John95683
151 posts
Apr 26, 2014
10:27 AM
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Does anyone here play the bongos? I'm thinking that learning to play a little may help with rhythm and timing. Any thoughts or recommendations? Thanks.
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Goldbrick
418 posts
Apr 26, 2014
3:57 PM
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Yes I play bongos and percussion
I dont know if it helps the harp playing but it does put you in touch with a different aspect of the music.
The goal is to actually play solid rhythm and not just bang around like must people do.
Learn a strong cuban martillo and build from there.
The big thing to remember is is latin drummers are solid 4/4 and do not swing. You are the foundation
Last Edited by Goldbrick on Apr 26, 2014 3:58 PM
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SuperBee
1935 posts
Apr 26, 2014
4:32 PM
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Sounds like a good idea. I picked up some congas at Xmas and messed with them a little before I moved them on to my drummer mate. I was sorry to see them go really, very attractive pieces with a satisfying sound.
I buy the comment about putting you in touch with different aspect of the music. Might have to pick up some bongos myself.
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2chops
240 posts
Apr 26, 2014
6:27 PM
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I do. I got a nice pair of LPAspire bongos from a friend for $60. Gave me a real nice stand to go with them. Brand new, the LP's list for $150. Good pair of beginner bongos. Bongos are good for solidifying rythem skills. Once you pick up on some Latin based rythems, you can tweak what you do on the harp to fit in. Bongos are good for playing on the street or front porch. Mobility is a big deal for me. Plus they don't hog up near the space that my full drum kit used to.
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jimr
65 posts
Apr 27, 2014
7:02 PM
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Afro-cuban percussion is the most nifty-est but difficult. The most basic authentic bongo rhythm is likely to take months to get solid.
If your goal is to improve harmonica rhythm and timing, I think it would be more efficient to practice harmonica with a metronome and listen to Louis Prima than study bongos.
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STME58
792 posts
Apr 27, 2014
10:34 PM
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A common way for musicians to get rhythms down is to clap them. My instructor had me spend some time in my last lesson sight reading rhythms and clapping them out. I found it to be a very helpful exercise. It seems to me that at the lowest level, using a drum is the same thing and would help in the same manner. Now if you get caught up in all the cool tones you can get out of a bongo by striking it in a different manner, you might be not progress in the rhythm area as fast. Kind of like when you go on the internet to research one thing, but find yourself lost in a fascinating topic that is irrelevant to the original search.
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John95683
152 posts
Apr 28, 2014
8:59 AM
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As a retired gentleman of leisure, my goal is to have fun. Messing around with bongos sounds like fun to me. I really don't care whether or not it helps my harp playing, but I don't think it can hurt :-)
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bluemoose
968 posts
Apr 28, 2014
4:03 PM
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(Just make sure you do a bit of a reality check before you take 'em out to jams. We have a really very sweet guy who hauls congas out to the jam sometimes. 'A' for effort but 'F' for rhythm.)
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