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Hello,

I have been working on rudiments that are posted on the forum and am confused by notation. When S is listed is it automatically an open slap or do you use a closed slap it is preceeding a H/T OR HTH before? Since the opposing hand is usually down on the head from the H/T, would not a closed slap be more natural? I was looking at the parididdle's and am confused by D S D D notation. This comes up in some of my books to, they don't really say, so is it open for interpretation? or is there a rule of thumb.

Thank you,
congabebe

Congabebe,

I would definitely use a closed slap in that situation. I don't know any hard and fast rules in situations like this but I would always what seems natural unless otherwise instructed.

As for the paradiddles the R L R R (or L R L L) is the definition of a paradiddle. It is most certainly obligatory. It seems a little clumsy at first but it is exceedingly useful to "switch hands" and avoid crossovers. For instance if you had to play this sort of rhythm: OOOO O
OOOO
Whatever hand you start on it will involve crossing hands if you simply alternate. However if you were to play the four notes on the lower drum as a paradiddle (R L R R) it would naturally revert to the left hand for the upper drum and avoid a crossing over of the hands. Of course you could play the first four notes as a L R L L paradiddle as well but there is no real point. Another cool thing to do with paradiddles is instead of the two open tones at the end of the tumbao to play four semiquavers (16th notes). Here a R L R R paradiddle is handy to give the left hand time to return to the top of the head for the heel-toe.

Fish

Sorry, that rhythm came out funny. I'll try again:

OOOO O
OOOO



Edited By Fish on Aug. 13 2003 at 03:20

Hey Congabebe,

You said you didn't understand what was D S D D,
I believe this is refering to D=Right and S=Left (in this case in italian, but also in spanish)

as for the slap, yes it does seem more natural to execute this closed especially after H/T. But I would work on both open and closed forms

just my thoughts

DaBid_Son

Thank you Fish and Da Bid Son for you advise, that clears up alot of my confusion. I love getting rhythms from the Conga Place and I wish I had a teacher to help figure some of the stuff out, but I am on my own for now. Funds are tight and can't afford to spend money on a teacher. I love this Forum!

Thanks,
congabebe

Hi all!

Hey Congabebe, tight funds, tell me about it! Just the same, I think you'll end up being your own best teacher. While we can learn something from everything and everyone, I'm a big believer in self-teaching. For reading and interpreting written rhythms, a teacher versed in that area would surely help, but remember, music is mainly an aural art, not visual, as proven by many blind musical geniuses who can't read a note!

Playing along with your favorite music can be at least as helpful as playing with a metronome, and playing along with the radio, all kinds of music, can really prepare you for just about anything - you never know what's coming next!

It's great to be able to have a good teacher if you can afford one, and we surely learn from others anyway, be they teachers or more experienced players. I just think there are other approaches as well, to complement teachers. Some fine musicians I know are entirely self-taught.

All the best!!!
Yoni

hi people,
DaBid_Son you are right. In italian means
D = Destra Right
S = Sinistra Left

Conuno

Hello Yoni - haven't heard from you in a while!

I agree with what you say about there being possibilities in advancing in your playing outside of a formal pupil-teacher relationship. The number of incredible musicians who have been completely or at least predominantly self-taught bears this out. Jimmy Hendrix is one of the most famous. In the percussion world, off the top of my head (please correct if I am at fault), Don Alias claims to be self-taught, also Armando Peraza - I recall that there are many others.

Simon B

Hi Simon!
Great to hear from you. I hope all's well in merry old England. Haven't been by milady's computer much in the hot weather here, but I'm back, and dropping in here at CongaPlace once in a while. I love this forum, too!
All the best,
Yoni

Thank you Yoni. I need to get back to taking lessons for sure. My teacher is a good player and I do learn alot from him. He learned from the aural traditions mainly and does not read music at this point. My problem with aural learning, is my motor skills and brain lock too often and I feel overwhelmed to the point confusion is more of what I get. As far as being self taught goes, I have a friend that plays bass and guitar, he is blind and he doesn't read charts or study theory. He is an awesome player and he can even play drums. He says, if you listen to the instrument while you are playing, it will tell you how to play it. He is right, so I have really pushed myself to listen as much as imitate, and so far I have been improving. But I really do need to get back into taking lessons, there is too much to learn. My weakness is in technique. I can play to anything, country, blues, I will find a pattern that blends with what the band is doing, but my solos are weak and I get drowned out by the band. I have really been working on tones and strength, and I am just getting now getting the volume and tonality that I need, and technique and reading skills will be the thing that I need to advance.

Thanks for you help,
Congabebe

You're most welcome. If you're getting drowned out by the band, make sure they mic you better - this is often a problem when acoustic instruments play along live with electric instruments. Congas need to be well - miked!
Yoni