Who else wants to get their ensemble to learn and remember essential Latin and Brazillian percussion rhythms - and known them so well that they’ll never forget them?

Dear Friend and Percussion enthusiast,

Have you ever tried to teach students the essential parts of Latin American and Brazillian percussion rhythms, and then come back to it a few months later and they can’t even remember the difference between a mambo and a samba?

Well - its not difficult to see why - If we are teaching these rhythms in isolation then they will easily get confused about the differences between the different patterns.

It was a need like this that caused me to come up with this piece “A Conga and a Samba”. I thought if I could take the essential elements of just two common styles, and combine them into one piece then they’d remember those essential elements…

But I also realized that part of the problem with their memory was just associating the name of the rhythm with the style - that’s why I’ve included some special vocals in this work.

 

The essential parts of the conga rhythm showcased

The piece opens with a gradual build-up of the conga rhythm, emphasizing the anticipated note which makes these rhythms so distinct.

As Latin Music experts would know, many rhythms are based on the “clave” or “key” - and I’ve tried to keep the parts accurately reflecting the 2-3 Rhumba Clave which the section is based on.

Because in this piece they are chanting “Everybody Conga” “Everybody Samba” plenty of times the students in the ensemble will internalize this knowledge. They’ll KNOW the time feel of a conga and a samba pattern later in life - even if they hardly ever play music in this style. The vocals happen time and time again, so even your audience will get the idea of the two different rhythms presented in just one performance.

The piece is infinitely flexible - I’ve written it for 11 Parts - but this would be adaptable to whatever ensemble you have. I’ve never had a drum line, but I think it could be quickly and easily adapted to a marching corps situation.

As you can see, each player plays ONE instrument - This makes this piece super practical for rehearsals and performances - they pick up their one instrument and carry it onto stage. I deliberately write most of my music to be simple and practical to rehearse and perform.

When the Brazillian samba appears for the first time, its really subtle - like it’s a samba played by a cool jazz band as backing music.

Once it gets into it however, it is more reminiscent of the Rio Carnival with its dynamic rhythms and driving surdo bass drums.

Often with these types of pieces the person given the Maracas or the shaker is the least capable player in the ensemble, and they have to just keep the same pattern going for the entire piece.

This is hardly rewarding for them, and you can find problems arising if they get bored and distracted in rehearsals.

In this piece I’ve made every part as interesting as each other - In fact the Maraca and the woodblock part are absolutely critical, perhaps MORE important than the drum parts.

This way you can make the maraca player feel like they are important to the ensemble. You can also take the opportunity to give one of the more experienced players the Maracas or the woodblock in this piece, and give the less experienced players the drum parts. This way you’ll keep everything fresh and exciting, and you’ll demonstrate that everyone is important in the ensemble. The Woodblock plays the “clave” - “the key” that holds it all together… so make sure the ensemble understands this!

I’ve found that just under three minutes is the ideal length for percussion ensemble showcase music - It is just enough to make an impact, without boring the audience. There is no fluff, no padding and no improvised solos - just complete fun grooves and great sounding ensemble work.

Just have a listen to the exciting conclusion:

As with all the music on zcpercussion.com I include a quality recording, which you’ve been listening to on this website. The samples you’ve heard are compressed, but the included recording is recorded at CD Quality.

I also don’t mind if you distribute the recording to your students. They can download it to their media players, or burn it to CD’s

Listen to Complete Recording Here I know that the excerpt recordings don't really do this piece Justice, so here is the complete recording to see how it goes together Check out how the score and parts look Click on the Adobe Acrobat Icon below to see the sample file to see how "conga samba" prints

In a store, printed out this score would cost at least $49.95, but the internet allows me to distribute it to you for much less than that.

You can download and print this music today from this website for just $29.95 (AUD). This works out even cheaper for US and UK visitors; it's next to nothing compared with what traditional sheet music costs. You can check out the cost in your currency by visiting www.xe.com

STOP PRESS As this piece has just been launched, I'm offering it for just $19.95, until the end of February, 2008. It will go back to its normal price on 29th of February!

So for less than the cost of ONE Audio CD you can get a piece that I know will work time and time again, and will become a stable piece of repertoire in your ensemble.

And don't forget.....

This Music Works – Or Your Money Back I’ve partnered with the Fun Music Company to bring you this website, and they have a very strict rule. NO MUSIC can be published unless it WORKS! They simply wont publish anything unless it has been tried and tested in school situations.. and the reason is this… Your Satisfaction is 100% Guaranteed Yes.. that’s right. The Fun Music Company is the only music publishing company I’m aware of that if the piece doesn’t meet your expectations they’ll give you your money back! No Questions. No Hassles.. just contact them within 30 days and let them know why, and they’ll happily refund your money. Infact.. if they didn’t have that rule I’d insist they did!

So do yourself a favour and invest in a piece now that I know will become a standard in your repertoire of performance pieces for your percussion ensemble. Your students will LOVE it, and your audiences will too!

Up and On!

Zac Courtney

P.S. the special launch price ends on February 29th, 2008 - So make sure you grab your copy now at this price!