Groove for Saint Joseph

Norm

This is one stereo track of 6 conga drums tuned, by ear, to roughly a chromatic scale (I don’t know which one - perhaps I’ve gone micro-tonal!) coupled with a single track of ad-lib quinto (the high drum) and a “shuffle” groove on trap-set (which I don’t play), constructed via a metronome, in the absence of the conga tracks, by Black Tiger. The tuned congas were played in a “chording” fashion - 2 drums struck simultaneously to make a chord, and processed via the Lexicon to “drum plate” reverb, with compression.

The “shuffle” groove (aka “swing” groove) is a 4/4 pattern used primarily for jazz, in which the 4 beats of the bar are triplets, but only the 1st & 3rd triplet notes are played. I find that the shuffle groove lends itself particularly well placed against a polyrhythm pattern in 6, which is the meter for the conga parts.

Dedicated on this Father’s Day to the patron saint of fatherhood, Joseph, and to all fathers who always seem to be in the right place, saying just the right thing, when we need it most. Thanks Dad!

MORE DRUM SOLOS!!

(Many thanks to Black Tiger, who tells me the bpm on this is 80, but how you set your metronome depends upon what time signature you are hearing this in!)