I’ve always been a huge fan of Latin drumming. To me, it’s kind of the ultimate music for a percussionist. It’s always been somewhat mysterious in some ways though. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that there’s lots of misinformation out there. It also has a lot to do with the fact that much of the Latin drumming played on the drum set was adapted from musical styles where originally there was no drum set.
I became interested in studying Latin drumming while I was in college. I figured that if I really studied the original conga parts, etc., that eventually evolved into drum set parts, I’d really understand the music. I was told though, that it was much quicker to simply learn how drum set players typically approach Latin styles than to actually spend a lot of time learning all original Latin percussion parts for each style of music.
There is some truth to that. If you’re playing in a jazz trio, and the bandleader says the next song is a Bossa Nova, the most important thing is that you can immediately play a groove that will work with the song. So as far as priorities, A professional working drummer should be able to play at least one basic beat in all the styles they’re likely to encounter. The internet has made this task infinitely easier. Not only can you quickly find notation and someone demonstrating those basic styles, you can search for a specific style of music, and practice playing along with it.
Eventually, you will probably want to expand your basic knowledge of all these styles. Understanding the original hand percussion parts in different musical styles gives you more choices on the drum set. You may choose to expand the basic beat you’ve learned for instance, and play an additional percussion part with your left foot by playing a cowbell, etc. The possibilities are endless. It just depends on what your goals are, and how deeply you want to get into each style of music.
Latin Drumming – by Zack Albetta
In this video by Zack Albetta, he gives an in-depth explanation of Latin drumming. The most interesting thing to me is how he explains that most Americans kind of lump all Latin music into one big category. He goes on to explain that most Latin music really falls into two separate categories. These are Afro-Cuban and Brazilian. He says they really don’t have much to do with each other. There really isn’t any overlap between the two styles.
He goes on to explain the Afro-Cuban rhythms are the ones that are based on the Clave rhythm. Some of these include Songo, Mambo, Salsa and Rumba.
The Brazilian styles are built around the Partido Alto rhythm, which is different from the Clave used in Afro-Cuban styles. A couple of these styles include Samba and Bossa Nova.
Zach Albetta is an Atlanta, GA area drummer. For more information on Zack, visit his website at http://www.zackalbetta.com/.
As Zach mentions in the video, all the examples he plays are notated in the book “Essential Latin Styles For the Drumset” by Doug Auwarter, available on Doug’s website.
This video was produced by Online Drummer. Online Drummer offers drum transcriptions, lessons and more.
Play Drums 10x Faster!
Get MY Top 10 Exercises For Increasing Speed Today!
These Are The Same Type Of Exercises That Helped My Student Matthew Lam Win A Fastest Hands Drumming Competition 2 Years In A Row!
(Price $17 Free Today!)