Trevour Salloum's Bongo Books - Are they worth buying?

[120decibels]

I'm looking for opinions here. Trevour Salloum has three bongo books to his credit. I've never looked at any of these books, but I'm interested. Does anyone have an opinion about the value of them?

I can certainly go to my lessons and learn more about bongo playing, but I would like to have any good resource that is out there. Any thoughts?

Zach

[Simon B]

I own two - 'The Bongo Book' and also 'Bongo Drumming: beyond the Basics' and think them superb resources, especially the second. Salloum is that sort of scholastic musician-educator figure, a little like Chuck Silverman. You know when he discusses the history of the bongos he has really researched the area, mulitple visits to Cuba and talking to all the right people. He even footnotes the second book, always the mark of the conscientious scholar!

The first book has a good 20 pages of rhythms in a number of styles, including the more obscure Afro-Latin rhythms. Also solos, fills, and rudiments (although you can obviously find these in any drum book). The highlight is perhaps the 12 pages of interviews with great bongoseros - Peraza, Camero, Manguel, etc.

The second book is more resolutely Afro-Cuban orientated - including 30 pages of martillo exercises, exercises for left-hand slap; bell-bongo-conga exercises; an examination of Nengon and Changui music from Cuba in which the bongos are still the dominant percussion instrument; odd-time signatures, 6/8 and 5/4, and more. What I have most enjoyed is the section on Peraza's Modified Mambo. I had seen and heard bongoseros play this way before but I had never seen it named or written down as rhythms so I was a happy man when I came across it.

If you are already comfortable with bongos or as you say have access to a teacher I would just buy the second rather than the first, however. For those without a teacher or other experienced players to help them I would not advise going onto the second book without using the first.

Simon B

[martin]

Apart from the fact that the samples are only one bar long so you can't hear what the variations sound like in context, they are also not shown in clave. This is very frustrating!

What is the best approach to take with these fills and variations in the book in order to know how to play them in clave?

martin

[Salseroberlinense]

I see the same problem. It is nice to see those many variations, but practicing them with the CD is difficult because they are only one bar each and do not have separate tracks so that they cannot be repeated easily. It would also be helpful to learn how to come back to martillo and how to include them in a song. Do you know how to learn that? Are there any ressources online with examples how variations are used?

[Raymond]

Better said than done...but getting back to martillo, after improvising or soloing is just one basic thing...knowing where the beggining of the bar is.......Being in clave is the most important thing but rememember that the martillo pattern is just one bar and it starts in the one... If you have that you will not be lost..... (The clave in an arrangement/song is either 2/3 or 3/2 and is based in what side of the clave the arranger started it. If it is 2/3 means that the first bar and all the odd numbered bars are in the 2, even numbers are the 3.... and if 3/2 is because the first one is 3, etc, etc....Of course, unless the arrangement "jumps the clave"...)

Therefore, if the pattern is just one bar...do it and go back to martillo...(Be aware some improvisational hits are easier than others to get back to martillo..) Clave???? Well..if one bar is hard to tell sometimes if in clave (depending what side of it you begin).

For me it should be natural and I believe is the way to approach it. It takes practice and internalizing where the 1 in the bar is and the clave...

(Just in case I am not "answering" or helping you, explain what your problem is.....)

Saludos!



Edited By Raymond on 1124046972

[Salseroberlinense]

Well, what can I do for example when the last stroke (4+) is open? Then I cannot play the muted stroke on 1 because I do not have my left hand pressing the head. My teacher often uses a pause on 1 and the left and then right hand index finger tipping on the head on 1+ and 2 before getting back to martillo with the palm on 2+. About when to get back into the 2 or 3 part of clave I have no idea, that depends on the other instruments and I do not currently play in a band. Are there any ressources like play-a-long CDs available?

[Jongo]

I think that if the 4 + is open then you can play the muted note on 1 you just need to get your left hand in position quickly. There are some play along style CD's available but I what I would get or even make yourself is a recording of the clave. You can play along with the clave and make sure you are playing correctly then you can practice fills and martillo and going back and forth and staying in clave. After you have developed your talent a little more you can play along with almost any salsa, or latin jazz CD. Play along with it and hear what the other instruments are playing and how your bongo fits in with them. In my career I have played with Mongo Santamaria, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Santana, Marc Anthony, Francisco Aguabella, Poncho Sanchez, and even James Brown. Ha ha! Just kidding of course but I played along with their CD's to develop an understanding of the music, different styles etc.

[arpa]

I have 'the bongo book' (the 1st one) and I have been reading it a lot.. and now, I do not know if bongo should be melodical or rhytmical instrument, because the book focuses on melody (I think), while music in general seems to be rhytms (rolls, etc.). Of course, I may miss something being new to the scene...

[bongomikee]

Hi,

2nd one 'Beyond the basics' is a must buy IMHO.

You wont be disappointed with it!

Best,
Mikee

[franc]

family,
of so many books i have bought and believe me i have a big collection of books in percussion for timbales, congas and bongos. ''beyond the basics'' is the best bongo book i have bought. my best, franc

[Charangaman]

I have the first book and really appreciate Trevor's style of teaching, the interviews at the back are priceless.

[arpa]

This is just great!

I received the latest bongo book (authored by Trevor Salloum and publihed by Mel Bay) yesterday and I hardly have slept since. Now, I have:

* the bongo book, 1997
* Bongo Drummings: Beyond The Basics, 2000

These books are actually a trilogy, but I skipped deliberately that first one: fun with the bongos... However, if you start from the scratch like I did then you ought to get something before these bongo books - probably, something where you can see Bongo playing before digging into any books.

The both bongo books have a very disciplined way to present things, which yields a tremendous amount of almost identical lines. I have seen that this has annoyed people and I am first to admit that you could simply introduce one score and then ask to repeat all the combinations. Nevertheless, I have found Mr. Salloum's teaching methods very useful, because I seem to learn better if I can read the score while playing...

The bongo book's are coupled with CDs that play twice all clips that the books describe - unfortunately, twice is no good to play along. The important thing is that everything that is written is also played... if you are very conscious about sound color, I am not a person to say the final truth, but I think the bongo book CD's are getting better in time (at least between these two books I regard the latter superior).

Above all!

I have a great idea for the next book (or re-recorded CD). Someone, please carry this message: The delay between sample clips (like, the Martillo exercises from number 1 to number 2)
should be in the same time base as samples (like, the Martillo exercises number 1 or 2). If that can be (or is already) done then I would also appreciate metronome ticking between sample clips (between means silent part) to keep in time, and here I am willing to accept that someone is speaking over that metronome ticking

The reason for this request is that this way the exercises could played sequentially... and I find it as an extremely motivating challenge to play all the martillo variations in one run.

[alabubba]

Greetings! I am a new poster here, after having read many posts and discovering this great on-line community I have registered. I have been a musician and songwriter (with a day job) for many years since my early teens guitar, bass, mandolin (I'm 53 now, and still love music as much as anything), but percussion is new to me.

I decided a couple of years ago that each year I would undertake something that I have always wanted to do, but put off because of whatever (other priorities, not enough time, not enough money, etc). In this way, by the time I die I hope to have experienced more of what I hope to experience in life.

This year, it is percussion. I have always wanted to be a percussionist, percussion is an aspect of music that I hear clearly in my musical imagination; but because I could play the other instruments mentioned quite well, and have regular gigs on those instruments, I have always stayed with what I knew and never branched out. This year it is different, and learning to play the bongos is my gateway to percussion.

I have purchased the Bongo Book and am gradually working my way through it. In each practice session, I work on one or two new martillo variations, one or two of the technique exercises, one of the musical styles, several fills, and one polyrhythm. I've actually developed a progressive lesson plan that will take me completely through the book in 10 months, with daily practices of just under 30 minutes. If someone were to be interested seeing this lesson plan, I could easily email the pdf file.

After just a couple of months, all I can say is WOW! What a great book. Even now, I am capable of playing bongo musically with others and being invited back . My tone separation is imperfect, my chops are limited, my fills are simple, but by practicing the Bongo book material, I have become capable to add groove to the music in a combo setting.

So, I am going to continue to work my way through the Bongo book through the rest of this year, and next year I'll move into "Beyond the Basics". Also, I hope to expand this endevour to include learning a broad range of percussion instruments over the next several years.

So if this were a poll, I would definitely vote thumbs up for the Bongo Book!

[Salseroberlinense]

I really like the books, but the sound quality of the 2nd book's CDs is very bad. The voice and some of the strokes can hardly be heard. The main strokes are however good. I will edit the fills I like and make them into loopable audio files in order to make playing along easier. It would be nice to have some of it accompanied with other instruments. At the end there is a transcript of Armando Peraza's solo in "Big Noise from Winetka" of the Cal Tjader CD "Ritmos Calientes". Part of it is available here.