Drums effect on the hands
hi there,
a friend of mine asked me to play bata drums with him....
i'd happily do it, as it would be a very good rythmic exercise and it looks fun, though i'm a bit afraid that it would hurt my fingers or make them stiff or a bit insensitive or whatever else.
does anybody here have some experience of playing congas or something like that and knows the short/long term effect on the hands/fingers?
a friend of mine asked me to play bata drums with him....
i'd happily do it, as it would be a very good rythmic exercise and it looks fun, though i'm a bit afraid that it would hurt my fingers or make them stiff or a bit insensitive or whatever else.
does anybody here have some experience of playing congas or something like that and knows the short/long term effect on the hands/fingers?
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i'm a drummer/pianist and i've found that playing drums has helped my piano playing and playing piano helps my drumming. not only does drumming help my overall groove while playing piano and the harmonic and melodic knowledge that i've gained from piano makes me a more musical drummer. as far as the physical issues, i feel that playing both intruments has helped me more than anything. i consider playing both to be sort of like the cross-training that many athletes do. yes, playing hand drums(especially, congas, bongos, and bata) can be hard on the hands. but if you drum with good technique and and try not to push yourself too hard, you should not experiance any negative effects. best of luck with your percussion endevors and let us know how it goes.
paul
paul
hey paul,
can you recommend any good drum exercises i can do on the piano that will benefit playing the piano? i've done paradiddles on the keyboard before....any thoughts on those or any other exercises would be great!
thanks,
james
can you recommend any good drum exercises i can do on the piano that will benefit playing the piano? i've done paradiddles on the keyboard before....any thoughts on those or any other exercises would be great!
thanks,
james
piano is a percussion instrument! the more drums and percussion that you play, the better certain things on the piano will get.
go to albetan's room and download some of the montuno pages and other latin rhythms. these are very hand independant as well as finger independant. they are also the same rhythms you can playon the conga and other hand drums.
my favorite piano players are very percussive and drum-like in their playing. fact is, a lot of my playing is that way- and i also love pulling out the congas on my trio gigs.
ok, it's late, been hosting the jam session for the last several hours, and have had a bit of tequila, so i might be rambling.
regardless, anything you do on drums will help your piano playing. make sure, however, that you are doing things with proper technique. go so far as to take one lesson with someone who plays the percussion are you playing if you think you might not be getting it right. don't want to get tendonitis or something.
go to albetan's room and download some of the montuno pages and other latin rhythms. these are very hand independant as well as finger independant. they are also the same rhythms you can playon the conga and other hand drums.
my favorite piano players are very percussive and drum-like in their playing. fact is, a lot of my playing is that way- and i also love pulling out the congas on my trio gigs.
ok, it's late, been hosting the jam session for the last several hours, and have had a bit of tequila, so i might be rambling.
regardless, anything you do on drums will help your piano playing. make sure, however, that you are doing things with proper technique. go so far as to take one lesson with someone who plays the percussion are you playing if you think you might not be getting it right. don't want to get tendonitis or something.
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by Scot Ranney on 05/26/2004, 01:44
james - try learning a few percussion patterns like the cascara pattern in one hand while the other hand plays the clave pattern. afro-cuban 6/8 patterns are great as well as the brazilian rhythms such as bossa nova, partido alto and samba. try playing these using some of your percussion sounds on your keyboard. also all of the east indian rhythms are great for learning odd time and also good for finger control as the tablas are played mainly with the fingers. i wish i could write out a few things but i don't have the equipment. there's lots of great books that come with cd and of course dvd. i'm going do a search and see what i come up with.
www.formedia.ca/rhythms/3stick.html this covers cascara and clave patterns as well as some conga patterns. enjoy!
actually, i played percussion from time to time in my younger years and many time , after playing for 30mn, 1 hour in a row, i found my fingers very stiff.... a bit "unfoldable" in a way. at that time i was not playing as much piano as today so wouldn't care at all. now that i'm really investing myself into piano playing, i'm a bit afraid by that feeling i had... could it harm my finger soupleness or something like that....
the person i'm gonna play with is a confirmed conga/bongo player so i should learn proper technique :)
the person i'm gonna play with is a confirmed conga/bongo player so i should learn proper technique :)
i was going to post something yesterday but didn't have time-i see you've gotten a lot of responses affirming the value of being involved in playing percussion instruments as a pianist,which i also recommend,but none re-what i think the intent of your thread is-the actual physical impact of playing the type of instruments indicated on your hands,which any kind of instrument like these will have, no matter what kind of technique you use...i'd suggest playing the kind of hand drum that uses a stick instead,there are many...check the latin percussion site for photos,info re-beats,etc....
just don't push yourself and stay relaxed. if you're really concerned maybe you could play la compana (cowbell)or other instruments that you strike with a stick or shake. actually playing timbales will give the greatest degree of hand independance which might benefit your piano playing. as far as stiffness, try to strech and if it's cold weather be sure that your hands are warm. also use lots of lotion to avoid dryness that can occur. some players wrap up their hands with tape. to tell you the truth i don't do any of that stuff and i haven't had any problems. there is a myth that all good hand drummers have very rough hands. yes some do, but i studied with luis conte, alex acuna, and giovani hidalgo. they all have normal feeling hands. it sounds like you have a good opportunity to work with a good congero/bongosero. just take it easy a don't worry about playing too fast or loud. let us know how it all works out. happy drumming!
paul
paul
timbales would be great, but we play bata drums, just three drummers and nothing else so i won't get opportunity to play stick stuff.... i started today and it was lot of fun. i'll stick to it for a while and if my delicate hands suffer from it i'll stop.
thanks to all for your advices
thanks to all for your advices
go to www.congaplace.com amazing site with empashys on cuban percussion with incredible forum
here is a link to may of those drum patterns
https://www.formedia.ca/rhythms/3stick.html
https://www.formedia.ca/rhythms/3stick.html
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