by jorge » Thu Jul 16, 2020 7:14 pm
Hi Thomas,
Thank you for your complements and questions. Right now things are super busy at work so here are a few quick responses to your questions, we can discuss more in a few weeks when I hopefully get more time.
To sound musical, the tres dos tones and slaps have to lock in with the clave, producing a pattern that largely overlies but is not as loud as the cata part. Obviously it has to fit with the tumbador too, and the tones have to fit with the coro. So it is important that the coro does not sing on the wrong side of clave. I like to keep the tres dos bass in the same place as the bass of the bonko enchemiya, on the second hit of clave. In modern rumba with all drums talking (without talking on top of each other), usually the tumbador calls and tres dos answers. Occasionally you can play a bass on the first hit of clave if that accent fits with the singing and the tumbador. There are some tres dos calls but the tumbador has to know how to answer and a lot don't. I have trouble sometimes with playing at the right level, in a lot of rumbas there is a loudness war among the drummers and that is hard to deal with unless you get support from the singer telling everyone to play softer. I record the rumbas sometimes and listen back to hear how the balance sounds out in the crowd, that can help you learn dynamics. The support strokes go with the cata, they keep the meter of the rumba going, sometimes we even play with no cata (if someone is late) and tres dos can carry that part. You can mute the second note of the tres dos, or play that note on the tumbador if you are playing both parts. Probably what you were hearing was Roman playing that muff tone on the tumba or his conga. It provides some variety in the melody of the guaguanco and you can use it (sparingly y con sabor) to talk with the other drummers. Daniel Ponce used to do that a lot when he would hold the rumba on 3 drums with Puntilla on quinto. I have always listened a lot to the great masters, most of whom have passed on now. For tres dos, I liked Pablo Mesa (who developed the Matanzas seis por ocho but I never met) and his brother Enrique who showed me the part, Naldo with Afrocuba, Agustin (Muñequitos), and in la Habana, Maximino (Rumbon Tropical video) and now Lucumi with Rumberos de Cuba and el Chori (Yoruba Andabo). In New York, Daniel Ponce was an early influence although he usually played 3 or 4 drums and it was Pancho Quinto who first showed me the correct tres dos part I still use a lot today. I learned the most playing in weekly rumbas with Roman who would look at me every time I was 2 or 3 milliseconds off or played something that didn't fit the song. Roman is a true master drummer. In the Central Park rumbas, same thing but not as reliable, la universidad de la calle. Pedrito Martinez plays great tres dos, and is probably the best segundero on bata in the US. On 4 congas, holding the rumba parts and playing quinto, I like Joaquin Pozo, he has the most musical style on 4 congas I have heard. There are alot more great tres dos players. Over the years I have learned from Clemente, Matanzas, Skip (Brinquito), Diosvany, Gene, Michel, Freddy (in la Habana), and others. You can learn from a lot of different people and from records, but I learned the most from those times when I was privileged to play with great players who let me know every time something didn't sound good, and occasionally if something did sound good. Agua.
Back to work.