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Thread: Help from Conga Players

  1. #1

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    Default Help from Conga Players

    Can anyone offer any suggestions to help me develop my slap. I am really having a difficult time trying to develop my slap. I am practicing and the advice I've been given has to do with the shape of my hand and the use of my finger tips. I can't seem to get the sound I need from my slap. Any suggestions??
    Begin the day with a friendly voice, a companion unobtrusive. - Rush

  2. #2

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    Default Re: Help from Conga Players

    For better slaps make sure your drum is tuned. Start at the right side of the handle and go counter clockwise. Start with half turns equally all the way around. If the lugs are already tight or if the shell starts to "creek" do 1/4 turns or smaller. the tighter the skin the crisper the slap will be. BUT when you are done jamming you must detune the drum to re leave the stress and prolong the life of the skin, hardware and shell. Add a drop of oil on the lug threads before you start. 3and1 or WD40 or what ever. the oil will work it's way down to the nut and it make tuning it much easier.
    L4C

  3. #3

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    Default Re: Help from Conga Players

    I am afraid I come from a different camp and would disagree with luv4congas. It is true, if you tune your conga really high, it will be easier to get a slap sound out of it. However, it doesn't really help you learn the slap technique. If anything, you should probably practice your slaps on the tumba (or what ever lowest pitched conga you have). If you can get good slaps on that, it will be a snap to get them on the higher pitched drum.

    The real key is to realize that you are not actually increasing your force at all to get the slap. It is all about allowing your fingers to "whip" down in a cup like fashion and then kind of grabbing the head. It is kind of a wave bye-bye motion while striking the drum.

    Just keep practicing and occasionnaly you will get that awesome slap sound. Just think about what you did and try and reproduce it. You will get it sooner than you think!

    Good Luck!
    ---- If thine enemy wrong thee, buy each of his children a drum. - chinese proverb

  4. #4

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    Default Re: Help from Conga Players

    Silverdragonsound, Midgard is right my suggestion my be a little to preliminary although once you get the technique down then a tuned drum will make a big difference. It's kinda hard to show you via email the technique of a slap but if someone could physically show you It would be best and it would not take long to develop at all... Good luck and keep on drumming!

    L4C

  5. #5

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    Cool Re: Help from Conga Players

    SDS...it took me quite a while to get the slap down myself...it takes mucho practice but once you get it, you will know it!

    L4C is right about having the conga tuned fairly high; while you can do a slap with a lower-tuned drum, it's not going to have the "crack" and "pop" you want it to have. Good call, BTW, on detuning the drums, particularly if you store them in an area where the humidity is relatively low, since if the temperature rises, you can have the head separate from the hoop with unpleasant results.

    midgard, I'm trying to give SDS a visual without a video, so bear with me. Pick up a table fork (like you'd use for dinner) and turn it upside down. Notice how the tines are pointing downward (toward the table top) and not upward (toward the ceiling). Your fingers should look something like that upside-down fork (yes, curved!) when you do your slaps.

    Also, it's best to hit the part of the drumhead just inside the edge of the drum (NOT the metal rim--that's gonna hurt like ****!), but just inside the bearing edge of the shell. If you look at the conga from the top down (or if you can tilt it so light comes up from the bottom), you'll see where the bearing edge ends and the open space begins (the shell will be a dark ring around the head).

    BTW, use the fingertips only to slap the congas...going any lower than the tip of your middle finger will give you major bruises if you slap too hard! Actually, "snap" is the key word here, since you're snapping the fingers off the head while you're slapping the skin.

    I don't know if I'd call it a "wave bye-bye" motion, midgard; to me the finger snap reminds me of what your mom once did on washday to see if her iron was hot enough to use--that is, she'd dampen her fingers and tap the soleplate very lightly. Instead of the "hsst!" you'd get from the hot iron, you get that "pop" and "crack" we were talking about above.

    Again, just keep patient and keep practicing...and once you get it, you'll never forget it!
    keep the beat goin' ... Don't keep it to yourself!

    Charlie

    "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." --Henry David Thoreau, "Walden," 1854

    "There's a lot to be said for Time Honored tradition and value." --In memory of Frank "fiacovaz" Iacovazzi

    "Maybe your drums can be beat, but you can't."--Jack Keck

  6. #6

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    Default Re: Help from Conga Players

    Hey guys,

    Thanks for all your help, suggestions and encouragement. I know this is going to require lots of practice to get right but I am looking forward to it. I am really appreciative of the time you took to give me this advice. I plan and using it all and the visualization was really helpful BB! Thanks!!
    Begin the day with a friendly voice, a companion unobtrusive. - Rush

  7. #7

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    Default Re: Help from Conga Players

    Thanks for starting this thread SDS! Good stuff! I needed to see this too!
    Quoting gonefishin: Just have some bacon with ya when you go pick her up..........youre an instant chick magnet.





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  8. #8

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    Cool Re: Help from Conga Players

    Hey midgard! Turns out we're both right after all!

    Tonight, a little girl (probably not even a year old) came by the greeter's desk where I was working...and she started giving me that big toothless grin only babies that age can give you from the baby seat in a shopping cart. She apparently liked my greeter's badge (bright yellow against Wal-Mart navy blue caught her eye).

    "Wave bye-bye," the mother asked the baby, and wouldn't you know it, she gave the very wave that you were describing in your original post! It's not that far removed from my visual, so if you aren't sure what to do (and don't have a dinner fork and/or a hot iron handy), just watch a baby!



    Now, I have a question: I've heard of the heel-toe move, where you rock your left hand from heel to fingers as you're playing. I've never gotten that down--however, I do a side-to-side motion (from pinky to thumb) that sounds similar and enables me to use my left thumb for pops and ghost notes (and, of all things, some slaps)...

    How long does it take to get that heel-toe down smooth? Or should I leave well enough alone since the side-to-side seems to work for me!

    Incidentally, I use the same motion (a lot faster, however) with my right hand to get a cool single-handed roll effect that can sound like rolling thunder on the tumba or as a different effect on the hembra (large bongo)!
    keep the beat goin' ... Don't keep it to yourself!

    Charlie

    "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." --Henry David Thoreau, "Walden," 1854

    "There's a lot to be said for Time Honored tradition and value." --In memory of Frank "fiacovaz" Iacovazzi

    "Maybe your drums can be beat, but you can't."--Jack Keck

  9. #9

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    Default Re: Help from Conga Players

    Hey BB, glad the toddler wave bye bye visual worked for you

    As far as the heel-toe, I found individual or single hand heel-toes was not too hard to get down, however I am still working on doing rolls with both hands (right-heel, right-toe, left-heel, left-toe, repeat). At first it felt like I had a couple of fish flopping around on the head when I would try that, but it has been getting better. I have several exercises that I have been working on over time to try and build up my heel-toe chops. For example, I will pick a lick and play it slow, and part way through double time it for a few bars, and then drop back to slow.

    For playing, I use the heel-toe quite a lot when doing the rhythm tumbao, which is the basic for most mambo type music. The basic rift is:

    Code:
    1e&a2e&a
    HTSTHTOO
    LLRLLLRR
    (H - heel, T- Toe, S-Slap, O-Open)

    It sounds like your version of the heel-toe is very similar to how it is done on the bongos - thumb/pinkie. Like how the martillo (sp?) rhythm. Never really tried that on the conga, so I dunno about that.

    Another side note, it is kind of funky the different feel you get when you alter the pattern slightly. For example:

    This is a more smooth sounding pattern (I liken it to a double stroke roll)
    Code:
    HTHTHTHT
    RRLLRRLL
    While this has more of a gallop feel (Kind of like a single stroke roll)
    Code:
    HHTTHHTT
    RLRLRLRL
    I hope this made sense! Just like the slap though, it can be difficult to explain. Good luck on the heel-toe

    ---- If thine enemy wrong thee, buy each of his children a drum. - chinese proverb

  10. #10

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    Cool Re: Help from Conga Players

    It did, midgard, and I'm going to transcribe it so I can practice it on my congas...

    BTW, you nailed it on "martillo"...

    Thanks again!
    keep the beat goin' ... Don't keep it to yourself!

    Charlie

    "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." --Henry David Thoreau, "Walden," 1854

    "There's a lot to be said for Time Honored tradition and value." --In memory of Frank "fiacovaz" Iacovazzi

    "Maybe your drums can be beat, but you can't."--Jack Keck

  11. #11

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    I put downward pressure with my other hand on the skin instead of just letting it lay on the skin this helps me create a better slap sound/tone with my right hand.

  12. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by BongoCajon View Post
    I put downward pressure with my other hand on the skin instead of just letting it lay on the skin this helps me create a better slap sound/tone with my right hand.

    ^^Muffled slap, this is definitely the easiest way to achieve a good crisp slap. Unfortunately it only works for slow patterns. It can be difficult to play the following left stroke after the slap if say you are playing 16ths or faster. It is best to learn both the muffed and open slap.

  13. #13

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    Default Re: Help from Conga Players

    Quote Originally Posted by Gretschhead View Post
    ^^Muffled slap, this is definitely the easiest way to achieve a good crisp slap. Unfortunately it only works for slow patterns. It can be difficult to play the following left stroke after the slap if say you are playing 16ths or faster. It is best to learn both the muffed and open slap.
    I agree the transition time back to the rim could cause delay in a fast pattern.

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