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Posted: **Mon Jun 11, 2007 6:35 pm**

I’ve been working on the martillo variations in the book and started to encounter the situation where the variation ends with an open tone followed by a coda (repeat) rather than a left thumb stroke.

That’s fine – except the bar begins with a muted slap! The maddening thing is on the CD he only plays the bar once.

Are you supposed to do some kind of flam (thumb and slap at the time) or am I missing something?

Thanks
Darrell

Ps its the Mel Bay one, copywrite 1997

Posted: **Mon Jun 11, 2007 6:55 pm**

Which page and which varioation #?

There could be many possibilities, but I would rather check my copy before I give any answers...

Posted: **Mon Jun 11, 2007 7:12 pm**

That would be page 15 in my version - variation #4 (also #5,7 & 8 same page)

The page is called: MARTILLO VARIATIONS On Upbeat of Three (3+)

Many thanks!

Posted: **Mon Jun 11, 2007 7:15 pm**

Don't have it hand but I'm thinking you just gotta get quick enough to get hands back in position for muted strike, otherwise play a ghost note?

Posted: **Tue Jun 12, 2007 5:07 am**

I tried playing this a few times, there is an 1/8th note
of time between the two, not a lot of time...

So how I did it, play the last strike on the macho with the left hand,
but play it on the edge of the macho farthest from you or to the left side, after you play the strike with the left fingers don't rebound like you might normally do, keep the tips touching then drop the thumb into place...but not a muted stroke just lightly touching, dig?

The reason you play the edge farther from you is so the hand is closer
to the position where the thumb needs to be...it just drops into place..

the beat on 4& is fudged a little, but sometimes thats what you need to do to
get that thumb where you need it for the 1 beat.

Edited By bongosnotbombs on 1181625066

Posted: **Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:48 am**

Improvise,you need first to learn the rhytm pattern and then adjust the martillo variation to the clave. The Martillo is play in clave.

Posted: **Tue Jun 12, 2007 3:46 pm**

Thanks for the replies/suggestions. I've tried a few things with it already. Further on in the book it gets even trickier when the last note in the bar is open on the Hembra!

On the previous page [14] of basic martillo [plus 4 variations] he does write and demo them as 2 bar patterns. I've played around with using some of the second bars from this with the one bar variations but I don't think thats what is intended.

I suspect you are correct bongosnotbombs that the thumb goes down on the 'and' of 4.

Would have been nice if Trevor had made that a tad clearer - minor criticism of a pretty darn good book!

ps. bongosnotbombs :I've been dieing to ask you something!

Your handle and the double entendre:
Bongos Not Bombs
or
Bongo Snot Bombs

Intentional or lucky accident?

Either way I love it - amuses me all to hell!

Posted: **Tue Jun 12, 2007 3:59 pm**

Ha! I never thought of bongo snot bombs!
Nah, the name came from a piece of art work I did
for an anti war drum circle here in SF..

I kind of ripped off "Food not Bombs" a charity organization

Edited By bongosnotbombs on 1181664169

Attachment: http://mycongaplace.com/forum/eng/uploa ... tbombs.jpg

Posted: **Tue Jun 12, 2007 4:08 pm**

burke wrote:I suspect you are correct bongosnotbombs that the thumb goes down on the 'and' of 4.

Would have been nice if Trevor had made that a tad clearer - minor criticism of a pretty darn good book!

Yeah, Trevor doe'snt write everything in the book,
but you will find you need to develop little tricks to
get the thumb down for the one..

Try playing 4e&a on the hembra with open notes, and
THEN try and get the thumb down for the one!

In that instance you move both hands as a unit to the macho,
and place the thumb down, a micro sec before the right hand fingers...

Yeah it's tricky, but the 4 1/16 not hembra strikes really complete a phrase nicely. I use it a lot to signal changes when playing jazz.

Posted: **Tue Jun 12, 2007 4:19 pm**

THAT is a fine piece!

I like it plenty.

Posted: **Tue Jun 12, 2007 6:36 pm**

Greetings,

If playing at high tempo, the variations that end with hembra strike can be followed by missing muted strike or playing it as another hembra and going immediatley into toe/finger strike.. I find this works if speed is an issue...

Regards,

Posted: **Tue Jun 12, 2007 8:18 pm**

Actually in one of the two bar variations in which the first bar ends with two open tones (hembra/macho), he starts the second bar by missing the muted strike and going right to the toe/open etc.

I rather like the way the little space puts a hiccup in the ticky, tocky, ticky, tocky. Thought it took a little effort to convince my left hand not to stick that thumb down! [BAD HAND! BAD! NO!].

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Question about Trevor Salloum’s Bongo Book