Where is the "a caballo" rhythm from?

[congamyk]

...

[RitmoBoricua]

Get Giovani Hidalgo's "Conga Virtuoso" DVD and there he breaksdown a couple of Bomba rhythms.
There are numerous "Bomba Rhytms" but I think Giovani did a great job with the few he explained
on the video.

Bomba En Sesame Street

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EfGR4Ir ... re=related

Bomba at FB

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfd38mDPfsc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Od0RTgU ... re=related

[Anonimo]

POST REMOVED BY THE AUTHOR

[Miguel7]

It was cool to see some of the other instruments used in bomba (which is a big help, especially since they're instruments I have lol). It seems like in bomba all 3 drums are doing the same thing. I did see a video that went into the 3 different bomba rhythms:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YIoP9OyuPs

But because of poor recording quality it's a little hard to tell exactly what he's doing. So this is near as I could come:
Sicá: H-H-OHOO
Yubá: S-OOO- (3/4 time?)
Holandés HOHOHO-OH-O-

I think the one that I'm most familiar with is sicá, but again he's playing on one drum. So let me ask you this: how do "you" play bomba?

[Psyammy]

This is the patterns that i learned as to how to play the bomba

S=slap
T=touch to toe
O=open tone
B=bass

(all patterns are in 4/4 time)

low drum pattern (2 bars)
STTOTOOT | STTOOOOT
RLRLRLRL RLRLRLRL

middle drum pattern (2 bars)
BTTSBOOT | BTTSBOOT (both bars are the same)
RLRLRLRL RLRLRLRL

high drum pattern (2 bars)
BOOOBTTS | BOOOBTTS (both bars are the same)
RLRLRLRL RLRLRLRL

this is from Alan dworsky and betsy sansby book "conga drumming a beginners guide to playing with time"

i am not sure if the patterns i have written are right as far as "what is right" for the bomba, but it is the patterns that i have learned as bomba
hope this helps
Psyammy

[davidpenalosa]

A bit off-topic in a thread about popular music, but I highly recommend Dancing the Drum, by the Cepeda Family, famous for their preservation of authentic folkloric bomba. The CD was directed by the late Luis "Chichito" Cepeda.
-David

[Miguel7]

This is the patterns that i learned as to how to play the bomba

S=slap
T=touch to toe
O=open tone
B=bass

(all patterns are in 4/4 time)

low drum pattern (2 bars)
STTOTOOT | STTOOOOT
RLRLRLRL RLRLRLRL

middle drum pattern (2 bars)
BTTSBOOT | BTTSBOOT (both bars are the same)
RLRLRLRL RLRLRLRL

high drum pattern (2 bars)
BOOOBTTS | BOOOBTTS (both bars are the same)
RLRLRLRL RLRLRLRL

this is from Alan dworsky and betsy sansby book "conga drumming a beginners guide to playing with time"

i am not sure if the patterns i have written are right as far as "what is right" for the bomba, but it is the patterns that i have learned as bomba
hope this helps
Psyammy

It definitely does! Thank you.

[Miguel7]

Someone get this SPAMMER off here, please! We weren't discussing exports, medicine, obesity or anything even remotely related. If I want to get into that garbage I'll just click on some pop-ups.

[juancho]

Someone get this SPAMMER off here, please! We weren't discussing exports, medicine, obesity or anything even remotely related. If I want to get into that garbage I'll just click on some pop-ups.

Spammer is all over !!!

[FidelsEyeglasses]

I don't know the origin of the rhythm, the sound of the pattern mimics the sound of a horses hoofs in the street which is where it gets its name from.
The "A Caballo" pattern in question is perfectly displayed and played by Mongo Santamaria in this song:
"Manilla" http://www.divshare.com/download/13685317-856

There is also another Cuban "A Caballo" rhythm... not played with the hands on tumbadoras (congas),
it was created by Leo Castañeda in Havana and does not sound like the "A Caballo" played
on tumbadoras (congas).
It does however sound exactly like a the sound of a horses hoofs in the street... the "A Caballo" sound/rhythm was done by a musician playing what sounds to me like either a piece of bamboo played with sticks.... or two half's of a dried coconut on a table top... playing a rhythm that sounds just like a horse galloping or trotting, depending on the tempo it's played it.
It was more or less a novelty rhythm created for this LP.
You can listen to this "A Caballo" rhythm in the first three sound files here:
http://fidelseyeglasses.blogspot.com/2008/07/leo-castaeda-2-lps-1959-1960-cuba-nyc.html

Markito

[Thomas Altmann]

Mark,

your record reservoire is amazing as always. Thanks for sharing this info!

The drum set is an old Trixon Telstar set with conical shells designed and manufactured by Karlheinz Weimer in Hamburg/Germany in the 60s and 70s. The were marketed in the States under the Vox brand name. Trixon (Weimer) also built the Spitfire series with flattened elliptical bass drums that allowed for mounting two pedals side by side. Those drums looked cool and different, but were actually not useful and failed on the market. Trixon is long out of business, but their obscure drums are still sought after by vintage gear hunters. Curious how that set has made it to the Discuba staff.

Greetings,

Thomas

[FidelsEyeglasses]

Mark,

your record reservoire is amazing as always. Thanks for sharing this info!

The drum set is an old Trixon Telstar set with conical shells designed and manufactured by Karlheinz Weimer in Hamburg/Germany in the 60s and 70s. The were marketed in the States under the Vox brand name. Trixon (Weimer) also built the Spitfire series with flattened elliptical bass drums that allowed for mounting two pedals side by side. Those drums looked cool and different, but were actually not useful and failed on the market. Trixon is long out of business, but their obscure drums are still sought after by vintage gear hunters. Curious how that set has made it to the Discuba staff.

Greetings,

Thomas

Happy New Year Thomas!
WOW... thanks for that info about that drum set! I always wonder about it every time I see that cover.
What a wild looking set of drums! And that conical base drum!
Trixon Telstar, by Karlheinz Weimer in Hamburg/Germany in the 60s and 70s... very interesting!
Always my best regards to you Thomas

Mark

[Thomas Altmann]

You're welcome, Mark. A minor correction: The elliptical BD-sets were actually named Speedfire, not Spitfire.

TA

[Miguel7]

Yes, thanks for that info. It was interesting to hear it in its original context, pachanga/charanga. It also gave me a couple ideas for ways to incorporate it into my own music. I apprecaite the examples!

[Ernesto Pediangco]

Caballo is named after the sound of the cadence of a horse of course. Its Cuban & is the same count as the Martillo on bongos but w/ a different set of tones to copy the sound of a horse walking. Common to several dance music rhythms which is some times called a Pachanga Rhythm in Charanga music but is an incorrect phrase. A Pachanga is a dance party w/ Charanga music. It is used frequently in afro Colombian Cumbia as well since it fits well in Cumbia which is not so Clave oriented as many Cuban styles. Variations of Caballo are in many recordings. Some time you will hear the call " A Caballo ! " and the rhythm section & dancers ride the horse for a while so to speak. It all depends on the horse I guess. In Peru, there is an old colonial era music & rhythm style called Tondero. They train horses to dance to it in an elegant fashion, sometime with a Lady dancing as a partner to the horse ! Its incredible !