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1st rule - PLAY TIME! until it's YOUR time!

2nd rule- DO NOT OVERPLAY!

3rd rule- PAY ATTENTION!

4th rule- KNOW YOUR CLAVE!

5TH rule- UNDERSTAND THE MUSIC/FORM YOUR PLAYING TO!

6TH rule- UNDERSTAND YOUR ROLE AS THE CONGA DRUMMER AND WHAT'S EXPECTED OF YOU!

7th rule- BE ON TIME!

8th rule- KNOW HOW TO COUNT AS YOU PLAY!

9th rule- KNOW YOUR RHYTHMS/STYLES!

10th rule-LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN!

11th rule- PLAY WITH DYNAMICS!

12th rule- BE AN UNSELFISH PLAYER,BE A GIVER!

13th rule- MAINTAIN A 'PROFESSIONAL' ATTITUDE AT ALL TIMES!

14th rule- STUDY AND LEARN ABOUT THE CULTURE AND THE MUSIC SURROUNDING THE CONGA DRUM!

15th rule- DESIRE,DISCEPLINE, DEDICATION, DETERMINATION = DESTINY

the last one might not necessarily be a rule but something to be addressed.....Can anyone think of anymore rules concerning "Musical Engagement"?.....today too many rules have been broken just like our financial system and it's up to us to maintain what we already know and not "give in" to any kind of peer pressure or politics, that could, in the end, lead to our demise as Artist's.......Johnny Conga

JConga wrote:
15th rule- DESIRE,DISCEPLINE, DEDICATION, DETERMINATION = DESTINY

Yes, indeed, very much so - sadly enough my pupils tend to find especially this one merely amusing.
But it is actually the core value to almost everything!

JC, I love these! I'm putting these on the wall of my music room!

Johnny,
If you could distill these down to seven fundamental rules, I think they could live on for generations, past from old drummer to young drummer.
-David

I love it! If we could get them down to 10, then we'd have "The 10 Commandments of Drum"

I don't know if it should be a rule, but having found a teacher/coach/mentor (with JCs help I might add) it is my opinion that was the BEST step that I could have possibly taken. No possible way could I have stumbled around on my own and found a path that would lead to the kind of progress I am making by having a teacher.

JC: As much as I applaud to your "commandments", personally, I feel I should add that these are rules of thumb as directed to students; in other words, they may be intentionally broken if the musical situation is suggesting this.

As a drum set player in the Jazz field, I was often advised to play with a more open, free concept as opposed to ride all the way through, because the guys wanted to appear "hip" in performance. As a result, I got lost, the time feel went to hell etc. Generally I felt more comfortable in straight-ahead traditional styles then. The same thing happened to me in a Latin Jazz band, where the bassist encouraged me to depart from the tumbao behind solos. He suggested that I try to play more like a quinto player, or with a bongocero concept on top of the trap drum part. Although this was something I had always wanted to explore, I was reluctant at first, given my bad experiences from the past. But after a few attempts, it eventually seemed to work: I found myself improvising together with the soloing pianist just as a quinto player comments a rumba dancer's motions.

This was only possible because the other guys in the rhythm section did a flawless job. If you have a bass player and a drummer playing a bass drum who are really in command of the time, then much more is possible. Of course, the conga drummer should be ready to carry the time for them too - always. If you got a bunch of guys who screw everything up that you trust them over, just provide a steady ride, no matter how hip they want to be.

The range of possibilities does not only depend on the people we are playing with, but of course also the type of music. Playing straight-ahead Salsa, or dance gigs of any musical style, requires a steady tumbao or ride to be maintained most of the time. Pop music often needs a very basic style, too; sometimes of unimaginable simplicity. It all depends. So this is how we should approach so-called rules: use them as starting points or guidelines. I mean, we are artists after all, aren't we?

The recommendation to learn how to count behind playing is to me part of reading technique. For a drummer, reading music means counting bars for the biggest part. I still find it hard to read my part when I play congas, because both actions are energetically so different, even controversial. You have the relatively large physical motorics, and you are producing and creating red-hot energy on the one hand, and at the same time you must channel yourself to pick up those black dots from a sheet of paper in front of you, which is kind of restraining or diminishing yourself.

Thomas

Hear. hear, Thomas!

Hi JC,

Looks like you covered it. Great job! I don't know if you consider this is a rule but in addition to your list I always tell my students never play a gig for free. I tell them they have invested time, Lessons, equipment and more. None were free for them so why would they play for free? Some drummers at least here in Chicago are so eager and willing to play they will do it for free. I would bet Chicago is not the only place this happens. I believe if it is a real gig every one should be paid. Every one will play for free from time to time with friends, drum circles, jams,and charity and other functions but if it is a regular gig and any money is involved the drummers must also be paid. No exception to this rule. This advice has paid off for my students. They have all been paid for their labors no matter what level they are at.

Happy Drumming to you.

Dave Thorn's 12 tips for musicians:
[list=]
[*]Absorb all the media-generated "information" you can. [/*]

[*]Ignore all the media-generated "information" you've absorbed.[/*]

[*]Live a life and show it.[/*]

[*]Hone your craft, relentlessly. However, a hiatus from practicing is probably called for when your inner voice nags that you're becoming a music player instead of a musician. There's a difference: A music player's goal is mastery of the craft of EXECUTING idiomatically correct notes and beats; a musician's goal is to breathe his/her perceptions right THROUGH them.[/*]

[*]Do not avoid, bypass or obliterate your musical idiosyncrasies; these oddities are likely the keys to your most personal expressions. Amplify them. Distort them. Delay them. Turn up the reverb.[/*]

[*]Grow your own musical idiom. Feed it with the preexisting idioms that you love most. Play from it, regardless of the context in which you're working.[/*]

[*]Do your damnedest to skate your psyche neatly around-or, squarely and smack dab into-folks who listen exclusively to this or that "kind of music." If your music happens to fall even nominally within the confines of "their kind" of music, they may not take kindly to having their comfortable notions challenged. (On the other hand, they might just wanna lionize you as the new Godmother of Soul.)[/*]

[*]Are you primarily seeking Fame? Do the musical community a favor and become a Hollywood celebrity instead. If Glory is number one on your priority list, why not simply martyr yourself for a religion? Should your deepest desires revolve around the acquisition of Power, seek you just rewards via a career in politics. Is Big Money what you're after? Well, you could engage in ANY of the aforementioned pursuits. Granted, these goodies are possible side effects of a life in music. But, as primary goals, they're ticks primed to suck the blood from your creative body. So sit down, order your priorities and define the word "success" for yourself.[/*]

[*]Subscribe only to myths of your own devising. Don't let the Myth of Luminous Rock God guide you or divest you of a potentially life-long love affair with music. Faced with a choice between making a living and keeping my dignity intact, I'd opt for the latter. That way my love for music should remain unsullied, and I wouldn't lose myself as a bit player in someone els's myth.[/*]

[*]Forget the "music industry" whenever you can. It's a whole PLANETLOAD of frightened mothers out there.[/*]

[*]Remember your first magical immersion in music? Revel in that human animal innocence, and bring THAT to the gig.[/*]

[*]Listen.[/*] [/list]

Well, it looks like I've uncovered a bug in our forum's ability to generate a list.
Here's the link to the website if the BBCode hurts your eyes.

http://home.mindspring.com/~mcdave1/davetorn.html

Rule 16. Stay sober...
Don't drink and drive a conga!

I say this partly tongue in cheek as I've seen a few people go on stage a little too tanked up to remember what they need to!

This is a great discussion... Thanks to all the feedback.
Nurturing the love of what we do is important,
and so is the work, knowledge & discipline to help you "earn
your wings to fly".

ISAAC

Johnny you got it down perfect and did not miss anything...

If some people will follow that...specially with the new generation"Giovanny's style wonder kids"...

Saludos!