Claves on drum set, need support ideas

Ghostin one

Senior Member
Looking to use a real pair of claves on the drum set from time to time, usually just for an intro and then switch to snare and drum set.

I have a small tray on the high hat stand - I'm going to try cutting a V-groove in a block of foam to support a clave and play it with the other one.

Anyone have any other ways to do this? A theatrical drummer's trick maybe?

I thought of drilling a hole (hopefully at a node, like a marimba bar) and hanging or supporting a clave that way too.
 
If I needed to do that, I'd just use the smallest LP block, which is sufficiently high-pitched and also throaty. And, I can keep the sticks in my hands for instant transitions back & forth. :)

It would convince everyone (except possibly the most dedicated drummers.)

Bermuda
 
Thanks, that's a good idea I hadn't thought of. Not having to switch back to sticks would be a lot easier.

The smaller LP sambago sure sounds like a clave to me; time to go shopping.

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I want to play the clave part at the beginning (and other parts) of J. Tull's 'Living in the Past'.

It's confusing, though! Brain wants to mix clave part with the snare cross-stick pattern.

The singer is actually skilled with tambourine, maybe I can get her to play the clave parts.
 
If I needed to do that, I'd just use the smallest LP block, which is sufficiently high-pitched and also throaty. And, I can keep the sticks in my hands for instant transitions back & forth. :)

It would convince everyone (except possibly the most dedicated drummers.)

Bermuda
That's what I'd do too - it's maybe not completely the same sound, but it would have a similar effect.

Claves can be quite different too though - a friend of mine was playing percussion for a bit in the band I'm in and he had a set of the LP King claves that are specifically designed to be loud, and I'm pretty sure some claves are designed to be specifically pitched higher or lower, depending on what you want out of them.
 
It's funny, I have a pair of claves I got from Santa when I was six or seven years old (fifty years ago) They came with the Sears bongo / maracas set. Only the claves remain. They're no good, but I have a real pair too.
 
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