• Introducing the positioning of the drum, the rhythmic vocabulary, and the techniques for Tonal & Articulation variation (Open vs. Muted Articulations to the tones: Bass, Heel, Slap/Pop, and Tap/Toe), and body motions needed to produce and convey the main Groove, incorporating aspects of Time-Keeping (Primary & Secondary Pulses, Beats/Counts, and Backbeats), Accents, Setups (or Pickups), Buildups, Offbeats for Syncopation, and Phrasing.  So important is this Groove that we’ll write out and then read our own simple Counting Notation of it.  This Groove helps Support key elements from the whole band, but itself is what the other drums & percussion are listening to and watching in order to Support, Embellish, and Dialogue with it.

• To get more sound from the drum, rest the drum on the edges of your shoe soles, put it on a stand, or place some reflective tile under it.  Also, tilt the drum away from you, which will keep you from hurting your wrist and make it easier to play Open tones.  Use a cord around your waist if you have problems holding the drum between your legs with it properly tilted.

• In order to really distinguish the tones, Articulation, and Dynamics necessary to create a good hand-drum Groove, you’ll need to concentrate on your technique or “Form.”  This will also keep you from hurting your hands!

• Form the letter “A” with the thumbs up and away from the edge. The fleshy part of the palm hits the rim so that the “life-line” crease in your hand hits the edge of the drum head.  If your hand is slightly curved in a relaxed manner and the drum is tilted away from you, the fingers will naturally flop forward (due to momentum) to hit the drum head as a consequence of the palm hitting the rim, and then they’ll naturally rebound off the head to create a resonant “angelic” tone.  Don’t try to touch the head, especially if your hand is stiff - you’ll probably hit its bones on the edge - OUCH!

• Play in the middle of the head (keeping away from the high pitches along the edge) with the thumbs and fingers together to form a slightly cupped hand, but still relaxed - you shouldn’t feel any bones making contact.  Think of pulling the sound out of the drum like you’re bouncing off a trampoline, straight up and down - don’t pull your hands back toward you because this wastes time and will make you late!

• Count: |1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + | playing: |R L R L R L R L| with Tap/Toe tones lightly on the edge (shown underlined as if they were Fill-ins for Rests), but reaching into the middle to play Open-Bass tones (shown bolded) on the Notes of the 1-Bar Clave (Tresillo Cubano, the Cuban Triplet - see also Guidelines Package #3 GLP3-11 and Guidelines Package #6 GLP6-7).  Make sure you have the Tonal, Articulation, and Dynamic contrast to really Groove!

• Counting |1 2 3 4 | and playing |R R R R | with the tones: |B O B O |, where B = Open-Bass and O = Open. Here, the R-hand plays Bass tones in the middle of the head with the thumb in, moving the body forward. Then moving your body backwards, the R-hand plays Open tones with the thumb out, placing the "lifeline" of you palm on the edge of the head while the fleshy part of the palm lands on the rim of the drum.

• Now play the R-hand, counting |1 + 2 _ 3 + 4 _ | with the tones: |B B O _ B B O _ |, where B = Open-Bass and O = Open.

• Now play |1 _ 2 _ 3 + 4 _ | as |R _ R _ L L L _ | with the tones: |Bm _ O _ B B O _ |, where Bm = Muted-Bass, B = Open-Bass, and O = Open.

• It's not so much what you play but how you play that will make your rhythms Groove. Focus on your technique - make up patterns of different tones and focus on the quality of each sound and your "form."

• Use Muted-Bass tones to differentiate (adding Tonal variation to separate and clarify the rhythms) the Secondary-Strong Pulses from Primary-Strong Pulses played by Open-Bass tones.

• Here, the 4/4 Meter “Kpanlogo” has a Secondary-Strong Pulse on the Downbeat “1” and Primary-Strong Pulse in the “3” Count, which is opposite of most Western music. However, still keep the normal forward/backward body motion. Now, we’ll add the L-hand Pickup Note (“+”) Open-Bass tone that leads us from Bar 1 to Bar 2 so we feel the 2-Bar Phrase.  Again, try not to pull your hands back to your body or sides.

• Muted-Bass tones can also Choke off the resonance of previously Open resonant tones while still keeping the Time-Keeping Pulse.  In the 2nd Bar of the 6/8 Meter “Adowa,” the Off-Pulse Counts “2, 4, and 6” are what’s supposed to be dominant (for the sake of Syncopation) and so are played as Accented L-hand Open-tones.  Counts “1, 3, and 5” are R-handed Muted-Bass tones that still keep the 3-Pulse Feel, but are softer to Setup up the louder Off-Pulses Counts “3 & 5” also Choke off the previous Off-Pulse resonance for greater rhythmic clarity (see also GLP4-16).

• In the beginning of the Adowa’s 1st Bar, you have 2 Bass tones played back-to-back.  In this case, you may want to convey the more important Bass tone by making it Open and the other Muted.  This also keeps the 2nd Bass tone from “ringing” into subsequent tones and helps to create a “dead-spot” or “hole” for others to Fill-in.

• For R-handed players, you’ll use your L-hand for this Latin/Cuban Time-Keeping method.  The fleshy part of your L-hand palm (called the “Heel”) is pushed into the middle of the head causing the fingertips (called the “Toes”) to point upward.  Then, these “Toes” come down to play a Muted “Tap” near the higher-pitched edge.  Now push off your fingertips and raise your wrist “Up,” and loosely whip (like the Moeller techniques teaches) the “Heel” back down to restart.

• Here, we’re playing “Heel Tap Up” in a 3/4 Waltz Meter to “These are a Few of My Favorite Things” (from the “Sound of Music”).

• Then, we’ll do “Heel Tap Slap” where the “Slap” is done with the R-hand as the L-hand is on the “Tap,” just about to push off (see also GLP4-13).

• The Slap/Pop is more towards the side of the drum (so I’ll rotate my elbow outward) as the very-relaxed hand “Slaps” the drum (with the thumb up and out of the way like the Open tone, but without the fingertips angled up and away from the head) and at the last second the fingertips grab the head and pull inward to create a “cave” with your hand as it faces toward you.  If you do it right, your fingertips will sting a bit, but you won’t hurt any bones.  This “crack” or “Pop” is high-pitched like a Snare Drum (great for Backbeats) but the Muting makes it stand out even more (having your free hand sitting on the head makes it “Double or Triple Muted” - see GLP4-15). 

• Try the 6/8 Meter Bembe: |1 2 3 4 5 6 | as | L R _ L R R | as | H S _ H O O | where H = Open Heel, H = Muted Heel, S = Slap, or O = Open tones.  You can start moving the L-hand up during Count “3” so it gets down in time for Count “4."

• The Moehler Technique adds volume to the Slap Tone in a more relaxed fashion (and adds some showmanship, which will help you endure in longer Shows.

• The R-hand is held up limp-wristed with the elbow held away from your side (like a chicken wing), so that when you drop the elbow toward your waist, the wrist will naturally (don't force it) whip back and then whip foreward. Also, being relaxed is the key for creating a good Slap Tone. Doing this drill with both hands, creates a "heart" shape with the motion.

• If you have bad shoulders, limit how much you lift your elbows up & out. As you go faster, you will also limit this movement.

• Continue from GLP4-10 and add the “Slap” from GLP4-11.  Immediately after the “Slap,” the L-hand “Tap” is pushing off to get the wrist “Up” in time.  The whole motion is smooth and continuous, so we don’t have to overcome any inertia from pausing and having to restart.  As you go faster the “Up” motion is smaller and smaller.

• This typical Latin Groove is counted |1 + 2 _ 3 _ 4 +| and played with the hands: |L L R _ L _ R R| with the tones: |H T Sm _ B _ O O|, where H = Heel, T = Toe/Tap, Sm = Muted Slap/Pop, and O = Open.

• Notice how the Heel (played in the center) and Toe/Tap (played nearer the edge) are both still on the drum when the Slap is played, thus the Slap is considered double Muted.

• The Bass is pulled straight up off the head (so it's in position for the next Heel) to make it an Open-Bass so that the following 2 tones will be "ringing" Open tones.

• This is a common Steady Time-Keeping rhythm (see also Guidelines Package #3 GLP3-5, -13 and Guidelines Package #6 GLP6-8, -16, -17, -18, -27):

|1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + | with strokes: | L L R L L L R R | using tones:  |H T S T H T O O |, where H = Heel, T = Toe, S = Slap, and O = Open. 

• The R-hand Slap is “Triple Muted” because the previous L-hand Heel and Toe are both still on the drum when the Slap (which is naturally Muted) is played.  But immediately after the Slap comes down, the L-hand Toe rises (keeping the Heel on the drum), then Taps again, pushes off a bit so it can rise a little, then rocks back to the Heel, then Taps again, pushing off immediately so the next 2 R-hands are truly Open tones.

• All of this is done in a smooth, continuous motion.  Notice the body motion that conveys the Counts/Beats (Time-Keeping) and that is always moving you toward the position your hands need to be in next.

• If the other hand is already on the drum, the normal Open tone technique (with fingertips angled away from the head) will now produce a Muted sound instead.

• Here, I’m playing |1 2 3 4 | as | R L R _ | using the tones: | O B Om _ | with O = Open, Bm = Muted-Bass, and Om = Muted-Open.  Notice that the Bm Muted-Bass tone is quietly Choking off the previous Open tone (see also GLP4-9) and this also cause the next Open to be Muted Om to honor the Rest that follows. 

• Next, I’m playing |1 2 3 4 | with the strokes: | R L R R | using the tones: | O B O O |, which is now a right-handed Paradiddle Rudiment (what I call “Ra.La.2Ra”).

• RLRR and LRLL is a pair of alternating Paradiddle Rudiments, which you can remember as a "pair of hands and a doubled hand." If you start with the R-hand, you'll end up "diddling" (doubling) the R-hand. If you start with the L-hand, you'll end by "diddling" with that hand.

• My CoreBeat System teaches it as “Ra.La.2Ra” and "La.Ra.2La" which is much more intuitive.

• Here, I'm playing each "Paradiddle" with the tones: O Bm Om Om, where O = Open Tone, Bm = Muted-Bass Tone (softly), and Om = Muted-Open Tone (because your other hand is still sitting on the drum). Notice how the Muted-Bass tone "cuts" off the "ring" of the previous Open tone.