To Read or Not To Read

[afrocubarico]

Hello all,
In reading the previous topic in this forum on interpreting notes, I was wondering if it is neccessary to learn to read music as a conguero. I heard for example that in Cuba there are many great congueros who don't read music. Therefore, is it necessary for one to learn to read music in order to be a good conguero and possibly play in a band some day? Thanks.

afrocubarico

[Charangaman]

Morning afrocubarico,

I don't think it will hold you back particularly if you can't read - afterall many great musicians can't...

It is a valuble skill to possess however, especially in terms of composition and understanding the wider musical picture and your context as a Conguero within it..

My two bars..

[caballoballo]

I may say yes,It is good to have the knowledge so you can understand the charts specially during the rehearsal of a new song. For Congueros (salsa music)you play the march and count until the break and then back to the march,the chart will have letters and simbols to guide you during the first part of the song then the montuno,the mambo, the moña and the coda which is the end of the song,sometimes it jumps back and forth. Most of the time the Timbalero is the one with the most notation on his chart. Also you be able to play with any group just by following the charts.

[Omelenko]

Caballo, Que Bola' Asere,

Is definitely good to read,gives you a wider spectrum. However Mongo, Patato,Tata,Armando,Chano and Aguabella, to mention a few of the best, never read. As Patato says " mulato, yo no leo ni los mun~equitos del domingo". What you have to have is "mucho ibiano' " (a lot of heart).
Caballo, feliz an~o ! Bongocero rompe los cueros !
Saludos, Dario.

[Raymond]

Reading music will enhance your opportunities to get gigs in some instances. (Although is not always true but if they have one conguero that reads and another that does not, a recording gig will come your way faster as well as playing without rehearsing).

Oddly enough there are not that many good sight readers in percussion. That is the reason you see only a few getting the recording gigs because they dominate reading. The aforementioned is caused because, at least in salsa and tropical music, they want percussionists to play withough reading to avoid being mechanical...

Saludos!

[pcastag]

Read Read Read! Definitley read. Yes it is true that there are many great musiscians who never learned to read, again not on purpose or to avoid being mechanical, but usually due to a lack of formal educational opportunities. Many great conga players coming from Cuba today can read, and can play their asses off, Vizcaino, Anga (RIP), etc. etc. This is the new guard who came out of the national music schools. I don't think it hurt their feel!
PC

[caballoballo]

Omelenko,Vaya tu mi socio,
I Got El Piernas with Mule Skin on both shells. Natural sound into a high level of quality tonality. I'll be taking him to play this Friday.

Yes as Raymond saids,you may get a better oportunity for recording and sometimes playing but does not necessarily make you mechanical. Music is another language with simbols and math,the same way you can read sentences in the news paper regarding what word it is,you can read music on a chart. A combination of notes translate to me
as it was a word in a language which converts in the case of percussion to a rhytm or break.



Edited By caballoballo on 1169052134

[windhorse]

No offense to anyone who has elected to be a non-reader (and it is a conscious choice to not read), but it is really easy to read percussion.. It's nothing like learning to read a language! Oh my god to equate the two is like trying to compare Afro Cuban music to grunge rock! It just doesn't make sense to not try to learn to read at least the percussive parts of Western and block notation if you haven't grown up in the tradition. Of course if you're a Master at the music, then there's no fricken need to be a reader. But, if you're learning the music, it's totally a must! Like PC said.
Not because it will make you better! If you have rhythm then you have rhythm, if you don't then you don't. Being able to read won't change that.. However, it'll speed up your learning curve by years by giving you another angle. Some may call it "crutch",,, but hey, in my book, there's no such thing as cheating! Either you get it, or you don't. And how you get there is completely up for grabs. Use all the tricks! And if there's any fear about seeing rohrsach ink blots blocking out the horizon, or never being able to understand those crazy symbols, then get over that right now! There's only a few simple rules. Go to a music teacher or a friend who can read, and learn it. It won't take more than a week, I guarantee it.

[JohnnyConga]

Ok guys first of all MOST Good to Great conga players read.....Mongo's first instrument was violin, so he could read and if you knew anything about Mongo he was a composer too...Second of all Here is a short list of "Conga players " that read
Alez Acuna
Luis Conte
Johnny Conga
Ritchie Gajate Garcia
Michito Sanchez
Kevin Ricard
Lenny Castro
Gumbi Ortiz
Marc Quinones
Brad Dutz
Karl Perrazo
and this is a "short" list.. I'll put it this way it is to YOUR ADVANTAGE to learn to read,count,understand form,etc...and to know how to play in 3/4, 5/4, 7/4, 6/4, and 9/8 time .. I lost a gig that paid $2500.oo a week because i couldn't play a tumbao in 7/4 at that time....so LEARN TO READ if your serious about becoming a musician, especially "fulltime"....more opportunity's exist if u read, DON'T LIMIT YOURSELF!...."JC" Johnny Conga.....

[niallgregory]

fcuk me jc that was some bucks for a gig .Reading is great , it opens up loads of doors .

[caballoballo]

Hummmmmmm.This article has turn into a very interesting one. For instance,if you take the Syncopation book by Ted Reed (1958) and you are into the Salsa music genre,you will find than many of the breaks in salsa are written in that book,also they are repetable in many songs so everytime you see that particular notation or phrase is going to sound and mean the same just as if you was reading a book and the same word repeats many times,the only difference is that you have to adjust that sound to the tempo of the song you are playing. Sometimes while driving and listening to music any break I heard ,automatically transports in my mine to the notation it represents.



Edited By caballoballo on 1169222335

[JohnnyConga]

HI Niall Oh i could have done the gig, but the music director chose a tune in 7/4 for the bands opener and the Artist was a "PoP" artist,and had none of his material in odd meter...but the next day my Bro Hector Andrade in 1 minute's time showed me a tumbao in 7/4, which I copped very easily, but it was too late then and 2500 bucks short....I kicked myself in the ass for not being "prepared and ready"....not anymore you can believe that, once was enough for me..."JC" Johnny Conga..

[zaragenca]

I do know what 'Andrade' showed you JC,but all it have to be done is to play basis articulation in 4/4 time signature,(the parameter would moved around and back into position by itself),sometimes I like to move the parameters in the, (4/4),just to brake the rutine in the musical phrase. Dr. Zaragemca

[afrocubarico]

Wow! What a bunch of great replies to this topic. Thank you all for your invaluable feedback on this issue. It seems pretty clear that learning to read music can help open doors and broaden your musical horizon.

I've had to recently drop my chart reading class due to scheduling conflicts with work. However, my instructor has given me quite a few written excercises as well as some basic reading material. I'll definitely study the material on my own until I can resume chart reading classes. Can anyone recommend a self-study chart reading course that focuses more on percussion?

Thanks again,
afrocubarico

[JohnnyConga]

Yes the New Book with CD by Rebeca Mauleon . It comes with 22 charts of the tunes she is doing ONLY with BASS Piano congas bongos and timbales..You can find it at SHER publishing and its called "Muy Caliente" play along with book and CD It's over an hour of tunes to play along with just rhythm section no voices or horns..and Orestes Vilato is playing congas/timbales and bongos with Oscar Stagnaro on bass and Rebeca on piano >I recommend it HIGHLY.....its a good workout and good for your reading chops..."JC" Johnny Conga...