by Jackson_B » Wed Nov 23, 2011 5:40 am
I'm not quite sure how I stumbled across your site, but what a wealth of info here! Thanks so much to all the members for the input and experience they are sharing.
I guess that I'm what you'd call a hobby drummer. I bought my first conga back in 1969 or 1970 after seeing a group of drummers hanging out and playing at Rainbow Beach on the south side of Chicago. It was a whole new world for me. Bougt some 'Last Poets' and played along. Over the years, I've gathered various drums (ashiko, tabla, djembe, mrdangam, conga, etc) and have gone to some drum circles. I've never REALLY learned to play, though. I can keep a beat, but really never learned the ins-and-outs and the various techniques. I've vowed that this year (my 60th), that I am going to start from the beginning and learn the basics and work my way up. I hope that it's not too late.
This afternoon, I ran across Johnny Conga's "How To Play Conga Drums" series. I think that these are just what I need. I also ran across a youtube site that someone created a bunch of 9 minute metronome clips (45 BPM, 60 BPM, 90 BPM, etc) Loading them on to my iPod now and getting ready to spend an hour a day with Johnny Conga.
I know that there are people here of all levels of expertise. Another novice might not be welcomed by a lot of the professionals here, but I promise not to be a nuisance. But meanwhile, I'm gonna soak it all up like a sponge.
Thanks again.
Jackson