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Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2005 8:47 pm**

I just made my first video clip for instruction:
It's a lead (caja) to Agbe which was taught to me two years ago by Chris Walker.
The hand pattern is -
:BTBBST:BTBBTS:
:LLRLRL:LLRLLR:

And here's the video clip:
http://animaldreams.net/cong/agbecaja.avi

I hope that this might be helpful to someone..
???
Let me know if you can view the vid clip.. I was unable to view the picture, but could hear the sound in Windows Media Player, but Quicktime video plays it no problem..

humbly,
Dave

Edited By windhorse on 1131224490

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2005 10:32 pm**

Waw!

I just watched it... Great job Windhorse!
Groovin'!

Keep 'em posted!

Primoz

Posted: **Sun Nov 06, 2005 12:44 am**

hi.What do you mean when you say agbe.The clip sounds like caja from guiro or bembe.

Posted: **Sun Nov 06, 2005 1:38 am**

Yes, when it was taught to me, they said it was also called Guiro,, and we've been playing it here as an alternate way to play the Bembe Caja.. Chris played a bembe lead with it as the root at one of the parties at the Humboldt Afro-Cuban camp last year.

Dave

Posted: **Sun Nov 06, 2005 2:08 am**

So do you mean its just another name for guiro or bembe and can be used for both or is it a style called agbe.I am a tad confused with your reply.Sorry

Posted: **Sun Nov 06, 2005 1:29 pm**

Thanks for the video , it's allways nice to learn something new . The rhythm is quite similar to the Guiro ,as I play it , but it was interesting anyway .
I used Winamp , and both the sound and picture worked perfectly .

Posted: **Sun Nov 06, 2005 2:36 pm**

As I said, Chris also called this pattern "Guiro".
It's the ONLY drum part with bell and shaker doing the rest.
We tried it here with the full compliment of players only once,,, but it was AWESOME!

About the variance you guys mentioned, if you've been playing a while, you know how it is; everyone says they know a particular rhythm. You learn it from them their way. Then, you run across others who are equally expert, and they show it to you another way - and you recognize similarities. Case in point, we play Mozambique 5 different ways (which we learned from 4 different sources) - that is, if you count separately all the lead patterns, and all the secondary patterns.

I was taught Iyesa two different ways. One way uses sticks - via Afro-Cuban camp in Humboldt, the other just hands. The hands only way came directly from the Monequitos when they were in Boulder, and I prefer and play it much more than the other due to the really cool interplay of touches and muffs which the other leaves out. So, one may prefer methods which are underground creations that came directly from masters' brainstorming, to more established tried and true methods. This one that was taught to me as "Agbe" may be just that... BTW,, the last part of the variations that I showed on the clip where the tones build up to the slap signaling the "&" just before the "one" was my own creation - based on the "feel" that I got from Chris's demonstrations.

That's why everyone should qualify the rhythm they teach with where they got it. It's always going to be different from somebody else's teacher, but in my opinion they're all equally valid - at least here in the melting pot.

Dave

Posted: **Mon Nov 07, 2005 3:50 pm**

Hi.So is agbe a rhythm that is used in the same way as Bembe or guiro , i.e to praise the orishas . Never came across the name in this context before until now. I have heard shekeres called agbes before .I appreciate what you are saying about different grooves from different teachers.As they say there are many ways to play the same styles.

Posted: **Mon Nov 07, 2005 7:52 pm**

Alafia brother Windhorse!
I hope that you are well and in an abundance of blessings!

I have a question for you my brother!
How were you able to create an avi file and post it? I think it's great, although my computer didn't let me see it all, I would like to learn the process to be able to do one if possible!

Thanks!

Many blessings!
Onile

Posted: **Tue Nov 08, 2005 1:30 am**

Hola Windhorse. am i missing something here: the notation has the slap on the 5 and 6... being different than the video. thanks.

Posted: **Tue Nov 08, 2005 1:34 am**

Howdy Onile,
did you download it first, or just try to play it as a stream? I had to download it to get the windows player to show video..

So, the way I recorded it was, I used the logitech quickcam Pro 4000 I have that I use for video conferencing with my dad. It has software - Logitech Image Studio that comes with it which is really simple to use. Just click to start recording, and click again to stop. You can select another button to make a 1 second start screen like I used to cite Chris - my teacher, and give the name of the rhythm.

I set the little camera on the top of my hutch right in front of my computer and just pointed down to the drum. I think the sound was just going in through my computer's mic.
It's all simple and nothing fancy,, as you can probably tell from the sound. My drums sound much bassier, richer, and sweeter than that.

I think the camera with software was just $75,, which I'm sure is cheaper than any other option.

Hope that helps! Sure would love to see what others can put together!

Best,
Dave

Posted: **Tue Nov 08, 2005 1:39 am**

Alafia Brother Windhorse!
Wow! That does sound simple enough, and also inexpensive! Woohoo! It's about time someone figured out how to get it done without costing an arm and a leg! Thanks for the advise!

As for the video stream, nope I wound up "opening" it, I'll try it again with the option of saving it this time!

Many blessings!
Onile!

Posted: **Tue Nov 08, 2005 1:47 am**

+pablo wrote:Hola Windhorse. am i missing something here: the notation has the slap on the 5 and 6... being different than the video. thanks.

Hey Pablo,, All depends on how you count!
The writing is correct if you read it all the way to the end of the bar.
On the video I'm counting to six, and fitting that first half of the phrase into the first three counts, then the second half into the last three counts.

If you count it like this:
1 & A 2 & A 3 & A 4 & A
Then you get all the way to the end.

The first slap is on the & right after 2, and the second is on the A just before the one.
When you count to six, the first is right on the 3, and the second is right after the 6.

Darn counting systems will confuse an already confusing rhythm.. You're accenting things off the downbeat on a 6/8 rhythm, and leading with the non-dominant hand!

Good luck!
Dave

Edited By windhorse on 1131421133

Posted: **Wed Nov 09, 2005 1:28 am**

Hi Windhorse.Was wondering why you didnt reply to me post? I am just interested in your post and in a new rhythm that ive never heard of ! thats all.The video is cool.Well done.I must try it myself.

Posted: **Wed Nov 09, 2005 2:17 am**

Thanks Niall, I'm glad that you like it!
I did reply to you, in that this is Guiro. So it is therefore a song - like bembe to sing the Orishas.
I also stated that you could play it as a Bembe root.

BTW
This rhythm is written out in Gary Greenberg's Conga Drumming pg. 23 and the rhythm comes to Gary through Regino Jimenez. Though, even here we have a discrepency.. The one I learned is "alternate ride #1". But the book places that last slap on the "&" just before the "one", and I had learned the rhythm with that slap on the "a" just before "one". This creates an entirely different feel..
So, thereyago..

Edited By windhorse on 1131502662

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Agbe - video clip