Could you expand more in detail on the major shortcomings of a "YouTube-trained" bongos student ?
For example, what were precisely the causes of your student "below anything acceptable" sound ?
How would you exactly describe the most likely mistakes done from studying/learning bongos on Youtube ?
What do you wish the videos would stress as being "what is primarily important in music" ?
What would be your recommendations for beginning people who right now may not have any other option than studying YouTube videos online to learn/study bongos ?
Thomas Altmann wrote:Dear Beatnik,
I do/did not really have a massive amount of bongo students to report about; most people come to me for congas and batá, and they are inreasingly from an advanced segment. Anyway:
The sound seems to be hard to pick up from the clips. Especially the dynamics tend to be leveled down to a linear volume. Also, the physicality, like lifting and striking motions, posture or breathing, are to be carefully observed by student and teacher in a lesson dialogue. Playing hand drums with bad technique can become dangerous, because you can hurt your hands, wrists or fingers, or contract a tendonitis. There are numerous things that can go wrong without this person-to-person communication, too numerous in fact to list up, or even think about.
Hand drum technique requires precise articulation of sound diversity. The thumb stroke has its own sound quality for instance, as has any other stroke on each of the drums. It also has the double function of muting the macho head, or rather shortening the resonating surface in order to achieve what I call the "click sound" on the bongo. Hand positioning and drum head zones are important. How long do the fingers rest on the drum? How do I time my motions, and how and when do I travel from the macho to the hembra and vice versa? If you have no idea how the bongo has to sound live, the danger is that you play one inarticulate sequence of strokes at an undistinguishable sound range in uniform dynamics.
See above and below. However, I do not have hundreds of students to supply representative statistics.
Look, music is an art. It is almost like a secret science. The nature of this art is a subject of constant searching, for me as for anyone else. Chances are that people with more experience are ahead of beginners, so they can give them the right advice at the right moment, or even pose the right questions to guide the student on his way. A good teacher should realize the specific talents as well as the shortcomings of each individual student and respond to them accordingly, as opposed to deliver a one-for-all how-to-do, or teach the solutions to his own personal problems in the first place (very common). This is the fate of YouTube teachers: They are unable to respond to the individual needs of a student, and in many instances they are probably not even qualified. I don't have any hope that all of the requirements of an artist may be covered in a YouTube video, and that is just O.K.. These can be very practical, like playing accurately in time, producing a fine tone, gaining rhythmic and metrical authority, being able to play in more than 3 different tempos, knowing how to fit in a rhythm- or percussion section, or any band of any size, style or genre. But the requirements may also refer to musical taste, or playing with confidence and sensitivity at the same time, developing style, or whatever a teacher detects as relevant for the student.
Thomas Altmann wrote:I'm sorry if you felt discouraged by my remark of "starting from zero". This is just what I saw happening to my students, and consciously I used the word "might".
Chtimulato wrote:Hello and happy new year to everyone.
Using the #5 pattern, martillo should begin on the first "box" (if you're playing the 3/2 clave) and the 9th (if you're playing 2/3).
You'll notice (if you haven't done yet) that you play the same martillo pattern in the 2 parts.
Once you can play it, it will be interesting and important to learn some variations.
If you can't find a teacher, either in real life or online, could you at least film yourself while playing and post the video here ?
So we can tell you what we think of your playing.
Have fun.
David Parada syncs the martillo and the 3-2 Son Clave by first starting the martillo on its 4th beat (hembra)
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 12 guests