Singing Guaguanco

[congamyk]

Singing Guaguanco. I want to learn some tunes.
I know 3-4, hope to learn many more.
I'd like to get some basic, non-patronizing and non-cliche advice about learning to sing basic tunes.
If you can share how you learned or resources for specifically learning to sing rumba.

I go through the lyrics from the http://cancionerorumbero.blogspot.com website, but there's little music.
I have to hear the songs being sung.
Here's one from the website I'd love to learn, does anyone have a recording?

El Mulato Rumbero
Compositor: Alejandro Rodríguez
Estilo: Guaguancó
Grabación: Carlos Embales, “Rumbero Mayor”

Amalia e, yo soy de Amalia
Amalia, Amalia, e

Soy el mulato rumbero, rumbero soy
Soy el mulato rumbero, rumbero soy
Del barrio Jesús María, válgame Dios
Que cuando llego a la rumba
Los rumberos del solar
¡Rumbero!
La gente dice, “Soba la tana”
La gente dice, “Soba la tana”
Y cuando el primo levanta
La rumba que dice así
Y cuando el primo levanta
La rumba que dice así
Sóbala tana mamá, sóbala!

Coro: Sóbala tana mamá, sóbala!

[ABAKUA]

Great rumba that one, I have it on 2 recordings, one compilation from TUMI Classics, RUMBA & other is Carlos Embales record.

[congamyk]

I Just dug a little deeper and found 2 free online versions of that one.
The lyrics are a little different and it doesn't sound like guaguanco!

[bongosnotbombs]

The Carlos Embale version is most certainly guaguanco. I am listening to the Rumba Mayor version as I type this. Havana style. Carlos is in a class by himself, and he doesn't seem to need to follow the rules.

Basically when I learn a rumba song I try to learn how the lyrics go with clave. What I mean by that, is exactly how the syllables coincide with the exact strikes of clave. With many songs the lyrical pattern will follow clave precisely. Of course there are "pick up" lyrics occurring just before a stroke. And of course there are exceptions as well. But with the simpler songs, the rhythm of the lyrics follows clave so exactly that it should be possible to sing and play clave simultaneously without thinking because the lyrics and the clave rhythm are so similar.

[thomas newton]

Geordie may be suggesting that Carlos is not your best first model because he is so free - I would agree with that.

Three ways:
Find someone who will teach you songs in person. Not easy.
Find videos of singers singing their songs with clave alone. They do this a lot for friends/students/researchers - the trick is finding someone who will share them.
Start with the recordings, find a song that grabs you and learn it by humming or lalalalaing along playing clave or playing the beat with a shaker. This way the rhythm and melody will be foremost in your learning and the words can come later.

Lastly there's a lot of debate about feeling versus analysis but I think you need to analyse enough to understand what someone is doing rather than copy them exactly.

Good luck with it, it is a great feeling singing at the rumba.

[windhorse]

Mike, thanks for sharing this one last year. Are you doing it this way?

Company Gallatano

[Quinto Governor II]

Hey congamyk,
How about practicing to these guys? This is a guanguanco. I find yambu's easier to sing. The yambu's seem to have more of the lyrics available. The guaguanco's seem to have more improvising, and those words are usually not listed. Have you and windhorse collaborated on that file sharing site? A guaguanco may be a good project to do. I may even try, although; not sure if my recording equipment is up to par.

Video :
http://www.youtube.com/user/duorumbero# ... FDio-4k41A

Lyrics :
http://cancionerorumbero.blogspot.com/2 ... viola.html

[congamyk]

Thanks G, Thomas, QG awesome links, I'm on my way.

Mike, thanks for sharing this one last year. Are you doing it this way?

companyglyrics1.jpg

Cool Dave, yes that's how I sing it.
I want to see the rest of your collection!

Hey congamyk, Have you and windhorse collaborated on that file sharing site?

We discussed this one on Skype awhile back.
So Dave, where's that repository located

[pavloconga]

Hi,
I have a beautiful recording of a guaguanco song from Cuba at the house of Chavalonga in Ataré, with rumberos Pedro Fariñas singing (while also playing clavé), Sandalio 'Macho' Calderon on tres golpes/solo, while I played the tumbador.
Chavalonga, Macho's daughter and a few other people en la casa joined in on the chorus.
It was an impromptu song done on the spot by the people who were there or visiting at the time - who just happened to be 3 of Cuba's finest musicians!
PM me and I can email it to you as an mp3.
regards
Pavlo

[windhorse]

I want to see the rest of your collection!
So Dave, where's that repository located

Sorry guys, I'm not being a very good librarian. I don't really have a repository other than my computer's desktop.
Here's Congo Yambumba:

[Derbeno]

Dave/Mike, That's my method as well. First with the clave or clapping. When I got it down I transfer to the Congas. Works a treat and gets easier with each new one I learn.

[windhorse]

Dave/Mike, That's my method as well. First with the clave or clapping. When I got it down I transfer to the Congas. Works a treat and gets easier with each new one I learn.

I use the same method for Bembe songs as well. Write out the bell, and place the syllables where they fit with the bell, and wallah, you pretty much can sing it on any instrument once you can do it with bell.

[guarachon63]

Always great to see more people interested in singing rumbas!

I go through the lyrics from the http://cancionerorumbero.blogspot.com website, but there's little music.

Not sure if this is clear or not but if you click on the label "audio" you can bring up all the posts that have audio attached:

http://cancionerorumbero.blogspot.com/search/label/Audio

Currently there are 43 with audio, or about 10% of the total. These are usually the more obscure rumbas that we got from field recordings or other non-commercially available sources. For the others, the source is listed after the word "Grabación" ("recording"). For example "El Mulato Rumbero" we got from Carlos Embale's "Rumbero Mayor" CD, as someone pointed out.

[windhorse]

Not sure if this is clear or not but if you click on the label "audio" you can bring up all the posts that have audio attached:
http://cancionerorumbero.blogspot.com/search/label/Audio

Nice feature Barry! Speaking of archives!