congaplace.com

Hello my fellow congueros,

I have started this project with one of my old partners in crime, Brazilian saxophonist Glaucus Linx. We met back in Paris some 15 years ago where he was in Salif Keita's band, doing several world tour with him.
We have started this band called Ancestrais Futuros which plays what we like to call "spiritual jazz", no solos taken in turn but more intense mood music which hopefully elevates the mind. We play mainly in 6/8 or 3/4 , or tunes that can be heard in 4 and 6 at the same time.

Yesterday Glaucus came with this beautiful composition in 7/4 time. My experience with 5 and seven is very limited and I don't have a vast knowledge base to draw from. I have come up with a few ideas but I could use some new inspiration.

The tune is in straight 7, it is not 4+3 or 3+4 or any odd combination . It is almost more like tune in 1/4 which happens to loop after 7 beats.

It has a clave pattern which does : x..x..x.x..x.. (which by the way is a very interesting shape).

So if any of you has any suggestions or pointers they would be greatly appreciated.
Is there adaptations for congas of middle eastern rhythms going around?

Um grande abraço

It might not be what your asking, but seeing as your in Rio, try listening to Adriana
by Wanda Sa, it's in 5/4.
I had a bass player in a jazz jam ask me if I could play in 7 once.............nope!

On the flip side my stepfather is learning the doumbek and was asking me about
the bolero rhythms he is practicing adapted to his drum.

Technically speaking, “ODD meter clave” is an oxymoron. Clave consists of two EVEN halves that are rhythmically opposed to each other. That said, Conor Guilfoyle has an excellent book called “Odd Meter Clave”. Check out his website:

http://www.conorguilfoyle.com/

Conor is a master of odd meter and uses the “clave” concept to organize the patterns. It’s great because you don’t have to count and can instead feel the odd number of subdivisions as a cycle.
-David

I've done some similar rhythms in 7/8 time... basically, almost any patterns done in 4/4 can be chopped off a 1/2 beat early. That is, you start the new "1" downbeat RIGHT ON the "and" of "4" (the eighth note that is between 4 and 1). In many patterns, you will not feel it as a 3+4 or a 4+3. It'll simply feel like a shortened 4/4 or like a changing meter. Each pattern will make for a fairly unique sound when strung out over several measures. And don't forget that you can change patterns between the different measures to keep it mixed up yet fitting within 7/8 time.

I have a feeling that you can do 7/4 time the same way... you can look at it like a slow 7/8. Or, you can do it like a measure of 4/4 and then a measure of 3/4 (or vis-versa), where you have shortened a measure by one beat..... but then you'd be back to a 4+3 or a 3+4 feel that way.

When looped, shortened or extended measures can make for interesting rhythms. I do this stuff frequently when drumming by myself. You can get into 15/16 time, 17/16 time, pretty much anything. And it can get interesting.