"Bowing" or Humming of the Drum

[vaconguero]

just gonna stick in a few comments - the "moose call" (I like the name, JC) definietly requires moisture, but for me, nothing beats a dirty head. I mean filthy. There was this old pair of CPs that I ran across once which had years of dead skin cells and dirt and oil covering the (really crappy) skins, and I could start the glide effortlessly, without the beginning tone. It seemed that the stickiness of the head helped, as well as the pliability of this VERY well-worn skin. It takes more work/saliva with new skins, or with stiff skins in general. I'm not advocating filthy heads, though - the glide was ALL that these drums were good for, that and being lightweight.

Peace,

Lee



Edited By vaconguero on 1084545985

[Tonio]

Vaconguero,
I agree, its hard to get a bowing on new heads-especially buffalo(LP). On cowhide it always seems to work OK.
IMO its hardest on a quinto, the larger the drum the easier it is.
Must be due to head tension.
I tend to keep my heads fairly clean, but I understand what you're saying.

T

[Johnny Conga]

KingKongas....Thanks for the laugh the dragging of the wet finger tip across the skin is done gently. It won't work really well on an Evans or artificial skin.......JC JOHNNY CONGA....

[Mezcaldrum]

Hmm, moose call. I like that too JC, lol.
On the subject of Gio's, I've had an opportunity to play them a bit at the local JC and was disappointed. They look great and should sound great. I've come to the conclusion that it's the skins. They sound like a lot of the new LP's which isn't that great. I have an old set of fiberglass LP's. One with the original cowskin and two with the Remo fiber skins. I liked playing those better. The Thai water buffalo skins are cheap according to a guy at LP and the US cowhide is too expensive. I have cowhide on my new congas and love the sound. I still like LP's but think they're doing an injustice to the Gio's with the same cheap skins they're now using on all of them.

[congastu]

hi guys
been busy for the last month and just starting to land again!
Glad people out there have got names for this technique- I always used to call it the "wooh"!
heres a few tips to make playing it a bit easier
1- as said before, get a little moisture on the fingertips
2- press your thumb against the finger ( I use the middle, because it gives me more range in terms of pressure]- this stops unnecessary vibration and helps turn that farting noise into the real sound
3- again, as said before you can play an open tone at the same time to produce more resonance. Also, try several open tones as you slide the finger across- this can give an effect similar to the talking drum.
hope this helps
peace and love
stu

[Kari-Matti]

hmmm... intresting, I didn't know that you can do this with a djembe too. I'll have to give it a try. this was just short prologue for my post, and the matter that I wanted to bring up is teh following.

Who invented this "moose-call" or whatever you call it. My friend told me that in the movie standing in the shadows of motown, whivh tells the story of the funk bothers, they say that eddie "bongo" brown invented this stroke. so, did he? or is it centuries old techique?

[ALKEBULAN]

I can get the humming sound on Skin, Fiber skin and Nu skyn. It takes practice. I was told that his techinique can be traced back to Africa. It's used in a few haitian rhythms I know.

[Johnny Conga]

The so'called "moose call' is used in Petro/Haitian rhythms, so it is a very old pattern, used in Voudou ceremonies. Let's see... right Palm ,right slap,right tone tone, second tone,left hand slide finger. Counted: one and two and 3 and 4 and...can you see this?....try it out and let me know if it works for ya....JC JOHNNY CONGA..... :;):

[Tonio]

JC are you left handed?
Its been a few years since I played that rythmn, and I swear I started with left hand, and I'm right handed.

T

[Johnny Conga]

No Tonio ..I'm righthanded. I start it with my right and slide my left middle finger with my thumb supporting it while it slides across. BTW you should have my Cd by tomorrow, it went out on Monday. JC JOHNNY CONGA... :;):

[Tonio]

OK, maybe I should double check my source, its been a while.
I should have it on tape..yup cassette.
You know now that I got my mind around it, I think it did start with left hand , but used my right hand for the bowing-moose call. You know there is alot of different sources out there, lets be sure we are talking about the same rythmn. I will let you know what I find...:;):

T

[Johnny Conga]

Tonio ...I can play it with either hand. It still doesn't affect the pattern. The late Great Voudou Drummer "TiRoRo" used to do it a lot on his recordings. He was a "phenominal" drummer, actually bending the pitch on the drum, with just his physical strength on the head,when he did his rolls, so the sound would go up and down. I have never ever seen or heard a drummer that could do that with just his hands. Check out "TiRoRo"....his stuff his hard to find but it's out there. Another good drummer was "Le Gip"......JC JOHNNY CONGA... :;):

[Simon B]

That sounds fascinating. What recordings did this guy make JC? Is Haitian hand drumming and rhythms similar to that in Cuba? Tell us more!

Simon B

[congastu]

Im interested in that one too.
I was reading recently that there is a strong Senegalese influence in Haiti, but apart from Boukmans Expereyans [I think thats how you spell it] I havent come across much haitian music. I would love to know more- my childhood was surrounded by the music of Senegambia, but you never here of its influence on Carribean styles compared to say that which we now call Nigeria, and yet there is such a rich heritage. Maybe Im biased, but the music of the Wolof [ie,mbalax] is just on another planet!
Any info would be greatly recieved
peace and love stu

[Johnny Conga]

Haitian drumming in Cuba is also known as "tumbas francesas". Here is a list of the albums I have with the Great Ti-RoRo: TI-RORO "Et son Tambour", on Macaya records
"Voodoo Drums In HI-FI" on Atlantic records,circa 1960's. It also features another drummer Ti-Marcel.
"Voodoo Drums of Le Gip", on Sounds of the Caribbean label,a division of Request Records.
"Ti-RoRo and his Voodoo Drums", also on Sound of the Caribbean label. Circa-1970's. Also all of these were recorded in Haiti, and sometimes the recording equipment wasn't up to par, but the drumming is something else to hear. Another is "Drums of Haiti", recorded in Haiti by Harold Courlander on Folkways records,probably back in the 50's. Haitian rhythms can be very complicated to play and take a long time to master. Personally I am actually physically affected when i play haitian rhythms in a group, my head starts to actually get kinda fuzzy and almost dizzy at times. I can see why it is so powerful during their ceremonies which I have attended at various times and places,especially when I was in Haiti, ooooweee it can get to ya........ :p ...JC JOHNNY CONGA...