One drum rhythms

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One drum rhythms

Postby studio7conga » Mon Nov 29, 2010 1:00 pm

Wondering if players out there can give me some one drum rhythms to work on. I only have a 11 3/4 conga right now and am hoping you can offer some suggestions for rhythms beyond the standard salsa tumbao, not necessarily only Latin styles. HTSTHTOO HTSTHTO(T) I know the basics, just looking for more to practice. Thanks in advance. :D
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Re: One drum rhythms

Postby windhorse » Mon Nov 29, 2010 2:06 pm

Samba:

StStOOtStStOtOOt
RlRlRLrLrLrLrLRl
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Re: One drum rhythms

Postby studio7conga » Mon Nov 29, 2010 2:15 pm

Thanks. I will try this one. I am not quite familiar with your notation - lowercase and uppercase imply something? Also, t refers to "tip"? Thanks, I'm new to the forum.
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Re: One drum rhythms

Postby JohnnyConga » Mon Nov 29, 2010 6:13 pm

Hey Studio7Conga..go to youtube and type in Johnny Conga plays..I have a few one drum vids there to see plus I have 17 other videos there under the heading of How to Play the Conga drum...Welcome!.."JC" Johnny Conga here is an example..and please dont mind the gloves...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDPI8V3_j_I
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Re: One drum rhythms

Postby windhorse » Mon Nov 29, 2010 10:22 pm

studio7conga wrote:Thanks. I will try this one. I am not quite familiar with your notation - lowercase and uppercase imply something? Also, t refers to "tip"? Thanks, I'm new to the forum.

Yes, it's a light touch, or ghost note.
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Re: One drum rhythms

Postby goingquinto » Tue Nov 30, 2010 8:58 pm

Heres one I've played with a samba group in Asheville. I think it sounds best when played with a Brazillian swing.
O..SB..OO..SBOOO
R..LR..LR..LRLRL
You can play the second half several times in a row for a fill/ride
O..SBOOOO..SBOOO
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Re: One drum rhythms

Postby Miguel7 » Fri Dec 24, 2010 3:16 am

Believe it or not, there are various Latin rhythms that can be played on just one conga. Here are a few of my favorites (note that the . is a blank space, a single beat where you don't play).

MERENGUE
Before the congas became so universal to Latin music, merengue was played with a two-sided, very drum called a tambora. Its very conga-like sound makes it a perfect rhythm to try on congas There are 2 ways to do this:

Bare hands: SOOOO...S...HS..
Drumstick and hand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq7x_lKZLes

Now in general I'm not a big fan of drumsticks on congas, but I've tried this and it really does sound like a tambora drum. Also, if you're with other ppl playing merengue you can do this:

.S..HS.O.S..HS.O

This is what some call the "2 side of the clave" in merengue. This is technically incorrect, but if you play this half of the merengue pattern repeatedly what you'll do is match your rhythm with the rest of the band. And often congueros with 2 drums will do that on some parts too.

PLENA
The plena is a rhythm from Puerto Rico and is traditionally done on drums called panderetas or pleneras (they're basically like a tambourine but without the jingling). In plena each drummer plays a different beat, depending on tuning.

if your conga is lower, it might look like this:
O..HO.S.

If you've got it tuned a bit higher you can do this:
S.OOS.OOS

The way these two rhythms interlock is really cool. Here's what it kinda looks like on 2 congas (the lower-case O's are open tones on the conga).
O.OoO.S.OoOS.SOoO

Also when you're with other pleneros (plena drummers) you can just improvise. This is especially true if your drum is tuned high but works anytime.

CUMBIA

This Colombian rhythm is probably the simplest you'll get:

OSS.

If you play that over and over again you're basically playing a one-drum cumbia. You can also do some fills to shake it up (in fact that's probably a good idea for all rhythms and set-ups). Here's one fill I do when playing cumbia:

OSS.OSS.OSOSOSS.

Some would argue that that's the basic pattern and not a fill, and when I play on 2 drums I'd agree, but if you're only playing on 1 that's a nice way to add some spice :)

BOMBA

Like plena, this beat is from Puerto Rico, and also like plena each drum plays an important part in the overall rhythm. The most common variation of bomba (to my knowledge) goes something like this:

H.HOHOO.

Now there are several variations of bomba for one drum here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YIoP9OyuPs
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Re: One drum rhythms

Postby Psyammy » Fri Jun 17, 2011 5:02 am

The book "Hip grooves for hand drums" by Alan Dworsky and Betsy Sansby is full of one drum rhythms, and not to hard, it has rock, funk and world beats in it and you can play the whole book on just one drum.
this book has some very fun stuff in it to play

Hope this helps
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Re: One drum rhythms

Postby Sakuntu » Fri Jun 17, 2011 2:46 pm

Ghanaian kpanlogo has some great one drum rhythms:
OO.SB.SSO.SSBOO.

Or

OOOOB.SSO.OOB.SS
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Re: One drum rhythms

Postby JohnnyConga » Fri Jun 17, 2011 4:14 pm

Hi Sakuntu..please go to youtube and type my name Johnny Conga in search...look for my 6/8 one drum patterns videos...hope they help...
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Re: One drum rhythms

Postby jorge » Sat Jun 18, 2011 4:06 pm

If you understand Spanish, here are some real words of wisdom from Eliel Lazo, one of the young up and coming great Cuban conga players. Tumbao is deep, you can learn a lot sitting playing tumbao on one drum.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJjRXCcq4ls&feature=related
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Re: One drum rhythms

Postby Sakuntu » Sun Jun 19, 2011 4:15 am

Hi Johnny conga. Ive watched all your videos several times before. They are great! I appreciate you sharing your knowledge! Can i ask why you thought the 6/8 videos would be good for me?
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Re: One drum rhythms

Postby JohnnyConga » Mon Jun 20, 2011 1:34 am

Thank u!...Well all positive knowledge is good for you for one.. Two..try it u like it!...and who knows they might come in handy one day to play...just more ammunition for your arsenal of rhythms...
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Re: One drum rhythms

Postby Marcus » Tue Jun 21, 2011 2:25 pm

Johnny

These are great! I do not know of a better way to shake off the day of working for the man.

thx, Marcus
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Re: One drum rhythms

Postby Marcus » Tue Jun 21, 2011 9:57 pm

Johnny,

These are great!! Just reading them my brain is getting a workout. I will practice and work on my speed.

thx, Marcus
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