These are a seies of posts about how to learn the vocabulary of “Latin Music”
Hi all! Here is a little something I put together for Drums and Percussion magazine in Germany some years back. How to play Songo with more open phrasing . Many people can play the pattern but few can improvise effectively. Especially if you haven’t done any gigs with the Songo. So here are some coordination …
Hi Folks. Here is something i think you might enjoy. It’s from a workshop I did for Drums and Percussion magazine in Germany some years ago! In this workshop you can see how some very interesting phrasing concepts work in Afro Cuban music. Enjoy!
Welcome to our next workshop. The mixture of the 6 feel and 2 feel is omnipresent in almost all Latin styles. One of the most popular grooves in South America is Cumbia. And boy…this new stuff being played swings like mad! It has such a huge hump it almost feels like you could roll off …
Bells bells bells! I cant get enough of those bells! This next workshop deals with…The famous and wonderfully colorful sound of the cowbell. Learning the function of bells is a very important step in your journey into Latin music. In the U.S. some people call them cowbells. “Campana” as it is known in the Latin …
Contra Campana Greetings to all and welcome to our next workshop. We explored some basics of the Bongo or Coro bell on the drumset. Now lets get another pattern together. This pattern is played on what is called “Contra Campana” . It is also known as the “Mambo bell” or Timbal bell. Some explanation of …
Welcome to the next workshop. Although there are many books and there is much discussion about the patterns played on the bells, this is without a doubt a topic that is understood at a much deeper level when you listen to the music and take in a bit of the culture. One of the tasks …
HI Folks!! In this next workshop we will focus on a few different things. A) Basic Coro / Bongo Bell patterns. B) Learning a few new terms that will help you function in an ensemble. C) Basic independence with the Coro bell. [fancy_link link=”www.gonbops.com” variation=”orange”]Gonbops Percussion[/fancy_link] Just to review, the Coro bell, AKA Bongo bell, …
When playing in a Salsa band, there will be many times when you are the sole provider of bell bliss. It’s pretty common for the drumset to play the timbal parts and sometimes even replace the timbalero on gigs. This is sometimes done because of economic reasons. When a full percussion section is too expensive …
Clave Directions 3-2 or 2-3? We have set a nice foundation for understanding how the clave time line functions. Now it is time for a few basic guidelines that you use when playing the music and following charts. We have all heard the terms 3–2 clave or 2-3 clave right? Well if you haven’t, let …
It’s time to focus on the next steps in becoming a Latin player. Learning details of each style. I should tell you first that this is a road with no ending. Styles come and go and the variety that can be studied, is mind boggling. From this point on you can consider yourself a researcher …