CALIXTO OVIEDO: Timba Gears is a study of the "gear" approach to performing modern Cuban music. Master percussionist Calixto Oviedo (NG la Banda, Adalberto Álvarez, Pachito Alonso) goes through each movement in detail with full transcriptions and explanations from Kevin Moore. This is the third book in a instructional series set to become the new standard for contemporary Latin percussion (drumset & timbales) styles. 176 pages (176 páginas) with 7 video files (7 videos) and 202 audio tracks (120 pistas).

Rhythms covered: marcha abajo, marcha arriba, marcha de mambo, muela, presión, masacote, bomba (bonus tracks = solos).

Format: Beyond Salsa Percussion Volume 3 is the third in a series of instructional methods composed of an eBook with video and audio tracks. The eBook, video files and audio tracks are sold separately.

eBook: The eBook is a personalized pdf download compatible with Adobe Acrobat (more eBook info here). 176 pages.

Audio: All the audio from the live video performance has been organized into 202 audio tracks. Purchase the audio album on this page.

Video: All 7 video files are on .mov quicktime format (all 7 video loop files are in .xsc Trabscribe format). Click here to visit the Beyond Salsa Percussion Volume 3 VIDEO album page.

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"Calixto Oviedo is the sole creator of the latest grooves in popular Cuban music, what we know as Timba, with the integration of timbales and drumset. Impeccable taste and technique, combined with his knowledge of AfroCuban rhythms, make Calixto a musician to follow. This book is a testimonial to all of that." -- Horacio “El Negro” Hernández

Volume 3 is by far the most important book of the Beyond Salsa Percussion series. Its goal is to use the simple but powerful concept of “gears” to prepare you – both conceptually and technically – to play drums or timbales in any professional Latin dance band, whether traditional or modern, salsa or timba, playing cover songs or originals, or any combination of the above. Every playing situation is different and some are drastically different. What works for an old-school salsa band playing Ray Barreto covers will definitely not work for a Cuban timba band playing in the style of Los Van Van, and vice versa. Even if you master Ray Barreto or Los Van Van’s style, you may find yourself completely unprepared when the band switches to a song by Rubén Blades or Charanga Habanera. When you understand gears, however, you can quickly assess and master the style of any band you’re trying to cover, or any original band you’re trying to create.

Calixto Oviedo is the first featured artist in Beyond Salsa Percussion, the companion series to author Kevin Moore’s acclaimed Beyond Salsa Piano series. Oviedo, who played with such groups as NG La Banda and Adalberto Álvarez y su Son, is a living legend among Cuban drummers. This, the third volume of the series, Calixto Oviedo: Timba Gears, is a study of the "gear" approach to Cuban music.

In each of these musical scenarios (gears), each member of the rhythm section has a special role and the combination of all these roles is what we call a “gear”. For example, during the opening canto, the timbalero might play the cáscara rhythm on the sides of the timbales, while the bongosero plays martillo on the bongó. When the coro section comes in, the timbalero might play a fill and then switch to the contracampaneo rhythm on the long flat mounted bell, while the bongosero picks up a hand bell and plays the interlocking campaneo rhythm. In our terminology we call this a “gear change” from “marcha abajo” to “marcha arriba”. In some bands, the timbalero might play a counter-rhythm with the left hand on the drum head. Alternatively, the stick could be used. Or, the stick could play clave on the jam block. The kick drum and/or snare drum could also be worked into the pattern. There are endless ways to combine and recombine the various available percussive timbres, but ultimately, the job is the same: playing a lower level accompaniment – or gear – for the lead vocal and then switching – as a group – to a medium high energy gear for the call-and-response vocals.

Click here for a FREE pdf sample of the Beyond Salsa Percussion Volume 3 eBook.

Click here for more Volume 3 samples. Email the author = kevin [at] timba [dot] com

Click here to visit the Beyond Salsa Percussion Volume 3 VIDEO album page.

Calixto, like many modern Cuban drummers, sits at a full drumset and has a timbales rig to his left. We’ve tried to stick to already-established conventions, but a certain amount of creativity was necessary to cover the vast arsenal of timbres that Calixto’s rig enables him to use:

Drums: Kick Drum, Floor Tom, High-Mid Tom, High Tom, Snare Drum, Low Timbal, High Timbal
Bells and Blocks: Large Campana (Bongo Bell), Contracampana (Timbal Bell), Cha Bell, Jam block
Cymbals: Hihat, Ride Cymbal, Crash Cymbal, Splash Cymbal

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Beyond Salsa Piano Vol12     Beyond Salsa Piano Vol11     Beyond Salsa Piano Vol10

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