Independance Exercises - developing independance with handing

[windhorse]

After seeing Chuchito Valdes the other night, and noticing the drummer playing rumba clave with his left hand and palitos with his right, I decided to try it.
I told my friend that I was amazed and impressed at the hand independance, and he said, "oh well they come down on the same beats, so that's an easy one."
Anyway, last night I tried it, and got it in a matter of minutes!

Last summer I learned how to do the 6/8 bell on right hand with stick, and the "Kipa" quinto to to Bembe with the left hand - and that took a day to get, and months to internalize completely.

Oh yes, the only other one I know is the two bell pattern to Iyesa: downbeat "downtown ckricket" with right hand, and upbeat doubles with the left.

Anything else to try and tackle while working on independance?
Tips Suggestions?

BTW about switching hands, here's a three drum mambo with the montuno switching from left to right hands on each measure.
http://www.animaldreams.net/cong/congblock.html#switch

[zaragemca]

greeting,windhorse,doing a little history in that subject,it was the case that when the hand-bell was incorporated in to the conjuntos the clave was dropped,but at one point,the timbaleros started reincorporating the clave with the jam-block,and doing the timbales bells-pattern with the other hand,but the most difficult one is the Mambo-bells pattern,with the rumba clave.Now in reality the top independency percussion riff is trying to do a Samba beat, by keeping a 6/8 pattern on (R-H), a 5/4 pattern on (L-H),and (is being a drummer), keeping 2/16 in (4/4) on bass-drum. And then switched the hands term,without stopping the beat..It was created by me around 4 years ago for the advanced percussion instruction. your brother Dr.Zaragemca



Edited By zaragemca on 1110389214

[Juzzi]

Hello windhorse!
Do you have a gajate bracket or similar? If you don't, get one. Playing clave with your foot is very good to your independence.
Try playing son clave, rumba clave and 6/8 clave with your foot
over your normal tumbaos. After you'll get comfortable with that you can try to do solo over clave patterns.

-J

[GuruPimpi]

Just today I worked some on developing independance... looks, hears so easy but in real... geeez, mindblowing...
Maybe it would be easier if there was no stated ''Indepedance exercise'' cause then you know what you have hit... a wall - BOOM!

[GuruPimpi]

I mean, you would just play and not think
(geeez , my english....) :angry:

[windhorse]

Do you have a gajate bracket or similar? If you don't, get one. Playing clave with your foot is very good to your independence.
Try playing son clave, rumba clave and 6/8 clave with your foot
over your normal tumbaos. After you'll get comfortable with that you can try to do solo over clave patterns.

Yeah, that's another big step down the road.
Haven't done that yet,, but I'm developing the ability to tap out the clave with foot.
Maybe I'll get a foot peddle sooner than later..

[Mike Miller]

I am completely intrigued with independence. I learned to play the clave and palitos simultaneously quickly. It's as much melodic as it is rhythmic. For the last six months I have been working on incorporate foot pedal clave, bell and tamborine rhythms while playing congas and timbales.

This is good stuff!

[dannydrumperc]

As drums being my first instrument, I always try to incorporate the independence concept when playing percussion.

I have a book by Glen Caruba, Modern Percussion Groves, that have some independence excercises. My favourite is a 6/8 were you play one bell with your foot, another with your right hand and a conga with your left (right-handed set-up). Others include playing shaker or tambourine with one hand and something else with the other.

The main idea of the independance is to sound as full as possible. Last night I played with a band where I use a multi-percussion set-up. I played the congas with a mallet in my right hand so I could play cowbells or woodblocks too, and a another cowbell in a pedal. I have to admit that I need to practice it some more, but it certainly sounded a lot more fuller!

Remember: the more instruments you can play simultaneuosly, the less people you'll have to share the gig with!

[Tone]

Hello Windhorse,

on my last day in havana last december I was walking the street and heard some conga playing coming over a wall in havana vieja. I saw the entrance of the building further down which happened to be a music consevatory. I looked inquisitivly and was soon invited in. In a nice court yard there was this teacher and his assistant teaching those two spaniards I had met a few days earlier. Anyway this is just for context. The teacher when showing something always asked his assistant to play the claves and likes. The guy had two drum sticks and was hitting the side of a conga in various combination. After doing some rumba with palitos and clave they soon moved on to popular and he was playing the son clave in one hand and the montuno bell with the other and that was really effective, he would also do the son clave with cascara. I have promised myself to do it but haven't found the time yet. The one thing I practised was singing the clave while playing son and montuno which is really helpful.
Another basic and easy one is just to play 2 with one hand and 3 with the other, which leads you easily to keep time with one hand while playing rumba clave with the other or 6/8 bell pattern.
Good luck and have fun with all those.

Tone

[zaragemca]

To Tone,do you remember any of the streets around that music conservatorio in Havana?.

[Laurent Lamy]

Hi everybody,

The independence is exactly the subject of my on-line lesson of March. With audio video and pdf files. You can find it on my site but it is in French : ZunZun Web online lesson

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