Yes, the s is a slap (any hand will do) and the S is a slap with an emphasis...I don't use Left-Right notation for two reasons: some people are left handed and also because I always aim to be ambidextrous with both hands as it comes to emphasis...Sometimes my starting position is always the right dominant hand, but the pattern may demand a dominant emphasis on the left midpoint into it...The small s meant unemphasized slaps in 4/4. So sSs are quarter notes, the first count at the beginning of a beat. And for emphasis you don't need to hit the head so hard, congas sound much deeper when you "surprise" the drum, suddenly and with authority, then bounce out it immediately. Practice a "falling movement" instead of a beating movement where the hand/arm is always exerting force.
I realize that for some this "psycho babble" may sound academic, the point is this: you have to whack the listeners with your "point", over and over again, sometimes when they expect it...and sometimes syncopated when they least expect it...its always a thrill to watch people rocking their heads up and down and ZAPPP, your "point" comes somewhere else and literally jolts them...that is a very personal thing that is up to each of us when we do it.
Some of these "points" could be as simple as an ending S, it will always come down to that solitary note, an S
000 S
000 S
s-s S
00- S
Ss- S
Written here in a vertical fashion to emphasize that S !
There are a lot of traditions, e.g. Palo Monte, that start with very short phrases, 0-S, where you can build a 100 story building of variations, still keeping it within O-S...Visit
http://1ww.free.fr/ and take some of the rhythms (e.g. Bomba, Guaganco, Bembe) and develop your own phrases from the rhythm fragments...or if you are more adventurous take it from Bata...lots of 6/8 fragments there...you will see that these phrases become very distinct, even as you surround them with lots of fills and rolls...
And if you like rolls, check out some Belly Dancing music or Indian Tablas, they do a lot of short roll groupings as phrases themselves, very very interesting !
Another point: Open tones "bounce the drum" and ready it for that slap...the slaps become much sharper when the head is bounced a few times before you crack it...listen to a Carnaval comparsa, you will see many open tones followed by 2-3 slaps...don't be so slap happy...more opens and muffled will add a lot of variety to your solos...
Now something else that plagues quinto players:
1) SPEED IS YOUR ENEMY ! I know, we all try to impress as to how fast we all are, but the faster you go the less clarity you get...to me its that clear/precise statement that I make on the drum more important than how many statements I can cram into a solo. Too many rolls muddy your statement, use rolls sparingly...Aim to drum with Authority not Speed !
2) The drum approach is many times more important than the pattern itself: sSs-SS is very important but to the listener it sound completely different when:
a) You go from high hand positions to low, straight down
b) You go choppy style, side to side high on the drum
c) You play it even and fast
3) And this one I learned in public speaking class: Silence is as important as the words themselves...the dramatic pauses, the underlying peacefulness where you are inserting your notes...work with that precious silence as your friend...color it with notes with plenty of spacing of different time lengths...that is much more important to an avalanche of notes....Tata Guines said that too many percussionists want to impress him with these complicated rolls and whacking that drum really hard, with no real statement being made...its like a boxer that flays away with no concept of a target...Have you seen those flyweights that punch thousands of times and their opponents hardly feel them ?...they just wear themselves out and show how little "class" they have ! Aim for those "Cracks from the Sky", like Chango cracks with lightning the earth like a giant drum !
4) In another thread there was a mention of Olatunji passing away...I have drummed with him in many places, he was the initial inspiration to me that all of my musical efforts are not about just drumming, that you have to SING and DANCE, that you have to develop yourself as a WHOLE HUMAN BEING, at all levels, which will exponentially improve your drumming style. The old rumberos of the past: Malanga, Mulense, Chano, Papa Montero, Rene where more complete than todays rumberos, they SANG and DANCED with their whole being, and when they sat on the drum...well, you know what happens...
If you want to see or hear some examples of the drumming styles in audio or video, see
High to low style, choppy style - Patato, Papin, tend to play really high on the drum. See the videos of the Munequitos or AfroCuba de Matanzas and you will see them too.
Fast, low on the drum, lots of rolls - Richie Flores the king of rolls appears in a lot of CDs, also Giovanni Hidalgo and Anga
Precise + Clear style - Check out Dudu Tucci, Weltwunder.com, extremely interesting.
All of the above, of course, will play other styles, I include them as EXAMPLES of what they tend to do in the recordings I have seen. These styles may change in a solo as the drummer's inspiration and mood changes, so they are not a hard and fast rule...
In any case, this thread is about Cliff's book, let's keep it focused on that, these are suggestions for Volume II, anybody else has techniques to include here ?
Edited By TresGolpes on April 11 2003 at 17:22