Hi BNB and All;
Good question. Spain is a tricky number. Though I havent performed it, I'm familiar with a couple of versions.
Tonio's take on segmenting the clave cycle to mark the trickier breaks is a good trick I've been using in some adaptations our Jazz band has been working on lately.
Johnny Conga's thoughts on recording, repeating and understanding your particular approach to the break is very valuable information as well.
Definitely some cool info on understanding how we understand things and of course, listening to the material and "practice long, play strong" is a mantra it seems we all should live by. My tip sort of ties into Dicemanb's verbalization technique.
I have a trick I've been using with some breaks that don't fall on an even upbeat, downbeat or have a direct clave reference.
I kind of "sing" or hum my part leading up to the break in my head, creating a melodic line with whatever I'm playing.
Then I'll use a certain "note" in the "melody in my head" to mark a point just before the break or at the break. This doesn't have to reflect exactly what you are playing, just the general flow and feel of your part.
Then I'll structure my approach to the break point a bit more along the lines of the song melody and the other instruments, particularly the bass and rhythmic piano/ guitar phrasing. This takes the tricky part out of the context of just being another part of my rhythmic patterns and makes it stand out in my memory.
"If you can sing it, You can play it!" I "sing" my line and somehow the break comes more naturally and cleanly to me and its easier to deconstruct the bars leading up to the break to establish a creative interaction at the break.
I just started using this method with an original number that we've been doing for like 2 years, which has multiple breaks that lead back in with a different feel than before the break, taking the song through its movements.
After a few rehearsals, I was hitting the breaks pretty cleanly and coming out pretty clean but for like 1.5 years, I've felt like I was just concerned with nailing the breaks and the pick-up and not very satisfied with my actual playing, voicing and musical interaction around the breaks and pick-ups.
Then my friend told me how he remembers new patterns by hearing them as a trumpet line in his head. This made me go back to the rudiments of singing/ humming my parts but with more a PRONOUNCED melody and VOILA!
All of a sudden possibilities opened up because in my own head, my rhythmic role was tied more to the melodic cues that my bandmates go by. Not only was I cleaner in the breaks, but had more creative choices and felt the dynamics of the song more naturally. So I could apply the hands+heart+mind with a more comfortable feel.
Hope this helps some and hope I explained it clearly. Its a very tricky thing and music is infinite- NO ONE ever knows it ALL
By the way, I'm new to this forum. I'm Eden, a full-time percussionist in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. I've been drumming for about 15 years and performing live with anyone who'll have me here for the last 8 years (Jazz, Reggae, Caribbean Folk Music, Drum Ensembles, Acoustic Small Combos, Live accompaniment with DJs, even some country
etc, etc) mostly Congas, but Djembe, Bongos and a bit of Cajon as well... I love to learn, talk percussion and trade tricks and secrets!
This forum is awesome!
One World _ One Music
Peace...
Peace...
eden
One World _ One Music