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hey firebrand,
I checked your vids and your playing is good man.
You have good technique, fluidity and speed. If someone is giving you neg comments, well it depends on their intent in saying that to you.. Do they want you to improve or are they putting you down? Are they people you trust and respect?

Is there room for you to improve your technique? Of course there is - as there is for me, we all can improve our technique and presence and feel - especially our slaps.

This is just my experience: If you really want to improve things like your slaps, presence and feel in a relatively short space of time, my advice is - if you can - go to Cuba and immerse yourself in study with a master of the congas for a couple months. You can be guaranteed your playing will go to a whole new level. Cuba will open your eyes and your hands to a lot of things.

Pavlo

p.s. When I went to Cuba I was lucky enough to study with a master of the congas (65 yr old Sandalio 'el Macho' Crespo Calderon from the Ataré district). I was completely humbled by his playing, his slaps were unbelievable and his technique and approach to the congas was impeccable.
I can send you an mp3 just so you can hear his playing and his 'presence' in comparison to my attempts at copying him!

Pavlo,

That's what I intend to do. I'm going to Puerto Rico to study with David La Mole Rodriguez...and after that, I've communicated to Giovanni hidalgo that I intend to visit him at his home in Florida. He's onboard....but I told him I'd do it in 1-2 years. I still have not really absorbed everything I could learn from the Mano and Mano DVD he has out and I want some time to really absorb La Mole's lessons.

here's hoping that helps.

Quinto Governor II wrote:Firebrand I see you have a full plate. That's great. Concerning power, my mentor tells me to play more to the center of the drum, or out onto the drum, away from the rim to get a more powerful sound, and to also incorporate the use of the bass stroke when playing tumbao. The point I'm trying to make is that the slap is not the only indicator of power. You probably know this already, but it helps to put as many ideas as possible out there for those who have much more to learn.

You MAY have hit the target! When my brother was mentioning this to me, he noticed that I did play slightly to the edges of the drum (not quite the rim, but not the center). He also noticed that it was the baqueteo part that was weaker, not the slap part. Another conguero friend of mine recommended I play the HEEL part of baqueteos more forcefully and more to the center of the drum. I am paying close attention to my tumbaos and baqueteo patterns.

It also made me think about the wisdom of using one of my Pearl Travel Conga as a quinto. I'm thinking I'm going to travel with my LP Patato as my Quinto (for full presence and slap work), and use my 3 Pearl Travel Congas as my Super Tumba, Tumba, and Conga (they're better at lower tunings anyway...they sound fuller).

I'm going to see how this improves my "presencia".

Firebrand wrote:Pavlo,

That's what I intend to do. I'm going to Puerto Rico to study with David La Mole Rodriguez...and after that, I've communicated to Giovanni hidalgo that I intend to visit him at his home in Florida. He's onboard....but I told him I'd do it in 1-2 years. I still have not really absorbed everything I could learn from the Mano and Mano DVD he has out and I want some time to really absorb La Mole's lessons.
.

Way to go Firebrand. You'll learn stacks with La Mole and Giovanni.

Have a great trip.
cheers
Pavlo

Onile described it perfectly.To me, perfect timing ,hitting the conga correctly,not overplaying and feeling what the rest of the band is feeling and feeding off of each other in order to sound good and play danceable music is what appeals to the audience in general.improvisations and small riffs add a lot without overburdening the ear.A good example would be,El Gran Combo and la Sonora Ponceña.the new generation of conga players are good but old school is the best school.

Firebrand, you are on fire bro! Maybe the critic you were given came from a fashion snob or something but otherwise todo con su tiempo. Stay on the path my brother, you have skills that will only get better and better.