[phil]

Good evening, I'm Phil, I live in the Northeast of the States. I made the ends meet playing bass, mostly rock and jazz but I have been working with a bow over the last four or five years. I play some guitar as well and have a lot of questions but will wait a bit as its probably bad form to introduce yourself with a thousand questions. Take good care all and thanks for having me.
All the best, Phil

[Payul]

Hi Phill,

Nice Bass!
Also nice sound with the bow.
Welcome to the forum!

Payul

[at_leo_87]

welcome!

dont worry about bombarding us with questions. we can handle it!

[phil]

Good evening gents, thanks for the welcome. Looking (and listening) around I can see I need to educate myself some to even ask an intelligent question. As this style of music is so new to me I figure I had better start with the rhythms. When I started getting into Cuban music it was clear I needed to understand the clave to get the tumbao figured out. Is there a similar layering of rhythms in compas? Which palo is a good place to start for a newcomer to the genre? Thanks again, this place is an amazing resource. Take good care, Phil

[Payul]

Hi Phil,

It is not so complicated as it seems, the "trouble" comes when you start counting and forget to stop counting when you feel the rythm.

Generally speaking you best can start with the Solea or Soleares.
it is counted in 12 with the accents on 3 6 8 10 12. ( sometimes they make exeptions, but this is the basic) So, X X # X X # X # X # X #.
Try to learn to tap only the accents (#) and "hum" the not accents (X) in your head, you hear an underlying rithm.
That's it!

Ready for the Bulerias?

Payul

[at_leo_87]

listening wise, solea can be hard because it is often stretched and played without any palmas. try listening to an alegrias or solea por bulerias. unless it's for dance, the tempo stays rigid. of course, things in 4's are also good to listen to get use to the syncopation.

when learning, solea can be nice because it's nice and slow, but pay attention to the rhythmic values.

the hardest part after getting familiar with the odd placement of the accents is keeping a steady quarter note pulsation. most people give too much weight to the accents and ignore the other beats.

[phil]

Good news, I am in with the II: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 :II ; thanks Payul. at_leo_87, I am looking into alegrias and solea por bulerias next. Thank you both for some direction in this matter. If I can impose one more question before moving into the proper posting place, I am assuming you two are out there working in this genre, do you hire bassists? If so, do you want to hear a double(stand-up)bass or electric? I saw this film of Paco de Lucia with a fretless player that was outstanding, really outstanding! Well thanks again for taking the time to introduce me to this music. All the best, Phil