Dicemanb wrote:Nice one Sensei C,
I have also seen Brazilian drummers use a slap where the heel first hits the front flat of the drum and the finger tips hit the back part of the skin. Sort of dampen the skin with heel, slap with tips. Any ideas on that one?
I wonder if what you are describing is similar to a slap technique I saw used in West Africa where the heel of the hand was more or less in the centre of the drum and the finger tips are striking near the edge of the
opposite side of the drum?
One of the most intriguing (and definitely the loudest) kinds of slaps I have ever seen on the congas was shown and demonstrated to me by master conguero Sandalio 'El Macho' Calderon in Havana, Cuba.
It's a variation on the rumba slap – where usually you slap with the right hand, while the left hand is flat and exerting slight pressure on the drum head.
He demonstrated to me his technique where he still exerted pressure with his left hand on the drum head... but he formed his left hand into a sort of hollow so that it became in effect like a sound chamber which
greatly amplified the volume of the slap. Played by him it was almost deafening (and kind of mind blowing). He also showed to me the difference in volume between the two techniques and how you could use both slap techniques in the course of playing. This kind of slap was usually used in a rumba context.
Has anyone seen this slap technique used on the congas?