WOODSHED

the basics:
(For purposes of these mp3 illustrations, the pulse will will played on the gourd of a
berimbau that's hanging near my computer, and the other parts will be played on a
half empty coffee cup here on my table.)

the pulse
this is the most basic expression of rhythm, like footsteps, or the even ticking of a
clock. All the notes of a pulse are the same length, and the number of these in a
minute determines the TEMPO, or bpm (beats per minute) Lots of other, busier things
can happen over top of this, or not but pulse continues on it's way beneath all the
hubub. One can count to the pulse, perhaps 1,2,3,4, or 1,2,3, or whatever. The clave
rhythm is NOT a pulse, since all notes are not the same length. see clave for more on
this.

downbeat
Downbeats are notes which occur on the pulse or count. If you're walking and playing
a drum simultaneously with each footstep, you are playing the downbeats.

upbeat
Upbeats refer to a place directly in between the downbeats. It's as if the stick or hand
playing the pulse gets midway between beats and is at the top of it's motion, preparing
for another downstroke. (listen to the mp3 for clarification.)

backbeats
When someone refers to a backbeat, that person is usually referring to beats 2&4
(when in four) The backbeat is important for jazz, blues, rock and roll. For practice,
listen to popular music on the radio and pick out the backbeat.

simple and compound rhythms

Simple rhythms are rhythms wherein the pulse breaks down into multiples of 2.
Compound rhythms are those wherein the pulse breaks down into multiples of 3.

counting rhythms
We in the west often use a system wherein we count the downbeats as numbers, the
upbeats as "and" (hereinafter notated "&") and the intermittent notes as "e"
(pronounced "ee") and "a" (pronounced 'ah') This divides a four beat loop into 16
parts, as 1e&a2e&a3e&a4e&a. this is enormously useful during the study phase for
pinpointing exactly what the notes are and where the notes go, but it's rather like the
scaffolding when putting up a building. Once the rhythm is understood, the counting is
no longer necessary. Also, the syllabic basis of it unravels when compouind rhythms

and more complicated combinations are approached. (for example, people have said to
speak a triplet as 1-ta-ta-2-ta-ta, but I cannot do it with a straight face) for triplets or
compound rhythm, I use 1ea2ea

reading and notation: should i learn standard notation?

Yes, you should learn standard notation. It's the most comprehensive way to write
down the material, and knowing how to read it opens a huge body of literature up to
you for study. However saying it is superior to box or any other notation is like saying
perl is superior to c++... They're only languages; each has it's own uses. there are
times when you asre trying to write down a rhythm ON YOUR COMPUTER, and if the
rhythm is not too complex, ascii may be the best way to convey the information. Never
confuse the map with the territory. Different maps may be using different methods
altogether to refer to the same music.

what is ascii notation all about?

Lots of us want to write a particular rhythm, but we're at the computer. Since we're
only describing sounds in time, we can use the available computer keys to describe
these sounds. However if we use an unevenly spaced font, the lengths won't be the
same, and the rhythm will be skewed. To make sure you can read ascii rhythms
correctly choose a font like Courier or Couirier New to view the patterns. Here's an
example of a pulse rhythm played with an "x", then below on a second line with an "o"

(Courier 12 point)
1e&a2e&a3e&a4e&a
x...x...x...x...|
o...o...o...o...|
notice that since all the characters take up the same ampount of space,
the three lines line up, and you can see where the notes of the patterns
line up or coincide. Now look at the same pattern, pasted in below and
changed to a variable width font

(Times New Roman 14 point)

1e&a2e&a3e&a4e&a
x...x...x...x...|
o...o...o...o...|
In this example, the notes don't line up, because the "o" is wider than the "x", and the
count above is ALL out of whack. This will mess with your ability to read the rhythm, so
always use a fixed width font to read or write ascii notation.

should i use a metronome?

yes...

the Mother of all Polyrhythms

Three against two, the original polyrhythm, is best conceived in six, because six is divisible by both
two and three. Listen to the high conga part playing the cycle of three. The low conga is playing a
cycle of two, and they meet at the beginning, on the downbeat of one. The shaker, in the
background, is playing on all six counts. These exercises are designed for beginners, to help you
become more familiar with polyrhythms.
1

"3"

"2"

Three against two-MOM.MID

Play the top line (the "red" part, if you have Netscape3.0 or newer) with your strong
hand, and the bottom part (the "green part") with your other hand. Notice where the
hands fall both together. If you're right handed, the pattern is:
Both, right, left, right.
Focus on your strong hand for a minute, counting "1,2,3" along with the rhythm. Then
shift your focus to the other hand, the one playing the "green" part. Count "1,2,1,2,"
along with the green part. As your mental focus changes from three to two, the rhythm
will feel different to you.
After you've played the rhythm along with the MIDI sequence on your computer, try it
without it. Put each hand on a different sound source, say, your leg and the table. After
playing awhile, switch hands. The hand that was playing on your leg is now on the
table, and vice versa. The reversal of the sounds will give you a different perspective
on the rhythm. This works well on any two sound sources, for example two bells of
different pitch, or the rim and head of a tom tom or djun djun.
Play this rhythm until it is completely natural. Meditate on it. It is much deeper than
first meets the ear.

the Seven Wheels of Bembe

We learned of the Bembe wheels from a post on the djembe list by Chris Kenny ("Gonky"), who
tells of a Gary Harding of Seattle, who teaches the concept. We find them a rich source of study
and practice material, and a bridge to a deeper understanding of African 12/8 rhythms.
Note: We have since made contact with Gary Harding, who indeed has a large private studio in
Seattle, focusing on West African, Brazilian, and Cuban percussion. He is also the leader of
"Batucada Yemanja do Pacifico", one of the oldest Brazilian percussion ensembles in the US (19
years). Gary has given this page his blessing, but assures us that this material only scratches the
surface of his research (, carried on over the last 40 years in the US , Brazil, and Africa. He has
authored books on the subject, available through him. He'll be offering a distance course on
drumming through Antioch University's Heritage Institute. When it's online, we'll put a link up on
this page. In the meantime, e-mail Gary for further details....
Imagine that bell pattern we hear so often in African and latin drumming:

1
x

2
.

3
x

4
.

5
x

6
x

7
.

8
x

9
.

10
x

11
.

12
x

This, known to latin players as the short bell part, is the first wheel of Bembe. Now imagine the
same looped sequence of notes and spaces, but beginning with the downbeat on the second note;
this is the second wheel. Start the loop on each of the seven notes, and you have seven different
patterns, generated from the same sequence. These are the seven patterns:

x
x
x
x
x
x
x

.
.
x
.
.
.
x

x
x
.
x
x
x
.

.
x
x
.
.
x
x

x
.
.
x
x
.
.

x
x
x
.
x
x
x

.
.
.
x
.
.
x

x
x
x
x
x
x
.

.
.
x
.
.
x
x

x
x
.
x
x
.
.

.
x
x
.
x
x
x

x
.
.
x
.
.
.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

We are including each of the wheels on General MIDI below. We've sequenced them with the main
downbeat ("1") and subdivisions clearly marked out. Make sure you can play each of the wheels
first, by itself, then experiment with putting one on top of another. We're sure you'll agree, they're
quite a find; And it seems that the Bembe wheels have a deeper musical and spiritual significance,
suggested on this March 8 post to the djembe list:

Bembe Wheel #1
1
x

2
.

3
x

4
.

5
x

6
x

7
.

8
x

9
.

10
x

11
.

12
x

Bembe Wheel #2
1
x

2
.

3
x

4
x

5
.

6
x

7
.

8
x

9
.

10
x

11
x

12
.

9
x

10
.

11
x

12
.

BembeWheel #3
1
x

2
x

3
.

4
x

5
.

6
x

7
.

8
x

Bembe Wheel #4 also known as the long bell part

1
x

2
.

3
x

4
.

5
x

6
.

7
x

8
x

9
.

10
x

11
.

12
x

Bembe Wheel #5
1
x

2
.

3
x

4
.

5
x

6
x

7
.

8
x

9
.

10
x

11
x

12
.

Bembe Wheel #6
1
x

2
.

3
x

4
x

5
.

6
x

7
.

8
x

9
x

10
.

11
x

12
.

Bembe Wheel #7
1
x

2
x

3
.

4
x

5
.

6
x

7
x

8
.

9
x

10
.

11
x

12
.

Clave Patterns
1
x

&

a
x

&
x

&
x

4
x

&

Forward Son Clave

Forward and reverse clave patterns are really the same pattern started from different points
in the loop. For example, take the forward son clave (above), start it halfway through (on
beat 3), and you get reverse clave (below). We put a kick drum on "one" to mark the
beginning of the loop, but keep in mind that seldom if ever would one hear this done in
traditional afro cuban music. It is used here simply as a learning tool, and in the future, we
will include the clave along with cascara and other, more traditional parts.
3

&
x

4
x

&

1
x

&

a
x

&
x

&

a
x

&
x

4
x

&

Reverse Son Clave

Other clave Patterns:

Forward Rhumba Clave

1
x

&

Reverse Rhumba

a
x

&
x

2
x

&

3
x

&

a
x

&

a
x

Rhumba clave with cascara: Play green pattern with strong hand, red pattern (clave) with
other hand. Then, If you're feeling adventurous, switch hands and play clave with your
strong hand and cascara with the other.
1
x
x

&
x

a
x
x

e
x

&
.

a
x
x

3
x

&
x
x

4
x
x

e
x

&

a
x

So n clave wheels
With the bembe wheels, each wheel started on a note. We wondered what the result
would be if the clave wheels started on each step of the loop, regardless of whether it's
a note or a space. These 4/4 clave wheels were the result. Check 'em out!
Please read the copyright information.
Wheel One (The forward Son clave)
1
x

&

a
x

&
x

&
x

4
x

&

2
x

&

a
x

&

a
x

e
x

&

e
x

&

3
x

&

4
x

&
x

Son Clave Wheel two

1

e
x

&

Son Clave wheel three

1

&
x

Son Clave wheel four

&

a
x

&
x

e
x

&

e
x

&

a
x

2
x

&

a
x

&
x

&
x

e
x

&

3
x

&

a
x

&

a
x

&
x

e
x

&

4
x

&

&

a
x

&
x

e
x

&

2
x

&

3
x

&

a
x

&
x

e
x

&

e
x

&

4
x

&

a
x

Son Clave wheel five

1
x

&

Son Clave wheel six

1

e
x

&

Son Clave wheel seven

1
x

&
x

Son Clave wheel eight

1

e
x

&

a
x

Son Clave wheel nine

1

&
x

Son Clave wheel ten

1

&

a
x

Son Clave wheel eleven

1
x

&

2
x

&
x

&
x

e
x

&

e
x

&

a
x

&

a
x

&
x

&
x

3
x

&

4
x

&

a
x

&

a
x

e
x

&

e
x

&

&

3
x

&
x

&
x

e
x

&

e
x

&

a
x

&

a
x

Son Clave wheel twelve

1

e
x

&

Son Clave wheel thirteen

1

&
x

Son Clave wheel fourteen

1
x

&

a
x

Son Clave wheel fifteen

1

e
x

&

2
x

Son Clave wheel sixteen

1

&
x

Clave wheel combinations

There are many ways to look at this clave wheel thing. You can start a
wheel on every step of the 12 note matrix in 6/8 (clave is a two bar
pattern), as we did on all 16 steps for the 4/4 clave wheels. However,
for now in 6/8 we're only starting a new wheel on a note of the clave
patterns, resulting in 5 clave wheels, at least for purposes of this page.

Here then is an example of the first two 6/8 clave wheels...put together.
If you're not quite sure what we're doing here, please refer to the
Wheels of Bembe and Clave Wheel pages...
6/8 clave wheels 1 and 2, combined:
1
x

3
x
x

5
x

6
x

2
x
x

4
x
x

6
x

Swing...what is it?
This is a concept with which some folks have initial problems. In one sense, the
word means to play well, to "cook", but here we mean a rhythmic shift of a more
definite nature. Suppose we take a group of 4 eighth notes, shown here in box
notation:
1

&

&

If o is a conga open tone, and x is a slap, the rhythm, played straight would sound
like this:
conga pattern, 50% swing (none)
The second note, for example, is 50% of the way to the 3rd one, exactly half way
To swing this rhythm, you would delay the second and fourth notes a bit,
sometimes quite a bit; now we'll swing the same rhythm. Listen to the difference;
play one, then the other. This leaning over of the notes is what is commonly meant
by swing.
conga pattern, 59% swing
In this example, the displaced notes are 59% of the way to the following notes.
When the first and third notes are given twice as much length as the second and
fourth notes, the rhythm assumes a triplet feel. It can actually be conceived as a

triplet based rhythm as in the box below. An example is provided below with the
tamborine playing triplets in the background.
conga pattern, triplets
Here the displaced notes are 66.666%, 2/3 of the way to the following notes,
resulting in a triplet feel.
tamborine

conga

The amount of swing (displacement) has a big effect on the feel of a rhythm, and
different amounts of swing feel different at different tempos.
To illustrate how this works, we've taken a generic rhythm, call it Rhythm X, or
RX.MID, which bears a slight resemblance to the W. African rhythm "Lamban", at
three different tempos, with three varying degrees of swing; 50% or none at all,
59%, and 66.666%, or the triplet feel. Remember, these are only 3 choices from an
infinite sliding scale. First at a moderately slow tempo:
RX.MID, slow, 50%, or no swing at all
RX.MID, slow, 59%, about halfway between straight and triplets
RX.MID, slow, 66.666.%, or triplet feel
Here are the same patterns at a bright tempo:
RX.MID, bright, 50% swing (none)
RX.MID, bright, 59% swing
RX.MID, bright, 66.666 swing
Finally, here they are fast:
RX.MID, fast, 50%
RX.MID, fast, 59%
RX.MID, fast, 66.666%
You can make the comparison here, using the standard jazz cymbal ride rhythm.
Three different tempos, four different degrees of swing. Which do you prefer? Each
is useful in the right situation.
Slow swing cymbal pattern, 50% (no swing at all) At this slow tempo (60 beats a

Slow swing cymbal pattern, 55% swing

Slow swing cymbal pattern, 60% swing
Slow swing cymbal pattern, 66 2/3%, or triplet
feel

Swing cymbal pattern, 50% swing

Swing cymbal pattern, 55% swing
Swing cymbal pattern, 60% swing
Swing cymbal pattern, 66% swing

minute), the triplet feel of 66%

swing feels really good. Better
than the others we daresay...

This batch is at 240 beats a minute, or

120 if you're counting in cut time....

Moribayassafrom the Malinke tribe as transcribed in Larry Morris'

rhythm catalog (Originally from Mamady Keita)
If you are unfamiliar with west African Djembe drumming, it will help to know a bit
about the accompanying instruments. This arrangement is for three djembes and
three cylinder shaped drums (known collectively as djun djuns), each with an iron
bell attached. The large drum is the dundunba, the medium sized drum is the
songba, and the smallest drum is the kenkeni. These drums lay down an important
foundation, and although the parts aren't flashy, they are every bit as crucial as the
djembe parts.
In addition to the two djembe parts below, there is a lead djembe drummer who
"floats" as it were, changing his parts to suit the demands of the moment and the
requirements of the dancers.
B= Bass O=open tone S= slap M= muffled tone X= bell tone (for this page. Often it
too means closed or muffled tone) O/f=open Flam
Here's the break, and lead-in pick up notes for the songba and dundunba:
1 e
O/f .

&
O

a
O

2
.

e
O

&
.

a
O

3
O

e
.

&
S

a
S

4
S

e
.

&
.

a
. break

O
O

songb
dundu

The Loop...
count 1

&

&

&

&

hi dj
lo dj
kenkeni
bell
songba
bell
jun jun
bell
Lead

S
B
O
X
O
X
O
X
I

S
O

X
X

X
P

X
R

S
B
O
X
M
X

O
S

X
V

X
O
X
I

S
B
O
X
M
X
O
X
E

S
O

X
O
X

:-)

X
:-)

X
:-)

S
B
O
X
O
X

:-)

O
S

X
:-)

X
O
X
O
X
:-)

:-)