Heel vs bass?

[chris hansen]

Hello,

I read volume 1 of Thomas Cruz's conga method and every place I've been taught to use heel he uses bass. I couldn't find the passage but I believe he explains that many people do use heel and that's not correct. I assume it's because of a difference in styles or something but could someone explain the details? I'd just like to understand it better.

Thanks.

[Tonio]

I treat heel/bass almost in a similar way. But depends on the pattern and what you are conveying.
Bass notes by themselves are that- bass notes, but heel tones can be bass tones too if done in a certain way.

i.e. - tumbao: you can have the heel of h/t be a bass note. All depends on the technqiue.

In more traditonal pattern methods, they are not interchangable IMO.

That said, it really depends on the rhythmic pattern you are refering to.

T

[Derbeno]

The purist consider the rocking pitter-patter of the heel/fingers incorrect.

The correct technique is to bring the whole hand down flat on the drum and then to pivot at the wrist for the so called toe or tip

I was taught the former but have since changed to the latter. It took some perseverance but was worth it for the sound and clarity of the notes.

[goingquinto]

I would agree with last post. For what I consider the best sound for the least effort, I come down whole hand, then pivot wrist and return to flat. It is a warmup exercise our teacer makes us do also, trying to over emphasise this motion, isolate it.
If you spend a little time doing this motion REALLY slowly, you will pick it up pretty quickly. Using the full hand makes a stronger tone, and helps prevent any injuries.

[windhorse]

In fact, we write it as Bass-Touch, not Heal-Toe, because our teacher emphasizes that the best sound and most efficient hand movement is without the "rocker" of the heal. If you watch closely the best players, their hands are COMPLETELY flat for each "heal-toe" as well as bass.

[burke]

I've been working through the books a s well - but had come to the same place in terms of using Palm tip quite a while ago - oddly I still write it as HT - a habit I guess I should change.

[bongosnotbombs]

I think when it's written as heel it implies a toe movement directly afterwards, so it is two movements.

When written as bass, then it is a stand alone note and may rest on the head or move depending on what
the next note is.

The movement of the hand should be the same, the heel is just giving you the "heads up" about the toe.

[taikonoatama]

I agree with what others have said here but want to add something:

The full-hand style of the first stroke of "heel-toe" is typically played by just dropping the whole hand onto the head in a relaxed manner - getting a booming bass tone is not the objective. There's a difference in force. The point is to get a thuddy sound that contrasts nicely with the second "toe" stroke of the "heel-toe" combo.

[chris hansen]

I agree with what others have said here but want to add something:

The full-hand style of the first stroke of "heel-toe" is typically played by just dropping the whole hand onto the head in a relaxed manner - getting a booming bass tone is not the objective. There's a difference in force. The point is to get a thuddy sound that contrasts nicely with the second "toe" stroke of the "heel-toe" combo.

I was taught that the heel toe in tumbao shouldn't really by heard, that it was more for timekeeping. Dropping the whole hand, which I suppose could be called a soft bass tone, would be a drop and the bass note is just that. My teacher is more of a jazz guy though, I wonder if he does it that way to leave more space for the other musicians?

[JohnnyConga]

The hand parts do consist of the tip of the fingers, the center palm, and the heel of the hand, which are all used in a variety of ways on the drum, as it should be.....now if your talking individual "styles" that is something else....ex...Changuito/Tomas/Anga/gio.....etc...now what i call the "shuffle/left hand or right hand "manoteo", is not meant to be heard is right....please do not discount one style over another...learn them all if u can....you can only benefit by it..."the more in your arsenal the stronger you are!"...hope this helps...Johnny Conga

[chris hansen]

The hand parts do consist of the tip of the fingers, the center palm, and the heel of the hand, which are all used in a variety of ways on the drum, as it should be.....now if your talking individual "styles" that is something else....ex...Changuito/Tomas/Anga/gio.....etc...now what i call the "shuffle/left hand or right hand "manoteo", is not meant to be heard is right....please do not discount one style over another...learn them all if u can....you can only benefit by it..."the more in your arsenal the stronger you are!"...hope this helps...Johnny Conga

It does help and I completely agree with you. I was just a little confused after being told to do it one way and then seeing other people do it another way so I wanted to understand it better. It makes sense to me that there could be many variations depending on what you're playing and what you want it to sound like.

[taikonoatama]

I was taught that the heel toe in tumbao shouldn't really by heard, that it was more for timekeeping.

Yeah, that's really my point - we're on the same page here. It's not (generally) hit with force. It's not a bass note. You're not generally applying any more downward force that you get when you simply drop your (relaxed) hand to the head after lifting it up just enough to do the stroke. Some people do drive it down a little harder for certain rhythms. songs, or situations, but from what I've seen this is generally the case.

[chris hansen]

I just thought I'd share what my drum teacher said last night about heels and bass.

He told me there are a bunch of different ways people play tumbao, and that sometimes you want to leave space and sometimes you don't. He also described how you might use both variations in the same song and showed a few more variations including a one hand version that I guess is used in some parts and told me, "Never let anyone tell you there's only one correct way to play it."

[pavloconga]

As far as the left hand being heard in the tumbao, I think so much depends on the musical context, the acoustic context and what the music director wants.
Some gigs (whether that be latin or anything else) you might really want to hear that left hand, especially if it's a small ensemble acoustic gig with a seated and attentive audience and you're the only percussionist. Other times, like in a big band situation with 10+ members with a packed dance floor you would probably never hear what the left hand is doing anyway.
As always - horses for courses.

About Chris's question of the left hand movements I always refer to the teaching of the masters; e.g. Changuito, Anga, Giovanni.

ciao
Pavlo