I've
been trying for years, with no success, to get the right sound
and rhythm of the tamborim. Well, at 9 AM, sitting outside
of our school in Salvador, the Office of Musical Investigation
(click here),
I actually GOT IT!!
The
characteristic sound of the tamborim, when playing the style
of Tamborim Virado (turning tamborim) is so important to samba.
Alex Acuña has described it as an egg rolling down
a board. You know what I mean? Well, I discovered it. I wrote
it out on the board at the school and here's the picture of
what I wrote.
You
see the tamborim on the first line. You strike the drum ("down")
with a stick (in your right hand, if you're right handed)
and then turn it down. The next strike, on beat two, is on
the up stroke. The beat three is a regular down stroke. The
next thing I figured out is that you have to play a kind of
"flam" by striking the drum with the stick for the
ghost note and the left index finger tip for the main stroke
of the flam. You hold the drum so that you can strike the
underside of the head with the nail of your index finger.
Once you have the idea, then you can open the flam a little
to achieve the feel.
Now,
you see this exercise written in 3/4 time. It's the best way
I could get to the groove. The groove has four notes in it,
but it's not easy to write out. This is a very effective way
to learn the technique.
With
this technique I was able to achieve the sound
I'd been searching for for many years!
Thanks
for being here. There'll be more lessons, I promise!!
Thanks
once again for visiting my lessons page, and for checking
out the website. If I can be of any help to you, please
drop me an email.
And don't forget to check out the books, CDs, and videos
available here. Thanks!
This official Drum
Ring International site is owned by Chuck
.
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Chuck Silverman
P.O. Box 572962
Tarzana, CA 91357-2962
USA
Fax 818.884 8837
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