by onile » Tue Jun 28, 2011 4:00 am
Alafia Abures Mi!
Espero que todo este bien con ustedes! / I hope that all is well with you all!
Very good thread/question hermano Leedy2!
I agree with the viewpoint that even if you are playing alone, you should have either counting going on, or be familiar with the concept of phrasing.
As for my part, I never had the good fortune of having formal training (escuela de percusion), but after 40 plus years of playing salsa, latin jazz, pop, funk, folkloric, and new age genres of music, clave has been internalized. Now, when I'm practicing with a new group, I receive a CD with the music they're wanting me to learn, what happens next is the counting. I count the number of bars/measures to the next section, and so on until the song is over. I then practice on my own to familiarize myself with the structure of the song, however there are times when there isn't a rehearsal of a particular song, or song list and this is where experience comes in to play (no pun intended). "No hace falta la vejez!" Listening to and being familiar with the structure of most styles of songs, you develop an innate ability to follow the song as though you've played it all of your life.......kinda like, oh let's see......"Oye Como Va", and "la Bamba", "Stormy", "Rankankan", "Kimbara" etc. etc. etc.
Okay, to sum it all up I say that when you're first learning to play, bongo, timbal, conga, you should learn to count, at the same time feeling the "pulse" of the song. When it comes to solos, now that's another story...........
As you continue on your trajectory, counting becomes innate/internal, plus you learn to recognize the structure of songs....able to anticipate breaks, recognize the dynamics of playing (when to play softer, and when to play con cojones).
Suave!
Onile
Que Nsambi les acutare pa' siempre!