Getting slap tone

[TONE74]

Whats up everybody. This is my first post here, Ive been playing for about a week and a half but cant seem to get the slap tone no matter what I do. It looks so easy on the videos I see but when I do it I dont get the sound I want. I got a couple of basic tumbaos but without the slap Im not doing anything. My question is how long does it usually take to get the sound is it a matter of practice or what? I thought it was the tunning on the drum but I went to a friends house on the weekend and he gets it on a drum thats completely out of tune ( in my opinion ) I would appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance.

[Charangaman]

Greetings TONE74


The slaps only come with practise of correct technique over time.. I was slapping for a good year and a half before I started getting something like the response and consistancy I wanted... And then there's the left hand to work on...

There are many thread on this with advice from experienced proffessionals, they are well worth reading!

Happy slapping..

[deadhead]

TONE74,
First off, welcome to the board, you will find this site to be the best reference for any question you may have about congas. Slaps are tough man. They take alot of time and practice, and everyone has a slightly different technique that works for them. I've been playing for over a year on congas and still have days where my slaps are inconsistant, mostly with the left hand. Some days I can hit every slap with the perfect crack sound, and then the next no matter what I do I can't produce the sound that I want to hear. Keep your wrist and fingers loose and let them sortta fall onto the skin with little or no rebound. Think of it like slaping someone accross the face, its all about the connection. Can you imagine trying to "tone" someone accross the face, it might hurt, but it just wouldn't be as effective. Sit down for atleast 15 minutes before you start playing and just work on your strokes, theres lots of exercises on the congaplace page that will keep it interesting. In almost all cases the drum is not the problem, however, for beginners a tighter head will be easier to get a slap off of. Good luck to you and don't be afraid to ask for help, thats why we are all here.

[TONE74]

Thats good to hear because I thought there was something wrong with the drum or that maybe I wasnt cut out for this. I have been working on my left hand and so far I think Im doing pretty good with the other hits ( for a beginner ). The guys that were showing me how to do it have been playing all their lives, they would show me and then laugh ( older cuban rumberos ). Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.

[onile]

Alafia Abure TONE74!
Welcome to the forum!

Whenever I teach “new” students (someone who has not played congas before), I teach them the slap in the following way:

Place your hand flat on the drum:
Next, raise your knuckles up so that your hand looks like a small “tent”: (your finger tips and the heel of your palm should be touching the skin)
Note! When I say your “finger tips” I am referring to the last digital segment of your fingers (where your prints are), and not the tip of your nails!
Now raise your fingers up to the same angle as the back of the hand, and then bring them down (making sure to keep the “tent” with your hand and tapping the skin with your finger tips!

Alternate this technique with both hands, what this does is teach you “muscle memory”. You will begin to get the feel of your finger tips and gradually begin to increase the pressure of the “tapping” technique in each hand. Remember this takes time and practice. After a while, you will begin to decrease the “tent” in your hands and will soon be able to slap openly without the assistance of the other hand to hold the skin taught to get the sound of a slap!

What you will hear on this forum is Practice! Practice! Practice!
Others have taught differently from this technique, listen to their advice and take whatever works for you and make it yours my friend!

Many blessings!

Onile!



Edited By onile on 1173883659

[TONE74]

Looks like I came to the right place. Ill try your suggestions and see If I make any progress. Thanks for helping me out

[JohnnyConga]

WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY OF DRUMMERS/EDUCATORS AND PERFORMERS...
To get a "slap" I recommend this

put ur left hand and ur right hand in a "T" formation on the drum. Now when u strike/slap the drum u will slap with the "tips" of ur fingers. Put ur right hand on the "rim" on the drum( to see where ur strike zone is,that is all) with ur wrist, now "cup" ur hand and try and strike between the area of ur thumb knuckle and the tip of the thumb...the resting of ur wrist and then "cupping over/down" on the drum with a whipping motion and ur fingers "stick" to the skin. Also put a bit of left hand "pressure" on the head so when u strike it will allow for ur slap to come out....This I call a "closed" slap, versus an "open" slap which is another whole approach...the area between the thumb knuckle and the tip of the thumb is ur "strike" area....Also if u are slapping and not feeling a "stinging" affect in ur finger tips ur not slapping hard enough....You will have to build "callous" and that comes with time and a LOT of practie...BUT WE ARE HERE FOR YOU!... "JC" Johnny Conga...

[Emcee]

Hey there =)

I really liked this brothers site and he has a video of a slap and some other interesting stuff too.

http://www.petelockett.com/pete%20new%20pages/Conga%20lessons.html

check it out maybe you'll like it too.

[akdom]

Hi everyone

the slap is indeed the hardest sound to acheive on any drums. I started with gwokas and then djembes. It took me a long 2 years to finally get the sound I wanted..

The only thing I can say is to practice a lot.. and keep your hand in a natural (unforced) position. You shouldn't hurt yourself... If you feel pain, it means that your hand position is wrong..


B

[pavloconga]

The guys that were showing me how to do it have been playing all their lives, they would show me and then laugh ( older cuban rumberos ). Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.

If you know older cuban rumberos go and study with them. Pay them/ beg them for lessons, do whatever you have to. It's time and practise... there are no shortcuts.
Thats how I learned to slap properly on the congas - being shown how to do it by someone who really knows what they're talkin' about, then persisting until I go it right.
cheers pavlo

[windhorse]

I'm informally teaching a little technique to my girlfriend, who comes from the West African drumming background. She can play the hell out of open slaps, but the softer - yet tighter wood blocky sound of a closed slap is still slightly foreign to her. Her tones are too soft, and sound like closed slaps with a little ringiness. Still needs work.
I made a point of telling her yesterday that the slap shouldn't be louder than a tone.
Of course, that's just my opinion.. What do y'all think?

Dave

[GuruPimpi]

Hey Windhorse!

Interesting, exact your words about equal loudness of slaps and tones used my first teacher for african percussion and where I learned open slap (not much of a closed slap though, closed slap I learned by my conga teacher and on a doumbek workshop...)

I agree, but we mustn't to forget playing with a dynamic, that's one of a keys of Groove...
(that's why i like tones sometimes in playing louder than slaps)

my 2 cents,

Primoz

[conguero_blanco]

Wow, lucky me. A friend has a pair of Aspires. I sat down behind them, and as I'm sitting here typing, I got it. Well, first eight out of eleven times. Here's what I do:

I put my hand down, splayed, on the head. This will absorb and 'voice' from it. I slap down on the edge of the head using only two or three fingers and only from the top knuckle up. Doesn't have to be hard. As a matter of fact, you can get some nice dry woody tones to bull-whip with different pressures.

This works with a basic guajiro, as the left hand is usually at rest on the head for the tip/heel portion of the exersize.

Oh, and yes, I bought a set of performer series with the bongos and got just about good enough to be in a band. Just please don't tell the band. I'm trying to catch up before they notice.

[hueroconguero]

another advantage of a lot of practicing is developing callouses. I usually only play about 2 - 3 days a week, but I noticed when I played hard everyday for just a few weeks, I got some good fingertip callouses, (mostly ring finger and middle finger on bother hands) any way, the callouses gave my slaps a "drier" almost "clicking" sound. Unfortunately, my callouses come and go...so keep practicing!

[austinrick]

Hey there =)

I really liked this brothers site and he has a video of a slap and some other interesting stuff too.

http://www.petelockett.com/pete%20new%20pages/Conga%20lessons.html

check it out maybe you'll like it too.

Can't get his videos to play on my Mac OSX WM. Buffers to 90%, then backs off to 76% and stops. Never seen an online video behave like this, and it's a bummer, cause 'd really like to view the Slap technique!