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Hey everybody, I have just recieved the Poncho Sanchez conga cookbook. Not bad!! Yes it does cover a lot of material that other books cover but with interesting variations. It is written in regular music notation (congabebe listen up) and comes with a CD that is balance controled, drums and music or drums or music. Chuck Silverman did an excellent job of transcribing the licks to notation. I have found one mistake in the book to CD, the third lick on track 60 in the book is actually the first lick on track 61 on the CD. What is particularly interesting are the 2 solos at the back of the book. These solos are very tasteful and broken down to where you should be able to play them with some effort. Giovanni they aren't, but neither am I. If you can master everything in this book I feel you would be quite an accomplished congero, but it would make a great place to start for a beginner also (maybe a Kalani video would be better to start). The best book I have seen to date. Pancho plays with his congas in an odd position for me Quinto, Conga, Tumba left to right, I play Tumba, Quinto, Conga like I believe most do (am I right?) but this isn't much problem once you establish the low right is actually your left. If you only buy one book, in my opinion this would be it.

Bill,
Thanks for the review. I have been looking at that book on ebay and was interested in it but couldn't decide. I appreciate your comments, sounds like a good book. I like the idea of 'cookbook', but wasn't sure what to expect. I have a collection of material/books that I have gathered and it helps to get a teachers and players point of view. My teacher is not wise to all the 'written' books, so I am venturing out to try and educate myself. It is hard to decide what direction to go in with all that is available.

Thank you for your help,
Congabebe

Ponchos book is a simple approach to playing and nothing new to what is out there. I really would recommend the videos by Bill Matthews called Conga Joy. He shows you over 100 rhythms on 2 congas, jimbe and ashiko. Now nobody has heard of him outside of Seattle where he lives and teaches . I have the videos and found them to be invigorating because I saw and heard rhythms I have actually forgotten over my 40 years of playing so It is nice and simple playing parts for 2 drummers. He does 'drum circles' and is also an accomplished Painter/artist. I think you would be pleasently surprised by what he shows you . His other video is called "Drum talk".You can find them at http://www.congajoy.com.....I have seen most of the videos out there. I would recommend these....Hey why aren't there any videos on how to play Timbales???? Or Vibraphone??? .....At yoUR Service....JC JOHNNY CONGA

I am not familiar with the videos that JC is talking about but they sound good.
I have the Poncho Sanchez Conga Cookbook and I have enjoyed it. It is not ground breaking material or anything, but there are some interesting variations that are cool to pick up. There is not a lot on technique and stuff like that which I think would be hard to teach in a book anyway. For a novice I think this would still be good and for an intermediate player I think there is enough material to learn to keep you interested. Some of the 6/8 stuff was funky. The 2 solo parts at the end of the book seem challenging but not too difficult. I have not had a chance to work on those very much. Overall I am pleased with my purchase of the book. Poncho Sanchez has been a big influence on me so I might be a little biased. Chuck Silverman has some stuff from the book posted on his website if you want to check it out before you buy.
Juancao

Guys there is more to drumming then the Latin side of congas. There is Pop,Rand B,African,Jazz,Folklore,Odd meters,and a whole bunch of other"styles". Latin drumming is just "one" way to play on a conga drum. But you gotta start somewhere right.. I have always felt that Latin drumming is probably the more sophisticated style of drumming. Gha-na-in drumming can be quite a challenge when your playing in 12/8 time.......so try to explore the full range of styles, the more rhythms you learn, the stronger the drummer you are, and more in your arsenal to work with......At your Service...JC JOHNNY CONGA....PS CAN YOU PLAY TUMBAO IN 7? TRY IT YOU 'LL LIKE IT!....

Am SO in agreement with JC here... play and "UNDERSTAND" as many rhythms as you can... it's a soul-opener... I try to play EVERY rhythm I can and feel good about getting each and every one of them!

People will appreciate your knowledge of different rhythms! But you better get it right before you showcase....

Thanks for the info on Congajoy. I was wondering about that video and had posted an inquiry a while back. I am in a rut with my playing. Everything we play in the band is 'R & B', Soul, POP, etc. I loved the latin style patterns, but can't use them on some tunes, so I adjust the pattern. Plus, I can't 'transcribe' a part from an album/cd because I don't have the seasoning and experience that tells me that I am listening to 2 conga players/timbales or one conga player and a set drummer etc , The videos and books recommended will help me discover new sounds and versitilty. Another reason for my quest to gather some good instruction videos and books... A couple of gigs ago, I have found out that when we have a 'fill in' set drummer that some of my patterns don't work with different styles of drumming. You can't count on your memory of the album or cd practice to bail you out, you got to find a flow and be able to adjust. Humbling experience came upon me like a brick. We were in the middle of Shaky Ground, I knew that the part I usually played was not fitting with what the fill in drummer was doing, but couldn't decide what groove or what I needed to change to fall back into the pocket and Boom... my solo came up and he was still playing something that didn't go with my 'pattern' I was used to using. Took all I could do to make it through the solo, if I had been practicing 'techinque' and different patterns like I should have, I think I would not have fallen prey to the great left footed god. You know the one that you can't find the 'beat', like Zappa said, "the beat goes on and I'm still wrong". I pride myself in listening and trying to adjust and flavor what the other players are doing, but when everyone drops out for you to solo... and you are "the" wrong foot, it would have helped greatly to have some 'tools' to use. Another reason to practice and listen passively all styles of music, not just Latin, or R & B. There also needs to be a video on:

"How to work and play well with other players in the same band"

"A guide to playing with others: don't walk on other peoples solos, tune your instrument, stay in the same key with the others"

"10 rules to follow when you are playing with others (#1 Listen, #2 .... etc"

"Guide to finding the 'breaks' on a song, when you don't know what the song is and have never heard it before"

and my favorite

"Don't kill him, he's just a guitar player"

My teachers soon to be favorite: "I said it was Cumbia, not Country: a guide to something besides bolero and cha cha cha" and "Clave is your friend"

All in good fun. Thanks for the help and comments. There is Lots and lots to learn.

Peace,
Congabebe

Congabebe i can tell you this, some drummers(set) do not like percussionists and some can't play with them either, so try and remember that. Also some don't like sharing the stage because WE get all the light on stage. We are constantly moving and the drummer is in one spot, so we catch the peoples eyes. To play with a drummer is to try and play around what ever pattern he's playing remember in 4/4 it's all on 2 and 4. Gun gun bock gun gun gun bock.For example.
1 a 2 3 e a 4 typical Pop R&B pattern. Hope this helps a little...AT your Service...JC JOHNNY CONGA....

Johnny Conga is right on this congabebe. I play lots of "jam" and "open mic" nights so we get lots of "fill-in" drummers. Many don't have a clue about percussionists and are not used to playing with them. It can be very difficult to play with these drummers because they want to play all over top of you. Often, because they don't play with percussionists on a regular basis (nobody likes to pay one more band member), they have had to fill out the sound by imitating all of the drum parts. ####, this is why the drumset was invented. I wish there was an easy answer for playing with bad drummers. I just concentrate very hard on my own internal time, relying a bit on the bass player as well.
Don't forget that there are many, many variations of tumbao. Exploring them can keep your rhythms fresh. And don't worry about being in a rut; if you listen to most rock-pop-r&b, it often is just tumbao, mainly because it just works so well with those genres. I also find it is often played at double time, that is to say 16th notes.
Sounds like you're learning that there is so much more to being a musician than just learning an instrument. One thing to never forget is that you are a drummer first and a "star" second. Your primary job is the beat, the rhythm, the groove. You will find that most musicians worthy of that title will love you for your ability to keep the pulse, stay locked in to the groove, above anything else. Many, many kit drummers have forgotten that.
Try not to go into the stratosphere of the groove either. Playing in a band should not be a transcendental experience. Keep your eyes open and pay attention to the other musicians; they should give visual or vocal cues as to where they are going. You play flute so you should know something about basic song structure in popular music. And if you play with a regular band, then there is no excuse for not knowing the songs. Miles Davis, in the mostly improvisational field of jazz, still insisted that all his musicians learn the songs. These are lessons I learned years ago, playing in bands as a kit drummer, and am now re-learning as a conguero. Again, we are travelling the same path, amiga.

Michael and JC,

Thanks for the advise. I wish I had a break down on what that fill in drummer was doing so I could adjust next time. Truth is this guy is a good player. And he has played with alot of good musicians and been playing alot longer than I have been playing. I think that he switched up the dance pulse from 2 and 4 to 1 and 3??? not sure what was different. I didn't mean to complain about him, I was complaining about my failure to be more flexible and a rut is what it feels like. Maybe plato would be a better word. I can do certain patterns but haven't been challenging myself with learning new patterns. I really feel that knowing how to subdivide the beats and change accents on the different beats is part of getting to be a better player, so I feel I should have not been 'stumped' by this guy sitting in. Style plays a major part in that song and I have heard it played different ways. I don't think it was a ego problem or a problem drummer as much as it was my failure to understand how to play off the beat he was laying down. The rest of the band was fine with it. It could be that he was 'playing' on my part but I wish I had a 'play' back so I could figure it out. But I will agree with you, it is true, most 'band's don't have percussionists because they don't know what to do with them. The syncopation makes them loose their since of rhythm.

As for my comments on wish list videos, I was refering to that there almost no videos on how to play in an ensemble. You usually learn by example. For instance, it is considered rude to keep playing when the rest of the band has stopped to work out a problem part. I have seen guitar players do this more than ever. Another problem to not tune up correctly. Or not be prepared to play or rehearse a song that everyone is there to work on. People bringing in lyrics written on note book paper and trying to hold it in their lap while trying to play a guitar and sing along... (if you don't know the words bring a music stand and read it but don't show up trying to balance or tape it on something... Very unprofessional. Stuff like that. I learned my music edicate from band and orchestra directors. You never talk when the director is talking. Showing up without music or music stand... you will get a chewing. But bands they are different. If there is a director or leader some of that is handled. But Bands are a collective of people that enjoy the same kind of music or at least agree they are going to want to make money playing music together.
I would say most of the working musicians figure it out, but lots of people never do. Someone needs to write a book or video on it. Don't you think? "Musicians edicate: from Garage band to Carnegie Hall" Catchy title? More good fun.

Thanks again for you comments and encouragement.
Congabebe