Looking for CD of rhythms (with possible notation)

[GeorgeB]

Hi Everyone,

Is there a CD that contains a variety (lots, hopefully) of conga rhythms. I know the Conga Joy sound clips are available online and it may be a good place to start but I'm having a bit of an issue with the timing; most of the recordings have been developed with the same tempo and having no real background on Latin and Afro-Cuban rhythms, it's difficult to get a sense of what the proper feel would be.

Ultimately, I'm looking for a pile of rhythms that I can play to

For all you pro congueros out there.. this would be a worthwhile project. I would buy it in a heartbeat, especially if it had the notation in terms of what should be open tone, slap, etc.

BTW - I use the Amadeus Pro program to loop sound files. It's good and inexpensive.

Thanks,
George

[niallgregory]

Hi George ,

As usual there is no real substitute for a real live conga player to teach you these rhythms . Sometimes i know this isnt possible though . I bought ed uribes essence of Afro Cuban percussion and drumset many years ago , before i went to cuba to study .I have to say this a great book by ed and a massive study . It includes most of the folkloric and popular cuban rhythms, notated with recorded examples etc .A great book .The best out there imo . Michael spiros conga drummers guide book might also suit your needs .Cheers .Niall ....

[jorge]

Here is a long answer to your short question, because it sounds like you are underestimating how much time and work it takes to master a single rhythm on a conga drum. Don't try to learn a whole bunch of different rhythms at the same time, try to focus on one rhythm at a time and really learn to play it well, with the right feeling and sound. It takes years of playing with other good drummers to get the sound and feeling of a rhythm right. At the extreme, a friend of mine told me when he was starting out (about 40 years ago) he played nothing but tumbao every day for a year. Tumbao every day. For a year. Nothing else. He developed a mean tumbao, learned how to make it swing and project, and then began playing out, playing with groups, and playing rumba in the street. Within 12 years he was the conguero for Machito's band, and he is not even Cuban. Focus. I have been playing rumba for 38 years and have been focusing on the tres dos part in guaguanco for the last 10 years. I am not a professional musician and don't have many hours a day to practice, so I have kept my focus narrow. I can sit in on tres dos with the best rumberos in the world and be accepted. Of course I play other rhythms, but having mastered one that I can play forward, backwards, slow, fast, inside out and upside down in perfect time with the right feeling and presence and clarity of sound is my base. This has taken many years and a lot of hard work and even so, I am still learning new things in the tres dos part.

I am not trying to discourage you and you may have more time on your hands and not want to be as extremely focused as this, but don't try to be a jack of all rhythms and master of none. Be aware that this is only one (old school) approach, I am sure others will chime in with different approaches that have worked for them and their students. But before you get too involved with the mechanics of playing, listen to great music with great conga players, get and watch DVDs of great groups with congas, if you can go to see live groups that have great conga players. Find music that you love. Then choose a rhythm you really like and master it, work every day on your sound, timing, feeling, playing technique.

There are more and less efficient and effective ways of learning to play congas, but there are no shortcuts either in the street, in your home, on your CD player or iPod, or on the computer. It takes focus, feeling, and lots of practicing. If there are good conga players near you that you can play with on a regular basis, that is the tried and true way of learning. Listen to lots of music. Once you find music that you love, if it is Afrocuban, and that is what you want to learn, there are some members here that are excellent teachers. I don't know if you live in an area near any of them, or there is a good conga teacher near you, but having a good conga teacher, especially at the beginning, will help enormously. If not, and you want to play with bands or other music groups as the only conga player, there are some online and workshop resources that can help. You can go spend a few days or a week or more at an intensive workshop, Johnny Conga on this board offers a workshop in Seattle, and there may be others in other geographic areas. Several members on this board have produced CDs and books that will be helpful. I can personnally recommend the one week intensive Afrocuban drum and dance workshop every summer in Humboldt State University in Arcata, California. This workshop has some of the best Afrocuban drummers and singers in the US teaching, great rumbas every night, and other students at every level from total beginners to intermediate level. For the other 51 weeks of the year, or if finances won't allow travel to northern California, the other excellent resource I can recommend personally that is accessible by computer from anywhere is CongaMasterClass.com, mainly produced by Michael Spiro (an excellent teacher) but recently with some of the best Afrocuban conga players in the US including Jesus Diaz, Sandy Perez, and a guest appearance by an amazing trap drummer Roelvis Reyes "Bombon" from Pupy's band in Cuba. There is a monthly charge for website membership, although it is less than the cost of a live teacher. Truth in advertising, I am a beta tester for that website, however I get no financial compensation for this and my high opinion of the website is based on my assessment of the quality of the teaching for beginner and intermediate students of Afrocuban percussion.

[GeorgeB]

Jorge (and Niall),

Want to sincerely thank you for your replies and the thought you put into it. You are very correct in that I am just starting with congas. I have always wanted to learn to play reasonably well but did not seriously pick them up until I attained a level of proficiency with other percussion I play. So I get what you're saying. It would have been great if there was another way around it and a quicker way to get to where I would like to go, but as the saying goes; truth hurts, and your info is very appreciated. After I posted my message, my instinct was that one or several individuals are going to come along and post a reply that would make my original request seem a little foolish. So you did just that and it's good to know the reality. Part of the thing about not understanding the depth of the possibilities is that you have no context for what it takes and what's possible. Now I have to pick myself up off the floor but reality is preferred over ignorance.

Sincerely,
George

[bongosnotbombs]

THE AFRO-CUBAN FOLKLORIC MUSICAL TRADITION: a practical guide for percussionists by Robert Fernandez

http://www.leisureplanetmusic.com/bob/afrocuban.html

This is an excellent book. Written in clear musical notation with history and background on the rhythms. It comes with a CD. It covers a large number of rhythms. I've looked at the book at my local library. I haven't heard the CD, but the book is very nice quality, I assume the CD would be as well.

edit: actually I just listened to the samples page, the recordings are excellent.

[thomas newton]

Very good advice in this thread.

For a book and 'CD', the standard work in the area is by Tomas Cruz. A little old fashioned now but perfect for beginners with no teacher.

[bongosnotbombs]

TN,

From what I know Thomas Cruz method focuses on salsa y timba and less on the folkloric.

[thomas newton]

TN,

From what I know Thomas Cruz method focuses on salsa y timba and less on the folkloric.

You are right Geordie, but the strokes, rudiments, exercises, recuros, marchas etc. all develop good transferable skills.

As far as the folkloric, even for styles in the rumba complex, I personally wouldn't recommend learning anything SOLELY from books or video.
You will know Geordie, a good teacher gives you so much more than 'patterns'.

[bongosnotbombs]

Yeah, the Thomas Cruz has pretty good rudiments. It is always best to have a teacher, but some people have done pretty well with recordings and books. I have no idea where the OP is, there are quite of few places in the US and other parts of the world where finding a teacher would be a challenge. Congamasterclass.com fills in that gap as best it can.

[JohnnyConga]

chek out BILL MATTHEWS 'CONGAJOY" series on CD and video He uses "box" notation and one of his videos has almost a hundred different rhythms...mostly played on Ashiko...but can still be played on conga drums as well....Johnny Conga