The essence of playing the drumset in Latin American music consists of orchestrating the different percussion parts from the original styles. Before the drumset was incorporated into Afro-Cuban music, it was the “pailas,” aka Cuban timbales, that fulfilled that role, so it’s no surprise that the various patterns performed on the timbales were primary sources of inspiration for drumset players. In fact, Cuban drummers who have made an impact on the international scene, such as Ignacio Berroa, Horacio Hernandez, and Dafnis Prieto, are all great percussionists as well. There’s an unofficial Cuban protocol in learning Afro-Cuban styles for the drumset where all drummers study the percussion parts that parallel what they play on the kit. Unfortunately, that approach hasn’t been fully incorporated in other countries, where drummers learn Latin styles only through written patterns or through reproducing ideas performed by their favorite players. This article is designed to help bridge […]

February 2013 Issue