for some this "psycho babble" may sound academic, the point is this: you have to whack the listeners with your "point", over and over again, sometimes when they expect it...and sometimes syncopated when they least expect it...its always a thrill to watch people rocking their heads up and down and ZAPPP, your "point" comes somewhere else and literally jolts them...that is a very personal thing that is up to each of us when we do it.

Some of these "points" could be as simple as an ending S, it will always come down to that solitary note, an S

000 S
000 S
s-s S
00- S
Ss- S

Written here in a vertical fashion to emphasize that S !
There are a lot of traditions, e.g. Palo Monte, that start with very short phrases, 0-S, where you can build a 100 story building of variations, still keeping it within O-S...Visit <http://1ww.free.fr/> and take some of the rhythms (e.g. Bomba, Guaganco, Bembe) and develop your own phrases from the rhythm fragments...or if you are more adventurous take it from Bata...lots of 6/8 fragments there...you will see that these phrases become very distinct, even as you surround them with lots of fills and rolls...

And if you like rolls, check out some Belly Dancing music or Indian Tablas, they do a lot of short roll groupings as phrases themselves, very very interesting !

Another point: Open tones "bounce the drum" and ready it for that slap...the slaps become much sharper when the head is bounced a few times before you crack it...listen to a Carnaval comparsa, you will see many open tones followed by 2-3 slaps...don't be so slap happy...more opens and muffled will add a lot of variety to your solos...

Now something else that plagues quinto players:

1) SPEED IS YOUR ENEMY ! I know, we all try to impress as to how fast we all are, but the faster you go the less clarity you get...to me its that clear/precise statement that I make on the drum more important than how many statements I can cram into a solo. Too many rolls muddy your statement, use rolls sparingly...Aim to drum with Authority not Speed !

2) The drum approach is many times more important than the pattern itself: sSs-SS is very important but to the listener it sound completely different when:
a) You go from high hand positions to low, straight down
b) You go choppy style, side to side high on the drum
c) You play it even and fast

3) And this one I learned in public speaking class: Silence is as important as the words themselves...the dramatic pauses, the underlying peacefulness where you are inserting your notes...work with that precious silence as your friend...color it with notes with plenty of spacing of different time lengths...that is much more important to an avalanche of notes....Tata Guines said that too many percussionists want to impress him with these complicated rolls and whacking that drum really hard, with no real statement being made...its like a boxer that flays away with no concept of a target...Have you seen those flyweights that punch thousands of times and their opponents hardly feel them ?...they just wear themselves out and show how little "class" they have ! Aim for those "Cracks from the Sky", like Chango cracks with lightning the earth like a giant drum !

4) In another thread there was a mention of Olatunji passing away...I have drummed with him in many places, he was the initial inspiration to me that all of my musical efforts are not about just drumming, that you have to SING and DANCE, that you have to develop yourself as a WHOLE HUMAN BEING, at all levels, which will exponentially improve your drumming style. The old rumberos of the past: Malanga, Mulense, Chano, Papa Montero, Rene where more complete than todays rumberos, they SANG and DANCED with their whole being, and when they sat on the drum...well, you know what happens...

If you want to see or hear some examples of the drumming styles in audio or video, see

High to low style, choppy style - Patato, Papin, tend to play really high on the drum. See the videos of the Munequitos or AfroCuba de Matanzas and you will see them too.

Fast, low on the drum, lots of rolls - Richie Flores the king of rolls appears in a lot of CDs, also Giovanni Hidalgo and Anga

Precise + Clear style - Check out Dudu Tucci, Weltwunder.com, extremely interesting.

All of the above, of course, will play other styles, I include them as EXAMPLES of what they tend to do in the recordings I have seen. These styles may change in a solo as the drummer's inspiration and mood changes, so they are not a hard and fast rule...