Palm/Tip

[Mike]

Excellent material and a pleasure to listen and watch, Abakua!

From another angle and using 2 drums:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qwAsaS5dCg

This clip of yours is most useful to actually SEE the mano secreta movement being executed, which is essential for beginners.

Thanks in the name of the conga world



Edited By Mike on 1194790285

[ABAKUA]

Im glad you enjoyed that Mike. I will try to get around posting some more exercises that you can use with that fomula soon.

For anyone who missed my previous post (on the page before this one) here are some of the links to my vids..

The following is only the basic mano secreta fundamental movement:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng4yOIrlvps

From another angle and using 2 drums:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qwAsaS5dCg



Here, the the same principal of the left hand formula can be adapted to some other feels including 6/8 for example..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiWHo0LcxX0

From another angle and using 2 drums:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr_VhzSotHI

I will try to post up some more exercises in the next few days that will help develop the movement.

Hope this has been of some help.



Edited By ABAKUA on 1194792467

[CongaTick]

Abakua,

As Mike said--- mil gracias, hermano! You opened the door for a lot of us. The slower the demo, the better.

[windhorse]

I've been wondering for some now, how you guys that are so quick on the 2 or 3 drum Guaguanco can get so much fill in on the quinto and still always hit the segundo and tumba in exactly the right place.. Now I know.

Very interesting... Much to study from these vids!
Thanks a bunch Abakua!

[buckoh]

Abuka, I just watched your vid and its great! A necessary part for any serious conguero. Can anyone tell me how to save the youtube videos so I can reference them at will. There is probably some crack software, I just haven't come across it. Thanks for the VALUABLE info. I'm playing a fundraiser this afternoon for a dear friend who is a singer/guitar player and well loved all over eastern North Carolina. She has a very serious case of a rare cancer. Please send your thoughts & prayers for Kitty West. Buck

[Firebrand]

Abakua,

THANK YOU! I've been doing something similar, so I'm happy to know that I'm not totally off-base with what I'm practicing. The time you took to record the videos is much appreciated and may you be blessed with more gigs for it!

it seems like the basic movement is the one that is shown in the "hand movement" changuito/giovanni duets video. I'll keep practicing.

[JohnnyConga]

Actually Abakua and others what your doing is called "ruffs". . . in the first video. . . .Johnny Conga



Edited By JohnnyConga on 1194811742

[ABAKUA]

Actually Abakua and others what your doing is called "ruffs". . . in the first video. . . .Johnny Conga

'Ruffs' to some, 'mano secreta' according to Changuito/Anga, either way, its basic stick control rudiments adapted to tumbadoras. Almost like saying the tumbao/marcha is 1/8th notes. etc All good.
But seeing as Anga/Tata etc etc were a major influence on me and the technique was passed to me by Anga, I will refer to it as Mano Secreta (Secret Hand - spanish translation)

Im glad you guys liked the vids.



Edited By ABAKUA on 1194820171

[JohnnyConga]

Beautiful hands and technique!!. . .thats the way it's done. . . .Johnny Conga. . . .

[ABAKUA]

Beautiful hands and technique!!. . .thats the way it's done. . . .Johnny Conga. . . .

Coming from you that is a true compliment! I got a long way to go before Im near your level bro! That study trip to see you looks ever more tempting!

[Firebrand]

Abuka, I just watched your vid and its great! A necessary part for any serious conguero. Can anyone tell me how to save the youtube videos so I can reference them at will. There is probably some crack software, I just haven't come across it. Thanks for the VALUABLE info. I'm playing a fundraiser this afternoon for a dear friend who is a singer/guitar player and well loved all over eastern North Carolina. She has a very serious case of a rare cancer. Please send your thoughts & prayers for Kitty West. Buck

There is a utility called "Download Helper" which is an addon for Mozilla Firefox (a plugin). Once you have a video completely downloaded on a Flash screen on your page, you can click the utility button and it will allow you to save the .FLV file down to your computer. There's programs that can convert and burn FLV files into DVD .VOB files.

That's what I use.

[Firebrand]

they may be just "ruffs", but as a drummer, I can tell you that to achieve that loudness/crispness/speed with hands, you have to apply a different technique. Someone else on this page made a comparison: Either use the snare-drum style "mamma-daddy", where you use you the front of the hand only and use wrist force to make it bounce twice, or you use the Mano Secreta way, which is to contact the head with the heel of the hand first, and then the tip. After trying the Mano Secreta way, I find that you can get louder rolls on congas that way. The mamma-daddy way just doesn't get the same speed or loudness.

That's something that, as primarily a drummer, I didn't understand, and I've been trying to replicate rolls and Snare Rudiments to congas and would be frustrated that I couldn't get the type of speed and loudness that David Ortiz, his potritos, or Giovanni gets. Now I know...I was taking the Mamma-Daddy approach, and now I'm starting to practice the rudiments with the Mano Secreta way. I did ruffs yesterday and I was getting them as crisp as anyone I've seen online.

[pavloconga]

Great stuff, thanks for putting up the vids Abakua.

For many more hand movements check out:
Changuito's "Evolution of the Tumbadoras" (Warner Bros)

and Anga's (R.I.P.) 'Anga Mania', (Music in Motion) both of these vids are amazing and both have tons of hand movements to learn. They could easily keep you busy practising for the next year!

ciao
Pavlo



Edited By pavloconga on 1194873597

Attachment: http://mycongaplace.com/forum/eng/uploa ... ga_vid.jpg

[ozrivera]

Salduos Hermanos

actually theres another downloader that actually downloads the vids from youtube and other video hosting sites to a directory as an mpeg. and you burn it to a dvd from there. i have burned many videos from youtube to dvd's. ill get the name whenever i get home. im working right now. hehe

marcelo
great technique and hand speed brother. thanks for the post

suave

oz

[ABAKUA]

Im glad you guys enjoyed the vids, even better if they are serve use to you! I thought that angle would be best to see the hand position etc...
Cool!