one drum can be most difficult - one drum can be most difficult

[Mundo]

hello all your conqueros... I have a Latin jazz sextet band.. and dependent on the gig I use
1, 2 or 3 drums...I have both a set of fiber glass with remo nu-skys and a pair of Pearl wood drums with mule head skins,,,living in NYC. some time the venue is so small and intimate that I just use one wood conga and bongos,I use my Cajon as a seat. there are other times were the humility is so high that I just go with my fiber class drums.. I feel wholeheartedly that when playing just one drum your technique has to be really good to get all the sounds..so and some ways it is more difficult playing one as oppose to 2, or 3..
mucho ache!
Michaelangelo

[ralph]

Speaking of one drum, Tommy Lopez (Eddie Palmieri's conguero) is the one to hear, he gets such a sweet sound from just one drum.
To play one drum, it is true you must be able to get a wide range of sounds from just one, from bass, slap, muffled etc..a good example of this would be Tata Guines.



Edited By ralph on 1114292513

[Berimbau]

WOW!! What a nice (though so far short) thread! I jumped into the multiple conga set-up with lots of HEAVY stands early in my playing career. By the mid-70's as the Brasilian percussion thing became ever more important to me, I started carrying more auxilliary percussion and left the third tub at home. After studying with Nana Vasconcelos, I lost all extraneous stands and started using only ONE, yep, ONE TUB on ALL my gigs. One drum is challenging, but a good traditional player KNOWS the importance of bass tones and how to manipulate the sound by lifting the tumba off the floor for an extended range of open tones.
Now Tata Guines or Mongo Sanatmaria could EASILY play an entire gig easily with just one tub!! Several years ago, a hot shot conguero was visiting me from out of town and wanted to jam. I only had two drums at the time, and so I picked up my berimbau. My friend was completely UNABLE to orient himself to a two tub set-up. It was bizzare, but he could only play THREE or FOUR congas at a time. Needless to say it wasn't much of a descarga!
That said I am once again using two drums on most gigs, but I do enjoy digging in and rediscovering all the fantastic colors and timbres inherent in ONE tumbadora. By mixing in a number of Indian and Middle Eastern techniques, one tub can be a universe!

Saludos,


Berimbau

[yoni]

Hi Berimbau!

I also love to play one drum. I have 3 congas and still use all 3 at times, but lately my main axe is one dahola (bass darbuka).

Years ago I only had one conga - loved it so much I even wrote a story concerning its near loss. (See "short story - dance band memory", now on page 2 or 3 of "Open Discussion".

I agree, one tub can be a universe indeed!

Yonatan Bar Rashi

[Chris D'Sylver]

As someone who is just getting into this, i have a couple of questions.

1. Asuming that you own a set of 2/ 3 congas. which one would you take on a gig if you wanted to use only one drum.??

2. I have noticed that some players prefer to have there drums standing on the floor, while others use a stand. So which give the best resalts.??

Cheers.

Chris.



Edited By Chris D'Sylver on 1114344329

[yoni]

Hi Chris and welcome to the forum!

I would take the highest-pitched drum to the gig. Drums on stands will give you more volume and bass, but drums sitting on the floor, "street style", can give more pure tones. If the band is big and I want more volume to cut through, I might use a stand. Both these preferences are of course matters of taste.

Happy drumming!

Yonatan Bar Rashi

[Mundo]

if you are going to use one drum then take the middle drum., which is the conga. the conga will gve you the greatest range of sound with central tunning..i always thought the conga which is the middle drum is the hardest to tune, but it is the single drum to take on a gig with limited space..

mucho ache!
Michaelangelo

[zaragemca]

I do agree with Mundo in taking the conga if playing with one drum,that's the way that the tumbadores in Cuba started,(before the development of the rod tuning system),and is the reason for which they,(my ancestors),developed the technique to create differents pitches out of one drum..Dr. Zaragemca



Edited By zaragemca on 1114447071