Thanks for checking out Rhythm Notes. I'm Kevin Zahner, a drummer and percussionist sharing about the music-making process to help you level up your drumming and music production at home.
On this channel you will find videos about developing technique on drum set and hand percussion with an emphasis on exploring different styles influenced by the best drummers. My passion is making music and helping people become better players and producers.
Be sure to connect with me in the comments. I want hear about what inspires you to make music and any questions you have about drumming, gear, or recording / producing music.
Beautiful video man. I had a question, would you be able to know if I could put the timbale, on a L-ROD mount with the ball on? i have a catalina gretsch maple and I want to add this timbale along with the tom i have. Would you know know if I can find an l-rod with the adjustable for this timbale? i would greatly appreciate it man.
That's a great vdo you should do more of is plenty of Masters showing technical percussion like Giovanni, Changuito. Patato,Richy Flores but nothing like what you doing with pop music, THE ONLY COMMENTS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST POP GROVE IS ON " DAVID BOWIE'S " LETS DANCE" BY A FRIEND OF MY SAMMY FIGUEROA
Thank you! I appreciate your comment. I've been thinking about leaning more into the pop stuff, it's more my lane, anyway. You're right. The masters have given us so much to work on. ... And thanks for the song example and the percussionist Sammy Figueroa, who's a percussionist that I have not spent enough time studying but know that he's played with a lot of greats musicians.
Yes, as far about Sammy from Acarage White Band,and Miles David, to all the artist that Nile Rodgers produced you are right he's resume in pop music is no-one that come close I happened to had the honor to be friend with some if the greatest of this group and still AWAYS a big fan of the crossover of percussion in pop music most of the greatest like you mention in your vdo don't blend in pop and that were Sammy is special, THANKS FOR YOUR WORK...
Wow! You have packed into 22 minutes tons and tons of good info. Anyone new to conga drumming must see your video. It's all they need at the beginning. At one point in my life, I taught student teachers how to teach. I like your teaching skills. And having everything transcribed is like having a textbook on conga drumming.
love that Johnny Rodriguez variation, all those slightly ghosted heel/toe tones etc add so much to the rhythm so thanks for that, spent 2 evenings trying to get it and got the hang of it now :)
When you say American conga music im sorry to say it is not The co ga was brought from africa to cuba thru slavory thats where it became popular thru cuban musicians then puerto ricans made it even more popular when they call the music salsa when you listen to a true conga player you'll know the difference between so called american drummi g or conga player playing theres no comparison.
No one said “American conga music.” We’re talking about two different approaches to playing conga drums for thought, not judgement. I admit that the title is provocative, but if you listen to the discussion, it’s respectful.
❓ Got Questions? ... check out this article with links what I used and other brands could be the solution to your problem.🌐 rhythmnotes.net/floor-tom-kick-drum/
The mic stand is a low-profile boom stand with a stereo array spacing bar. I only buy array bars that include horizontal adjustment for each mic. The cheap ones are often fixed, making it hard to position a variety of mics. The mics are Sennheiser e 604s. These are exceptional mics for the price. But if you don't have the preamps and A/D converters to really notice the quality, SM 57s are a cheaper option that are never a waste of money.
Back in the 1980s, you had plenty of New Wave and New Romantic artists adding congas and bongos to their tracks. Haircut 100 and Spandau Ballet first come to mind,
I don't know of a company that makes synthetic heads specifically for junior congas. I would try different brands and be ready to send back some of them that don't fit the rim or shell. That's a tough one. Let us know if you're able to find synthetic heads that fit. ... I would also try to contact DC gogo drummers through youtube video comments. You might find someone who knows for sure.
That's a funky groove, for sure! ... I'm pretty sure that's Daniel Ponce playing batá drums. It sounds similar to bongo, but you can tell by the high tone, which is more of a slap (on the chacha, the smaller head), and how it resonates the larger head (enu) on the opposite side of the hourglass-shaped drum.
Hello Kevin, I love your solo instruction . Beautiful creative ideas . You mentioned that one can come in hot and then back off , feel and create . How do I come back in ? On the one count ? What are your thoughts on avoiding doing too much only never to return on time musically ? Thanks so much Rich 🪘🪘
Unfortunately, I've played plenty of solos during which I never came back in on time or musically. I aim to always play in time and musically. The time stretching stuff is tough. One thing that has help is an exercise that moves from 8ths to triplet 8ths to 16ths to 5s, 6s, 7s, and 32nd notes. Basically, I set the metronome to a slow comfortable tempo and play four counts (clicks on the met) for each subdivision of the count. This helps train your hands to find the downbeat and be aware of the count cycle (4/4, for example). ... Hope this helps!
Hello Again Kevin, Thank you for your reply . Your advice is going to help tremendously . Now I have lesson plan to present to my drum teacher . I’m a double winner . I’m in my 5 th year of periodic drum lessons on the set . It really helps me a lot when I play congas with other drummers . God bless. Rich
These conga patterns work well with 2:3 rumba clave ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xp-bTK1hIWk.htmlsi=vsboAbRVmEGY-FqM ... But you don't run into 2:3 rumba clave much. Perhaps check out some timba and songo patterns. In terms of folkloric stuff, I haven't ever heard of 2:3 rumba clave.
learning to play with this set up is key for a working drummer. I started back in the later '90's when I moved this Durango, CO and there were so many solo acts. I ended up playing with all these solo players that were so bored of playing by themselves. I used a small djembe on a stand off my drum rack left of hi hat, and used my home made blast sticks or brushes on it, chimes, rain stick, shakers, tambourine on the hit hat stand, regular kick/snare/ hh, and a conga where floor tom would be, to allow for an uncomfortable reach for left hand conga (slaps & open tone) while using a shaker or stick in my right hand. It's so fun and rewarding to have a set up like this, and is a pleasant break for the drum kit gigs. Makes the duo gigs really POP. I used this djembe in conjunction with snare (brushes on both) for this tune Don;t Go Back to Sleep found here; soundcloud.com/steve-dejka/05-dont-go-to-sleep
My gain input is averages -12 to -14 db, which seems to work the best with pluggins when mixing in a DAW. And I cut frequencies to fix problems (usually hi-pass filter set to 180 hz ... listen for basket ball ring around 700 and cut that as needed with synthetic heads) and add frequencies to shape tone (usually the slap cuts better with 2 to 4 db of 3.5 khz to 5khz). The EQ depends on the tuning, the room, and the way you play, so I start in those areas and make adjustments to my liking. This video was recorded and mixed years ago, so I couldn't tell you specifically what I did. I would probably do it differently today. I probably added some compression, but not too much or the hand touches can sound "smacky" with synthetic heads. ... Hope this helps!
That third one would have benefitted from a click track or count in to see where it fits around the beats. I'm used to visualising the rumba clave at half that count speed, so it has accents on the 1, 1a, 2a, 3and and 4. i.e.: the clave fits into one bar of 4 beats. Also starting in the middle of what you played, but all claves can be interpreted with different starts.
I always write clave in two measures and interpret in cut time because it outlines the musical phrase. It's easier to conceptualize the two sides of clave and the call and response nature of Afro-Cuban music.
I would never say one thing is "better" than another. I strive to learn both. But if I had to pick one technique to the exclusion of the other, it would be the so-called "Cuban technique" employing the heel-toe motion. I believe you can do more with it. You can play a perfectly nice motown beat ghosting with the left hand manoteo. But it's hard to do a legit tumbao without heel-toe action. And another thing, Cuban style incorporates hand-to-hand motions. But not the other way around.
The title is misleading. The clave is not the key to ALL Latin-American music. The clave is the key to rumba, songo, son, son-montuno, mambo, guaracha, salsa, timba. The “bossa-nova clave” doesnʼt have exactly a prescriptive role like the cuban claves. Danzón, chachachá, bolero, changüí, merengue, bachata, plena, samba, baião, forró, cumbia, joropo, tango, konpa, cadence, zouk, biguine, marcha ranchera, tumba, etc., etc., almost ALL other Latin-American music do not use the clave.
