by jorge » Thu Oct 17, 2013 8:11 pm
Here are a few suggestions that have worked for me. Play with experienced Afrocuban rumberos who have excellent timing (not all do) every chance you get. Play clave or cata in every rumba you can possibly get to. If you can make it to the Humboldt Afrocuban summer workshop, the evening rumbas there are great with outstanding Afrocuban drummers and singers, one week there will help your clave a lot. Listen carefully to the clave as you play whenever you play drum parts. Concentrate when you play and try to always lock in with the cata so they sound like one instrument. Practice cata at home until your timing is perfect, accents are right and you don't cross the clave, waver, speed up, slow down or drop a beat. Practice with a metronome in addition to practicing with recordings of great rumba groups. Use the metronome when you are practicing clave on the side of the drum and a drum part with the other hand. Dance and sing while you play clave and keep the timing steady. Try to only play with excellent cata players and lock in so the coincident beats are real clean and don't sound like flams. You don't need to play loud, just with perfect timing. Record sessions with you playing clave or cata and listen back to hear how you sound to others. Playing too much with people whose timing is not excellent or who play off clave can do damage to your own timing and clave. You sometimes have to do that, but a partial antidote is practicing cata and clave at home a lot with really good recordings. Try to get yourself invited to rumbas with Lazaro Galarraga, Orestes Vilato, and other outstanding LA rumberos as much as you can and concentrate and play clave really clean when you play with them. That may help get you invited back. When there is a Cuban rumbero in town, like Cusito or Lali, try to hook up with them and play with them whenever you can. Don't underestimate how important clave and cata are in the rumba, or how hard it is to get it to sound right. Once your clave is really good and solid, your other playing with clave will be much easier to achieve. Try to never cross the clave, and to always hear it as you are playing other parts. You won't be able to hear every beat of the clave clearly if your playing is off clave.