whats up with tape

[Seb]

Hello everyone ! I been away and recoverying from a wrist pull from work , so I haven't been playing , today was the 1st day that I practiced , it looks and feels healed so far so good . My question is why do conga players tape up thier fingers , my doctor was telling me that I should try that for now when I play , it was just a guessing thing with him cause he has seen players do that .
what is the good in tapeing , also is there a certain kind of type to use , well thats it for now hope you guy's can give me some Ideas . Oh! Also if thier any players out thier who have recovered from any injury to hands or wrist , would like to know what you did to recover and go back to playing thanks again sebastian

[Tonio]

Seb,
Most congeros and bongoceros that use tape is mainly because their fingers are split. They tape it so it doesn't get worst or hurt I suppose.
Tape used is usually a cloth based on normally used in sports.
Hope your wrist is doing better. When I get minor injuries or cuts etc, I get some epsome salt and make a mixture with water. Make it as hot as possible and soak your hands..wrist in your case. It soothes them at the least. It better for cuts and splits too>
But on tendon and bone injuries you should consult you r doctor, because hot or cold remedies can have reverse effects. There is various opinions in regards to ice 1st then warm later. SOme poeple say the opposite. So to be sure ask your doctor about injuries.

Tony

[Simon B]

Self-massage always good - morning and night. You don't need to have a degree in it, just lightly rub and pinch.

Simon B

[stephin b]

Hi Seb,my fingers are'nt split but I tape my fingers when ever I am going to be playing for long periods of time.It protects them and keeps them from splitting.

[muddy323]

i use heavy tape on the tip of my fingers. cause im trying to to make my 3 inside fingers & thumb like drum sticks. lol...i love the sound,slaps,open notes that tape fingers produce...plus in my mind, i sound like Mongo.....hahaha....Try your fingers taped and not taped, then record both ways and you will hear the differ



Edited By muddy323 on Sep. 05 2003 at 00:21

[pesadecker]

You know, here in my country we play candombe on the streets, and playing sessions are very long, like 2 o3 hours, so we tape our fingers to avoid splitting. I use leucoplast or tapes like it, because they have good sticking glue. However, some people think that if you tape up you fingers every time you play, you will never develop good callus in the tip of you fingers.

[Tonio]

Interesting Muddy!
wouldn't tape make it more muffled? I did use to tape before to keep a bad habit from developing between fingers, but that was years, no decades ago.

Mongo is the man, he used use alot of tape. Sometimes all four fingers all the way from knuckle to tip.
Hey I heard that Raul Rekow (Santana) busted one of his hands (probably the right hand) so much , that he had to use
a bongo bell stick during a concert. He is a hard hitter though, and gives it his all.

Tony

[sebastian]

Thanks you guy's for all the info , it's help me a lot , but whats hard is to take it easy , I was practicing and I get really involed and forget that I'm in Healing mode and must take it easy , something like light duty on the drums for now and strenghten it as we go along , I have to remeber to take it easy, half hour sessions at a time or even 15 mins at a time and work my way back up thanks sebastian

[Raymond]

In my bongo case and conga bags, I always keep some tape just in case. For me is useful for blisters that burst or for cushioning in some of the joints in case my hands are already hurting. I have never had the situation that the tape affected the sound.

[muddy323]

TONIO.....the tape make my notes very crisp,those notes very quick with a snap

[ABERRANTMIND]

Hi Seb,
If you put tape around your fingers on the fleshy part between the joints (can't remember the english word for it ??? ), it relieves some of the impact you get on your joints because the tape cushions some of the force.
I've never used it though, but that's what I heard.
For the hand injury, I had my hand stuck in some machinery about 3/4 year ago and it hurt... a lot. I had 3d degree burns and bruised fingers. Couldn't play for at least two months, but after that I slowly began to pick up playing again, but I guess I started a bit too soon, cause my fingers started to ache very quickly. I also used a drumstick while playing on conga's. It definitely looked silly, but then again, slapping with a bruised hand IS silly.
That's my two cents, hope it's of any use.

aberrantmind

[congabebe]

Hi,
I use the bands made by Nexus, they have a rubbery slick outside and they don't leave 'glue' residue on your hands. They make a clear waterproof that is good. Johnny Conga told me about using them. When I first started playing, it killed my hands, so the bandaids helped alot. The tape did not cushion my hands at all, I tried various kinds, went back to the bandaids. I tried bike gloves (leather and crochet kind with the cut off fingers at the knuckles) and they do work, but couldn't feel the drum as well and it changed my grip on tamborine and I felt alot of stress in my forearm so I stopped using them. You would think the leather padded palm would not create a good sound, but it is actually pretty good, just couldn't feel the drum. I use the gloves when I injure myself only.

I started practicing tones as loud as I could get them and letting my hands go higher off the drum and making sure wrist bent, gradually my tones got more crisp and I think the technique helped and I got some callus on my hands and I haven't had to use as much tape all the time. But I have not been having as much problems hearing myself over the band (got some better mics) and so now I ice my hands to keep swelling down but I only use bandaids for long gigs and only on the first joint of each finger and on my thumb also, whereas before, I used to cover both joints with 1 inch bandaids and one on my thumb knuckle. I might try tape for sound effects, but not for injuries. I use lots of lotion on my hands so splitting has not become an issue yet. As far as wrist injuries, my left wrist is weak and I have found that I can not practice as fast with the right hand cause I have injured it trying to do bass tones and hth tones, so I took a long break from using it and have started back slowly working only on tones, and position of the hand. I play all base tones and hth's with right hand so this does not keep me from playing. Besides, I must admit I practice more than I have gigs, so I am light-weight player compared to some of the players on the forum. If I played 3 or 4 nights a week, I would have a pitcher to soak my hands in ice during breaks of each gig and plus use bandaids to protect joints.

Wrist injuries are very serious, so definitely don't push yourself cause you can get tendonitus and the treatments are cortisone shots and the worst cases only surgery. I know several people that did the surgery and it did not help and they have numbness in there fingers all the time and it still hurts them cause they never stopped doing the thing that irritated it long enough for it to heal. So definitely take a long break it you hurt.

Peace,
Congabebe

[sebastian]

Hi,
I use the bands made by Nexus, they have a rubbery slick outside and they don't leave 'glue' residue on your hands. They make a clear waterproof that is good. Johnny Conga told me about using them. When I first started playing, it killed my hands, so the bandaids helped alot. The tape did not cushion my hands at all, I tried various kinds, went back to the bandaids. I tried bike gloves (leather and crochet kind with the cut off fingers at the knuckles) and they do work, but couldn't feel the drum as well and it changed my grip on tamborine and I felt alot of stress in my forearm so I stopped using them. You would think the leather padded palm would not create a good sound, but it is actually pretty good, just couldn't feel the drum. I use the gloves when I injure myself only.

I started practicing tones as loud as I could get them and letting my hands go higher off the drum and making sure wrist bent, gradually my tones got more crisp and I think the technique helped and I got some callus on my hands and I haven't had to use as much tape all the time. But I have not been having as much problems hearing myself over the band (got some better mics) and so now I ice my hands to keep swelling down but I only use bandaids for long gigs and only on the first joint of each finger and on my thumb also, whereas before, I used to cover both joints with 1 inch bandaids and one on my thumb knuckle. I might try tape for sound effects, but not for injuries. I use lots of lotion on my hands so splitting has not become an issue yet. As far as wrist injuries, my left wrist is weak and I have found that I can not practice as fast with the right hand cause I have injured it trying to do bass tones and hth tones, so I took a long break from using it and have started back slowly working only on tones, and position of the hand. I play all base tones and hth's with right hand so this does not keep me from playing. Besides, I must admit I practice more than I have gigs, so I am light-weight player compared to some of the players on the forum. If I played 3 or 4 nights a week, I would have a pitcher to soak my hands in ice during breaks of each gig and plus use bandaids to protect joints.

Wrist injuries are very serious, so definitely don't push yourself cause you can get tendonitus and the treatments are cortisone shots and the worst cases only surgery. I know several people that did the surgery and it did not help and they have numbness in there fingers all the time and it still hurts them cause they never stopped doing the thing that irritated it long enough for it to heal. So definitely take a long break it you hurt.

Peace,
Congabebe

thanks Congabebe , I have also slowed down my playing and practice time and it has helped , and the break has made my hands stronger in the recovery since , I do get some pain so I play till right when I see that it well start to hurt soon , so practice right before the pain that has helped greatly , so thanks to all of you guy's , also to everyone protect yourselfs when not playing you only get one set of paws so be carefull , I work (job) and play gigs , so have to be very carefull if I want to continue playing .

[Tonio]

I started practicing tones as loud as I could get them and letting my hands go higher off the drum and making sure wrist bent, gradually my tones got more crisp and I think the technique helped and I got some callus on my hands and I haven't had to use as much tape all the time. But I have not been having as much problems hearing myself over the band (got some better mics) and so now I ice my hands to keep swelling down but I only use bandaids for long gigs and only on the first joint of each finger and on my thumb also, whereas before, I used to cover both joints with 1 inch bandaids and one on my thumb knuckle. I might try tape for sound effects, but not for injuries. Congabebe

Gee congabebe,
You don't have to play(bang) loud at a gig, that's what mics are for!!!LOL
Do yourself a favor, and play at you r confort level. sure during a solo you may hit a little harder, but never should you play hard just to be as or louder than a band mate. You wont last. You do want to play for a long time yes?

Beginners get callouses, and the worst are the -sorry I forgot what they are called, they are not worts. They develope on the joints, and you have to dig them out. Those are the worst. Then you get splits from being too dry. Arm, wrist pain also may develope.

Take care of those hands congeros. Ever heard of the ritual of urinating on your hands?

Tony

[JohnnyConga]

vAYA...URINATING on one's hands does nothing for them but make them smell. It is an old Teachers way of messing with his students. It was done to me when I first started to play and a lot of guys swore on it but it was really a joke. Now I know in some countries drinking ones urine is supposed to be healthy for ya ,but your not going to convince me of that either......just wash your hands and then put hand lotion on them . If they swell up from playing, put them on ice. If you want to make your hands tougher do I like I used to do, and go and play some Handball..that'll toughen your hands!...At your Service....JC JOHNNY CONGA....