Suggested Rhythm Section Patterns for Common Styles

Son/ Son Montuno

! Originally played in an ensemble consisting of a Guitar, a Tres and Clave

! The usual Clave pattern of the Son Montuno is 2/3, but depending on the melody
it can be a 3/2 pattern
! Notice that the Bass anticipates the harmony of the measure following

9
 Modern Songo Drum Set Variation

! Probably the most popular, most imitated Drum Set style

! Combination many styles (Son, Rumba, Conga, fusion, funk)
! Very personalized and free style
! Drummer should be proficient in basic patterns of the component styles

10
 MAMBO

! Mostly up-tempo musical style (faster than the Son Montuno)

! A repeating instrumental section of a song, also known as Montuno
! Originated in Cuba and evolved as a blending of the Mambo section,
elements of the Son, and some influences of American Jazz orchestras.

11
 CHA-CHA-CHA

! Always played in 4/4 time with a bouncy 2/4 feell

! A dance and musical style derived from the early Cuban danzon-mambo
! World-wide audience appeal

12
 MERENGUE

! Popular dance rhythm native of the Dominican Republic

! If there is no guira (metal guiro), the drummer plays this crucial part on
the Hi-Hat
! Along with Salsa, the most commercialized Latin song style
! The primary pattern of the Bass was and still is roots and fifths played on
down beats

13
 BOLERO

! A show lyrical ballad – not to be confused with the Maurice Ravel composition of
the same name
! Usually placed at a show tempo
! Different than the Cha-cha-cha but rhythmically incorporates the same parts,
especially in an open vamp section
! Typical Bass line rhythmic pattern is a half note followed by two quarter notes

14
 BOSSA NOVA

! Based on a clave rhythm, but one that is variant of the traditional clave beat
! The last note of the traditional clave beat is delayed one eighth note
! The syncopation does not alter the basic two-measure phraseology
! The clave rhythm is usually placed on the snare drum by the left stick

15
 SAMBA

! Usually played at a faster tempo

! Should have the feeling of a 2/4 pulsation
! The syncopation does not alter the basic two-measure phraseology
! The clave rhythm is usually played on the snare drum by the left stick

16
 AFRO-CUBAN 6/8

! Derived from the fundamental rhythms in West África base on 6/8 feels
! Different styles of 6/8 are often defined by what is being played by the Congas or
the characteristic Bata drums – not simply by use of the 6/8 feels
! The 6/8 clave pattern can also be played on the cowbell or ride cymbal for
different textures and feels

17
 Recommended Discography

Irakere Stan Getz

Irakere en Vivo Girl from Ipanema
Bailando Asi
Irakere Claudio Roditi
Bossa Nova
El Gran Combo
25th Anniversary Oscar de Leon
Mejor Que Nunca La Salsa Yo Soy
Con Bajo y Todo
Grupo Niche
Grandes Exitos Willie Colon
La Gran Fuga
Eddie Palmieri There Goes the Neighborhood
Azucar Pa Ti
Sentido Los Van Van
Songo
Paquito de Rivera
40 years of Cuban Jam Session Arturo Sandoval
Manhattan Burn El Tren Latino

Tito Puente Arsenio Rodriguez

El Rey Sabroso y Caliente
Para Los Rumberos
Salsa Meets Jazz Israel “Cachao” Lopez
Maestro de Maestros
Celia Cruz Descargas con el Ritmo de Cachao
Exitos
Canta Celia Cruz Machito
Homenaje a Beny More Afro-Cuban Jazz
Latin Soul Plus Jazz
Ray Barretto
Que Viva la Musica Jerry Gonzalez
Ritmo de la Vida Rumba Para Monk
River is Deep
Ruben Blades
Caminando Machito
Buscando America Afro-Cuban Jazz
Greatest Hits
*For an additional source of old as well
as new recordings refer to the La 440
DESCARGA Catalogue 328 Flatbush Ven, Sigueme
Ave. Suite 180 Brooklyn, NY 11238
(718) 693-2966

7
 Cha cha chá: Basic Cha Cha Chá

Basic Percussion Solutions Score

Cuban, Clave-based (presented here in 2:3 son clave)

> > > > > > > >

4 y
ã 4 œ
yT y œy œ y yT y œy œ
Œ Ó œ. œ Ó
J
Drum Set

> > > > > >

4 yT Å yT Å y Å yT Å
ã 4 œ T
yT Å yT Å yT Å yT Å
Drum Set
Œ Ó œ. œ Ó
(dry sound)
J

∆¥ ∆O ∆¥ œ∆ ∆¥ ∆O ∆¥ œ∆
Drum Set
variation
& 44 œ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ¿ ¿ œ ¿ ¿
(metal sound)

Congas 4
ã 4 x x
F
3 x x œ Tœ x x 3 x x œ Tœ
(one drum)
R R R R R R

Guiro ã 44 œ ~~~~~~ œ^ œ^ œ ~~~~~ œ^ œ^ œ ~~~~~~~ œ^ œ^ œ ~~~~~~ œ^ œ^

or

Timbales
4
ã 4 ¿
R
¿ ¿R ¿ ¿R ¿ ¿R ¿ R¿ ¿ ¿R ¿ R¿ ¿ R¿ ¿ R¿ ¿ R¿ ¿
3 3

Maracas ã 44 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

43
 Percussion Solutions Score
LATIN JAZZ GUIDE Cha cha chá: Advanced
Cuban, Clave-based
Advanced Percussion Solutions Score
Presented here in 2:3 son clave
Cuban, Clave-based (presented here in 2:3 son clave)

Suggested drum set part with no extra percussion

>
Small cowbell >
4 yT Å yT Å yT Å œy œ yT Å yT Å yT Å œy œ
or bell of cym

ã 4 œ œ. œ Ó
Œ Ó
Drum Set

J
(no extra perc.)

Suggested parts with percussion added (in order)

> > > > > >
4 yT Å yT Å Ty Å y Å yT Å yT Å yT Å y Å
Hi-hat

Drum Set ã 4 œ Œ Ó
T œ. œ Ó T
(dry sound)
J
∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ ‰ ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆
Bell of

4 œ
¿œ
cym
Drum Set
variation & 4 œ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ¿
(metal sound)

4 xP___Fx
ã 4 3S xF __ xP___Fx œT œT xP___Fx 3 Tœ œT Fx œT œT
S
Congas
(two drum)
L L R L L L R R L L R R R L R R

4
Guiro ã 4 œ ~~~~~~~ œ^ œ^ œ ~~~~~ œ^ œ^ œ ~~~~~~~~ œ^ œ^ œ ~~~~~~œ^ œ^
or

44 Both¿ sticks
¿¿¿¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿¿¿¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿
ã
on shell (alt. stroke)

Timbales
3 3

4
Timbale
variation ã 4 ∆ Å∆ ∆ œ∆ ∆ Å∆ ∆ œ∆
4 œR œL Rœ œL etc…
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
Maracas ã 4

44
LATIN JAZZ GUIDE
Percussion Solutions Score
Samba: Basic
Basic Percussion Solutions Score o

Bazilian-Based
Brazilian-based

> L >R L >R L R L

R R
>L R L >R L R L

2 Z eZ e œ e Z e Z 5 Z 5 e Z
R = rim

Drum Set ã 4 œ œ œ œœ e

> L R >L R> L R >L

R R
> L R L> R> L R L>
ã 42 Œ
Hi-hat
y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y
Drum Set œ Œ œ
R L R L R L R L R L R L R L R L

2 œ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ
Hi-hat
¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿
&4 Œ œ Œ œ
Drum Set
variation

Agogô bells ã 42 5 . 5 5. 5 5. 5 5. 5

ã 42 Åmute w/left
R = mallet

œ Å œ
Surdo or

> >
stand-alone
floor tom
hand

Cylinder or
egg shakers
ã 42 >œ œ œ >œ >œ œ œ >œ >œ œ œ >œ >œ œ œ >œ

ã 42 œ œ+ œ° ≈ œ+ œ+ œ°
Pandeiro, +
Tamborim
or Tamborine

98
 Percussion Solutions Score Samba

Samba: Advanced
Advanced Percussion Solutions Score
Bazilian -Based
Brazilian-based

> > > > >

2 œy œy y œy œœy œœy œy œy œy œy œy
Ride cym.

Drum Set ã 4 œ œ
y œ œ y y œ œ y œ
> >

> > > > > > > > >

2y e y e y y e y e y e y e y y e
Hi-hat

Drum Set ã 4 œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ
> >j
2 ¿¥ ¿¥ ≈ ¿¥ ¿¥ ≈ ¿¥ .. ¿¥ ¿¥
Drum Set
variation &4 œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ

2
Agogó bells ã 4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

>R >R
R = mallet
R L R L L

ã 42 Å œ. Å Å. Å œ. Å
Surdo or
stand-alone
floor tom
mute w/left

ã 42 >œ œ œ >œ >œ œ œ >œ >œ œ œ >œ >œ œ œ >œ

hand
Cylinder or
egg shakers

2 >
œ >œ+ œ° œ° >œ+ ≈ >œ œ° ≈ œ° °œ
ã 4
* Pandeiro, + +
Tamborim
or Tamborine

* Pandeiro can also play a sixteenth note, thumb-finger-palm-finger pattern similar to the Cylinder/egg shaker part above.

99
 Family of Common Cuban
Percussion Instruments

Bongos

Timbales with mounted

wood block and cowbells

Maracas

Shékere

Claves

Guiro Congas

Photos provided courtesy of Latin Percussion ® 23

LATIN JAZZ GUIDE

Set Up, Tuning and Maintenance of Latin

Percussion Instruments (By ED EAST)
A successful experience performing any style of music begins with the selection of a quality instrument. Visit
the companion website: www.latinjazzguide.com for recommended instruments and music retailers.

Conga Drums
When playing two or more conga drums, custom-
arily the high drum is centered in front of you and
the lowest drum is placed to your right. When
playing 2 drums, the lower sounding drum is always
placed to the right of the (right handed) drummer.
However, many different 3 drum set ups can be
used, depending on the performer and the context.

Mid High Low

Conga drums are the most commonly used instruments

in the performance of Latin Jazz.
X

Tuning
Conga drum tuning varies greatly from performer to performer and is dependent on the instrument itself.
Nonetheless, you can hardly go wrong by listening to recordings of outstanding “congueros” [cohn.guhr.ohs]
(conga players) and copying the way they tune their instruments. Alternatively, you can try tuning the drums
to their best resonant pitch. As a rule of thumb, tune them a perfect fourth apart. You don’t have to tune the
lugs in a diametrical pattern, as is the case with most contemporary drums.
Low Check for equal
Hightension on each
lug by placing a finger on the center of the drum and striking the perimeter of the drumhead. Listen for
pitch differences and tighten or loosen the corresponding lugs in order to achieve the same pitch all the way
around the drumhead. Remember, when playing a set of two or more drums makeXsure the lowest drum is to
your right and the high drum is centered.

Maintenance
The amount of maintenance your congas and bongos require will depend on the kind of weather to which
they will be exposed and on the kind of drumhead you choose. Synthetic drumheads don’t require much
attention. However, extreme heat can melt some brands of synthetic drumheads. Heat and dryness can, and
will, tighten calfskin (or any animal hide) drumheads to the point of breakage, depending on how taut they
already were. Cold temperatures and humidity will slacken the calfskin drumheads and detune them. When
performing under humid conditions, you will need to check the drums’ tuning often and continue tightening
the drumheads in order to keep them tuned. Make sure to loosen the rawhide drumheads after every perfor-
mance, particularly if your drums will be exposed to extreme temperature/humidity changes.
The lugs should be oiled at least once a year. Some manufacturers suggest that you oil them more frequently.
Certain manufacturers of wooden congas and bongos suggest that, before putting on a new drumhead, you
should sand the rim of the drum making sure that it is smooth and free of rough spots. This will allow for
smoother tuning and will prevent damaging the new drumhead.

158
With use, drumheads will become dirty and their sound will deaden. For synthetic heads, follow the manu-
facturer’s cleaning instructions. For animal hide heads, some manufacturers recommend using a mixture of
warm water and saddle soap to clean the head. Others suggest replacing the head.

Bongos

Tuning
As with the congas, listening to recordings of great bands and the way their bongos are tuned is the best
way to sharpen your ears. The most common tuning has the smaller drum (on the left) tuned very tightly
and sounding almost like the bottom of a small, empty tin can. Many performers will substitute animal hide
heads with x-ray film in order to achieve that sound. The larger drum (on the right) is tuned up to a point of
least-possible-resonance.

Maintenance
The amount of maintenance your bongos will require will depend on the kind of weather to which they are
exposed and on the kind of drumheads you choose. Synthetic drumheads don’t require much attention.
However, extreme heat can melt some brands of synthetic drumheads. Heat and dryness can, and will tighten
calfskin (or any animal hide) drumheads to the point of breakage, depending on how taut they already were.
Cold temperatures and humidity will slacken the calfskin drumheads and detune them. When performing
under humid conditions, you will need to check the drums’ tunings often and continue tightening the drum-
heads in order to keep them tuned. Make sure to loosen the calfskin drumheads after every performance,
particularly if your drums will be exposed to extreme temperature/humidity changes.
The lugs should be oiled at least once a year. Some manufacturers suggest that you oil them more frequently.
Some manufacturers of wooden bongos suggest that, before putting on a new drumhead, you should sand
the rim of the drums making sure that they smooth and free of rough spots. This will allow for smoother
tuning and will prevent damaging the new drumhead.
With use, drumheads will become dirty and their sound will deaden. For synthetic heads, follow the manu-
facturer’s instructions. For animal hide heads, some manufacturers recommend suggest using a mixture of
warm water and saddle soap to clean the head. Others suggest replacing the head.

159
LATIN JAZZ GUIDE

Cowbells, Ago-gó
Care
Rust and abuse are the main factors that affect these instruments negatively. Making sure that they are not
stored in humid environments and wiping them off after each use will take care of the rust. Storing them
with care and remembering that these are, indeed, musical instruments will help prevent abuse.

Güiros and Shékeres

Care
Unless they are made of strong synthetic materials, breakage and abuse are the main factors that affect these
delicate instruments negatively. Güiros can be easily repaired Mid High glue or withLow
with any all-purpose wood glue.

Timbales X

Customarily, the low drum is placed to your left

and the high drum to your right.

Low High

Tuning
In tuning the timbales, it’s suggested to use the same principle—perfect fourth as a starting point—as noted
for the congas earlier. Listen to recordings and try to duplicate the tuning that sounds best to you or that
which best applies to the music. The high drum should produce a crisp, higher pitch “crack” when playing a
rim shot. However as you listen, take care to note that some artists, notably the great, Tito Puente, made
recordings using a three- (or more) timbales setup. These setups deviate from the standard, two-timbales
setup. This may cause confusion as you listen to recordings looking for a satisfactory tuning for your
timbales. When tuning the timbales, use a diametric tuning system (low drum on the left, high drum on the
right).

Care
Rust and abuse are the main factors that affect the timbales negatively. Depending on the climate and the
playing conditions, make sure you lubricate the lugs once a year, at least. Always check for loose tuning nuts
before playing.

160
Appendix A:
Family of CubanFamily of Cu
Clave Patterns

ã 22 Û . Û* Û Û Œ Û Û Œ
J
Forward Son
Clave (3:2)

Reverse Son
ã 22 Œ Û Û Œ Û. Û Û
* Û
Clave (2:3)
J

ã 22 Û . Û Û. Û Œ Û Û Œ
Forward Rumba *
Clave (3:2)
J J

ã 22 Œ Û Û Œ Û. Û* Û . Û
J J
Reverse Rumba
Clave (2:3)

ã 22 Û . Û Û. Û Û Û Û Œ
Matanzas *
J J
Rumba Yambu
Clave (3:2)

Play accented notes only = 6/8 clave

Forward Afro 6/8

Bembe Bell (3:2) ã 68 Û ‰ *Û ‰ Û Û ‰ Û Û ‰ Û
> > > > >
6
Reverse Afro 6/8
Bembe Bell (2:3) ã8 ‰ Û Û ‰ Û
* Û ‰ Û ‰ Û Û
> > > > >

* = Bombo Note

161