4 drum bembe clip - Just made it up today June 18th '06

[windhorse]

4 drum Bembe Vid Clip

I just brain-stormed this 4 drum bembe into existance today. Here's the notation.
I humbly admit that this particular tone pattern could have easily existed outside of my influence.
Warning it's 14 MBs and the sound is via generic computer mic.

Dave



Edited By windhorse on 1150734377

[onile]

Alafia Abure Windhorse!
I hope that you are extremely well my friend!

Congratulations My Brother, that is a great rythm to learn to play!

Have you heard of Calos "Patato" Valdez? He is one among several players, who has been playing that pattern for quite some time now. If I understand correclty, that is usually played with two or more players, and I believe that is called "rumba columbia", only played just a bit faster. It's a kick-butt rythm my brother, and pretty impressive when you can break-out with it and keep it going.

Congratulations again! Great Job!

Onile!



Edited By onile on 1150719405

[windhorse]

Congratulations My Brother, that is a great rythm to learn to play!
Have you heard of Calos "Patato" Valdez?

Thanks Onile!
Of course I've heard of Patato!
Definitely, I'm sure he could play circles around this, and probably all the greats have at least done a variation of either exactly what I did, or something that makes even more ergonomic sense. (that ergonomic sense is why I brought it up) It's funny, you go making something up, and sure enough it's a popular rhythm somewhere that has been done for centuries..
Yep, we play two different types of Columbia in our group, but it's really just the two low drums that alternate doubles with a quinto soloing over the top - so three drums max. The Bembes we've learned use four drummers and stay consistant with little variation throughout the rhythm.
Of course, one could say that nothing I play on congas is Bembe since I'm not using sticks and/or played on Bembe drums. Anyway, I know what you mean, it's a Columbia if you look at it a certain way, but we distinguish the difference in them by what part is played on the high and low drums. If the low drum hits on the one and the high drum just hits a ki-pa or down-beats then it's Bembe. And, if the low drum plays a tumbao with doubles on the ponche, then it's Columbia.
But, we know of at least 4 Bembes, and one uses sticks and has the kachimbo playing up-beats, so that generality isn't really perfect either.

[onile]

Either way Abure Windhorse!
It's a great rythm to play, now try singing over it! That's when the fun really begins......

I actually do some freebies around the valley here in Phx., last week I did one for the Girl Scouts Inner City program. I played that rythm on four drums and sang some chants over it. I seriously like that rythm. The slower you play it, the more it becomes a 6/8 feel, speed it up and you fall between two time signatures. I'm really excited for you that you've discovered you can play it, now exploit it to no end my brother! Have fun with it!:D

Many blessings!

Onile!

[windhorse]

now try singing over it! That's when the fun really begins......

Right on!
I'm working on singing and playing bell, and the tumbao parts. That's one of the next steps definitely. I didn't even try it last night, but I'll bet it wouldn't take more than a day of working on it to bag some songs over it. I love it! Thanks for the comment!

Dave

[SkinDeep]

REAL NICE BROTHER!
HERMANO ONILE, FAMILIA, QUE PASA?
I BRUNG THE SKINS OUT LAST WEEKEND FOR FATHER'S DAY TO THE RIVERWALK DOWN HERE AND THEY LOVED THAT RHYTHM, EL BEMBE. I GOT IT FROM WATCHING THE BOBBY SANABRIA VIDEOS, I THROW IN SOME ROLLS AND A LITTLE SOLOING AND THE PEOPLE REACTED BEAUTIFULLY. I WAS INVITED TO ADD SOME ENTERTAINMENT TO A SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY WITH SOME PEOPLE FROM PANAMA.
ESO TIENE VALOR, QUE TU CREES ONILE?

[davidpenalosa]

Windhorse,
Your pattern, while similar to rumba columbia, is closer to bembe. The bembe lead is played on the tumba and is con-clave, with its fundamnetal stroke on beat 1 (that's what I hear you doing). The rumba columbia lead drum is played on the quinto and is contra-clave, with its fundamnetal stroke on 1+ in 6/8 or 1e in 4/4.
Dr. Nitpik :;):



Edited By davidpenalosa on 1151171075

[onile]

Alafia Abures!
I hope that you are all well and in an abundance of blessings!

Abure Skindeep!
That's the way to go, tocando en donde se aprecie!
Great Job Papa!

Abure David, thanks for keeping me honest, I'm always one to make a universal statement, only to later learn a new slant on things! Either way, it's a learning experience all around!

Gracias!

Onile!

[davidpenalosa]

Onile,
I was just showing off with too much information. The tumba playing on beat 1 like that puts it in the "bembe column". If there was no stroke on beat 1, then yes, it would sound more like rumba columbia.
-David

[onile]

¡No hay coco Papa!
¡Todo esta bien!

Even us ol’timers (myself) are learning on this drummers journey!
I always look forward to your posts, your information is never too much in my opinion. It's always factful and helpful, which clarifies many a point for the rest of us mi Pana! Adelante!

¡La bendicion!

Onile!



Edited By onile on 1151243406

[SkinDeep]

SO WHAT I GET FROM THIS IS THAT IF 3 PEOPLE ARE DOING BEMBE AND THE ONE WHO'S DOING THE ONE BEAT STOPS, IT TURNS INTO A COLUMBIA? HEEL TOE TAP BASS OPEN OPEN
LEARN SOMETHING EVERYDAY!!!



Edited By SkinDeep on 1151248884

[windhorse]

SO WHAT I GET FROM THIS IS THAT IF 3 PEOPLE ARE DOING BEMBE AND THE ONE WHO'S DOING THE ONE BEAT STOPS, IT TURNS INTO A COLUMBIA? HEEL TOE TAP BASS OPEN OPEN
LEARN SOMETHING EVERYDAY!!!

Well, sort of..
The Columbia could have 6/8 clave instead of 6/8 bell, and the third drum moves to quinto like Dave P. was saying.
The tone pattern can also reverse in Columbia with low then high, or high then low. Also, the single note on the bomba could be a double.
The singing on the bembe seems to be really beautiful and nice sounding, and the Columbia seems to always be sung by the worst sounding male singer in the group in a really gruff and nasty voice. (I don't know, maybe it's just my ear) :p The dance is sort of jerky and aggressive.

BTW, here's the
Notation Page

[SkinDeep]

well columbia is agressive all around. first columbia i heard was on mongo's afro roots. it's still my favorite columbia. check it out.

[davidpenalosa]

...columbia is agressive all around.

The primary and secondary supportive drums parts of palo, bembe, abakua (from Matanzas) and rumba columbia are all very similar. One drum plays ponche and the other plays bombo. In some rhythms the ponche and/or bombo is doubled. It’s not surprising that the supportive drum melody of these four diverse drum systems from Yoruba, Congo, Efik and home-grown Cuban sources are nearly identical. They are all based on the most basic of African models.

Columbia has strong cultural and musical ties to the music of the abakuá, a male secret society originally from the Efik people of present-day Nigeria and Cameroon. In Africa, abakuá-like groups such as the Egboni and Leopard societies enforced traditional law. In Cuba, the cult clandestinely functioned as abolitionists during the time of slavery and later, as a crime organization and a dock worker’s union. Not surprisingly, the docks of Matanzas were one of the crucial places where rumba columbia was developed. The dock workers entertained themselves at break time by dancing and playing columbia. So, it’s only natural that columbia is aggressive, and "macho"; it was probably created by the abakua as a recreational pastime.

Bembe on the other hand, was created to facilitate the spirit possession of dancing mediums.

If you take Windhorse’s basic drum melody, it’s rather easy to morph it into palo, columbia, abakua (Matanzas) and many other rhythms I’m not even aware of. What’s going to really going to give that drum melody a distinctive character will be the singing, as Windhorse mentioned and the lead drum part.
-David

[SkinDeep]

THKS FOR THE INFO, I'VE KNOWN ABOUT THE ABAKUA FOR YEARS NOW AND MET A COUPLE OF PEOPLE WHO WERE BORN INTO IT, BUT I JUST DIDN'T KNOW THE WAY YOU COULD BLEND THOSE RHYTHMS THE WAY YOU EXPLAINED. THKS