whats up with tape

[120decibels]

The day that I urinate on my hands to make me play better is the day that I give up on this whole music thing....

One thing that's really toughened up my hands is playing cajon. I have access to a lot of boxes, from the large boxes that you sit on to the set that is intended to play like a conga, to the set that is fashioned after bata (batajon, I believe). Playing with a group of other percussionists, all banging on boxes, bells, and drums is a great time, and it has also really toughened my hands.

My $0.02,

Zach

[Tonio]

Hey I did'nt say to do it LOL :p

I would never do it. Hey I remember when my BATA teacher
used to sit on the okonkolo while I played to make sure I was
playing correctly.

That hurts after a while ..


T

[yoni]

Hi all,

Like JC said, I find ice to be very helpful when my hands get too beat-up, works best if it's applied right after playing (If I play too hard at some gig where a bar is involved I get some ice right then and there and it really helps).

Lotion is essential after lots of playing, to keep the skin from cracking. One called "Corn Husker's Lotion" worked best for me in the US, but they don't have it here in Israel. It has glycerin in it, and I do find that here, but that "Corn Husker's" stuff worked great.

Tonio's point is so important - give your hands a break and make SURE they mic you well so you can play at the level comfortable for you. Make sure they have you miked loud enough so you can hear your nuance, advanced techniques and so on, not just banging.

All the best,
Yoni



Edited By yoni on Sep. 13 2003 at 19:10

[yoni]

Oh yeah, personally I haven't used tape in a long time, but use band aids if my skin starts to split - the cotton kind works way better than the plastic kind, which doesn't let my skin "breathe". I'm going to try to find some of those Nexus band aids that Johnny mentioned...

[JohnnyConga]

THE times i was around Mongo Santamaria and watched him "tape up" was interesting. I use the same method myself. He overlapped the bandaids the full length of his fingers. He had awfully small hands and were actually quite delicate. The rumors at one time was that he had nerve damage in his hands and had them desensitized by needles injected into between his fingers to deaden any pain. Mongo hit his drums super hard, no holding back. At one time in his earlier days he actually used cutout cardboard taped to his fingers(on the underside of his fingers of course) If you see any photos of him from the 60's you might see that on his hands. I still use Nexus because they never come off your fingers,ever. they don't split or crack and are kinda rubbery in nature. I always use the cotten part of the bandaid to cover any callouses I may have ,and to add a little weight to my fingers. OH BTW you can buy "finger weights" for your hands to practice with . the company is out of Chicago. Just goto search Fingerweights.com....if you want to become faster with a little bit of help that's the way to go....At your Service.. JC JOHNNY CONGA...

[sebastian]

thanks Johnny! I have just started to get back to practice time and getting my hand back into playing mode , , so what I see now is both hands have gotten tight and they feel good , today I workout with taped up hands and feel good also but don't really feel to much change and it feels kinda of clumsy to me playing like that , but it well get a bit of getting used to it , but so far my hands feel go and I still get some Physical Therapy for my hand for another 2wks , but it's healing well thanks sebastian