Can teachers give advice on learning Latin?

[AllTheCoolNamesAreTaken]

I left my teacher a little while back, so I've been working on my own. Right before I left we started working on Latin beats and I was playing the basic bossa nova pattern with my foot, hat on 1&3 or 2&4, different ride patterns, and left-hand snare patterns from Syncopation.

After going through a few ride patterns I feel pretty comfortable with that, at a fair speed. I'm sure I could try a million ride variations to play while I work on the left-hand 'soloing', but I'm not sure if there's a better next step. Anybody have any advice on where to go next?

[oops]

Bossas always seemed to have a small scope for me. There's your basic pattern: kick, hats, RH playing 8ths and LH playing rimclicks. Try moving the LH to play patterns between two sound sources: 2 toms for example, or maybe between a rim click on the snare and playing your snare drum with the snares off.

Once you've got the basics down (IMHO) there's some scope to go deeper but not heaps. I'd say move on to another style.

Try out samba (similar to bossa, but felt in 16ths rather than 8ths) or get a book and start looking into other styles.

I really like Horacio Hernandez's Conversations in Clave (for a more Cuban approach). Some others could probably suggest some different directions to go.

[KCDrummer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2SI7qXnHOE

This should keep you busy for awhile.

[Clayton_C]

As someone else mentioned, Horacio Hernandez's Conversations in Clave is a great book. I don't own it, but my teacher uses much of the transcriptions to explain Latin beats like Bembe, Mambo, etc, that are more difficult to understand. What might also be helpful to learn latin drumset, is to take up Latin Hand Percussion for a while, too.
Before "Latin Jazz" became a thing, there were no drumsets in Latin groups, just congueros, tambalists, etc... just percussionist and sometimes in more Afro-Cuban based music, the percussion is traditionally played with tools like a hoe, hammer, etc. (I know the Bembe is derived from a sort of field-workers' percussion ensemble idea). So the trick is not necessarily to learn to play the drumset beat... because it doesn't exist. Just as there are multiple versions of the Bible, multiple translations of Le Miserables, there are many interpretations of a Latin beat. The trick is to find the one that sounds closest to what the original percussionists played.

It's really about listening, dissecting the different beats and ostinatos, and then trying them out.

[AllTheCoolNamesAreTaken]

Thanks for the replies. I started throwing some tom notes into my left-hand comping(?) and that should keep me busy for a while. After than I'll check out Hernandez' book.

Thanks again!

[MEL]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2SI7qXnHOE

This should keep you busy for awhile.

Wow! You put a lot of stuff up there.

[ChuckSilverman]

well.....I may have a bunch to say about this particular subject. Let's see...As a drummer and teacher, with Cuban and Brasilian music being a huge force in my life, I can tell you that a teacher in these styles can be very important. I spend a lot of time with my students listening to music, to sounds created in the music, where they fit within the rhythmic framework, and where all this rhythm fits within the music they are playing. We play together and with playalong tracks and CDs as well.

I believe the most important thing is that you __listen__ to this amazing music, and listen to it with someone who can explain what you're listening to..then put that listening into practice. How you can do that is be being given certain grooves (you may have to work on some basic independence exercises before the grooves) that work, that sound good, and then by playing with music.

If I can be of any help, please let me know. Cuban and Brasilian music have been so huge in my life and I love sharing the groove!

Chuck S
Los Angeles, CA

[Hercraft]

Hi!

I highly recomend the escence of afro-cuban rythms from Ed Uribe!