Hey guys, Paulo from Conga Chops.com here,

and welcome back to our quick tip lesson series,

where we’re checking out different fills, phrases and concepts,

to incorporate into our conga playing.

Now, before we get started make sure you hit like, and subscribe,

and turn on your notifications for the channel, so you know when our next lesson drops.

In today’s lesson, I want to go over a couple simple variations,

centered around the down beat of the “two side” of the clave,

that we can use to add some variety to our tumbao.

Now, for these specific examples, we’re going to be using our two drum tumbao,

where we play the tumbadora on the “two side” of the clave, as our foundation.

So, if you need a quick refresher, make sure you check out last week’s lesson before we get started.

For this first variation we’re going to learn a pattern that works really well at faster tempos,

and gives the tumbao a little of breathing room, rhythmically speaking,

but doesn’t disturb our flow of having a constant groove.

So we’ll work on this as a four-bar phrase in 2-3 Clave.

For our first two bars we’ll play our modern one drum tumbao.

When we get to the third bar, we’ll play a right-hand slap on beat one,

followed by a left-hand slap on beat two,

before we get to our two low-drum open tones.

Let’s check it out.

So, the sticking here is totally up to you.

And generally speaking, there’s no right or wrong way to stick something within the tumbao pattern.

There are certain common tendencies that we all share,

but in the end, the sticking can simply be whatever feels comfortable for you,

as long as it helps you obtain the sound and the feel that you’re going for.

For example, at a faster tempo, I might simply leave a rest on the “and” of three,

to make the groove a bit more comfortable.

But this might make the groove feel a bit empty at a more moderate tempo,

which is fine, if that’s what you’re going for.

But because the notes will be so close together at faster tempos,

this brief rest will most likely go unnoticed.

For our next variation, we’re going to continue using the first two quarter notes

on the “two side” of the clave to help us create a bit of space in the groove.

But this time when we get to the third bar, we’ll play a left-hand open tone on beat one,

followed by a left-hand slap tone on beat two,

to allow us to get to the tumbadora more comfortably.

Now at these more moderate tempos, the sticking isn’t really all that crucial.

In the sense that we have enough time between each note

to pull off the groove, no matter how we’re sticking it.

But as we pick up speed, the choice between playing a stroke with our right or left hand,

or leaving an eighth note rest, could make all the difference in terms of how the pattern flows.

Now although it might seem a bit unnatural at first

to play both of the first two quarter notes in the third bar with our left hand,

you’ll see that since we’re going from an open tone to a slap,

both of which are on the edge the drum, as we pick up speed,

it really allows us to get to the tumbadora with our right hand more comfortably.

Now in a musical context, we’d usually only play either of these patterns as variations

once every sixteen bars or even just a couple of times throughout out the course of an entire song.

So, we wouldn’t really be building a constant two or four-bar groove with these as the foundation,

unless it was something deliberate, for example in the Mambo Section of a song,

which is something will look at in some upcoming lessons.

So, for this next example, just so we can get some practice time in with these,

let’s play these variations each once every eight bars, at a bit faster tempo.

So, we’ll play our variation with a slap on the downbeat in the seventh bar of the first eight bar phrase,

and the variation with an open tone on the downbeat in the seventh bar of the following eight bar phrase.

Now let’s work on that same thing at a much faster tempo

over one our Conga Chops Timba Montuno Loops.

Now as with all of our patterns, at faster tempos we might need to slightly adjust the sticking,

placing a rest here or there instead of ghost tone,

or adding some accents to help the pattern really swing.

Let’s check it out.

So, these are just a couple simple variations that we created using very few notes.

Now, working on all of the patterns and variations interchangeably

that we’re covering across all of these lessons,

will help you start to develop some creative freedom when it comes to playing your tumbao.

Just remember that not everything we’ll study here, is applicable in every context.

You’ll want to be very picky as to when you use these different patterns,

depending on the musical context that you’re in.

Now, in a salsa setting it might be ok to use these sparingly depending on the particular style.

And in a Latin jazz setting for example,

which is generally a bit more open in terms of the structured freedom of the accompaniment,

it might feel good to use these a bit more often and closer together.

This is something that you’ll develop a feel for over time,

the more you study different styles, players and recordings,

and start to develop you or own musical taste based on what you want you’re playing to sound and feel like.

So, take the time to work on these patterns slowly with a metronome first,

focus on the sticking and getting a nice clear sound out of each tone,

and make sure you’re aware of which side of the clave you’re on when you’re playing them.

The specific variations we covered in this lesson work fine when played on either side of the clave,

just as long the following bar emphasizes the corresponding accents

to that particular side of the clave.

So, make you sure clap the clave along as you listen to, or sing each example,

so you can gain a deeper understanding of how they work together and complement one another.

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I’ll see you in the next lesson.