Customer Reviews

Mel Bay The Tomás Cruz Conga Method, Vol. I: Conga Technique As Taught In Cuba (Book & DVD)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Vol. 1 starts assuming that you have never played the congas or have had any previous knowledge of how to play. I found this book and DVD very helpful even though much of it is basic, I discovered that I had learned certain movements incorrectly and was able to correct myself by viewing the DVD. You will also learn Basic exercises and rudiments that are very helpful in improving your speed. however remember that this is a 3 volume series and book number 2 and 3 are crucial to further your learning process.
It is my opinion that If you want to learn to play a Cuban instrument you should learn from a Cuban not a person who just studied in Cuba a few times. Tomas is educated and born in Havana. I highly recommend this book you can not imagine how much I have learned from it, as I play people can tell how much better I sound after using this method.

This book/DVD is very slow moving but it is also very clear. There are only a few actual rhythms in this first volume. The good part is this approaches conga technique very clearly and if you do the exercises you will improve greatly. It is very important to get the proper technique FIRST because relearning rhythms after you have bad technique is counterproductive and slower in the end. You can also hurt your hands as I did at first. However, as another reviewer mentions this IS rather boring and slow. I think the best solution is to integrate this volume with volume II slowly. That is, start with this and go through it a few times. Maybe don't even order Volume II for a couple weeks. Then return to these exercises OVER and OVER and OVER as warm ups while slowly learning the marchas and rhythms from volume II. That will be less boring but if you simply ignore all the lessons in volume I it seems like you will suffer from some deficiencies. All in all a great series, but if you just get Volume I you won't have very much to play.

I bought this initially after watching Tomasito play Timba on YouTube.com
I was initially disappointed because as the introductory book much of the material was familiar. However, having kept it I've discovered that the drills and exercises are great for building speed and precision. This is a very good intermediate book as well. You don't get much further that the tumbaos, but the rudimentaries and drills are great "chop builders". I recommend strongly for beginners and novices.

For the experienced conguero purchase book 2, or 3 if you are exclusively looking for Timba patterns.

Mr. BongoMan here:

I have play percussion for almost 10 years now. I finally gave way to the congas about 2 months ago. This is by far the best "Conga Method" I have seen.

It starts at the basics and thats the most important element in learning anything new. Some reviewers claim the DVD is to slow. That's how you learn the proper way. Once you master the basics, then get to the rhythms. No rush; perfect practice makes perfect! For example, you can feel more power and tension by just adjusting your thumb position; amazing! For seasoned players like myself this little tips and tricks are priceless for perfecting the techniques and playing style.

I purchased Vol 1 and 2. Once I mastered those I am definitely purchasing Vol 3. Also something I found amazing was the description and differences of the claves, this is a must for any serious or hobby percussionist! Overall buy it, I am glad I have. I know that Tomasito's Method is going to give me a bigger edge on the market place!!
Practice, practice, practice, in a couple of months you will see the difference!

PS: Giovanni Hidalgo (one of the best congueros out there) advises practicing minimum of 10 minutes each hand excercise, Tomasito gave this to you in a golden platter!

I am using Volume I and think these are very helpful lessons. They are to-the-point and organized and they very clearly show the correct hand positions and methods of playing onscreen. It is easy to do my practice sessions while watching the lessons. I plan to purchase Vol. II and Vol. III as well, since Vol. I is working so well for me.

As a conga newbie, I really appreciate the way this book and DVD were laid out. Yes, it's slow, but thanks to that I have been able to learn and learn well. So, don't pay attention to Naoise O'hannain's review.

Before Tomasito's method, I tried countless of other books and vidoes and none of them taught me a thing...

Once again, if you're a beginner on congas and you're a smart person, buy this book and DVD package and you won't be disappointed. Otherwise, if you're like Naoise O'hannain, go buy something else and you'll regret it.

Good luck and peace!

Tomás Cruz Conga Method Volume I.

This book/DVD combo has exercises and rhythms for the absolute beginner up to an early intermediate level.

On the DVD there is no instruction, there is no discussion of proper technique, or for that matter (and perhaps more importantly for beginners) on improper technique. Chapter 1 of the DVD shows Tomás's right hand playing 40 perfectly executed open tones, followed by his left hand doing the same. There is no explanation of how to hold your arms or wrists, no indication of what part of your hands strike the drum (although this is covered to some extent in the accompanying book), no discussion of what a badly executed open tone sounds like; just an example that you're supposed to copy. Next he does the same thing with the other basic strokes and then there are another 50 or so video clips of very fundamental exercises, all on a single drum.

The second half of the DVD uses two drums and the patterns get more interesting but remain pretty simple. At this point, if you have mastered the strokes and basic rhythms you'll really develop quickly in your drumming.

In the videos we never once see Tomás's face or hear him say anything other than the name of the exercise. We get no sense of his personality and no feeling that we are getting a lesson from a conga virtuoso. There is one stationary camera recording all the videos from the same angle showing drumheads and hands and that's all. The production is a bit amateurish too, which is a minor distraction.

So my perception is that a real beginner will benefit from and enjoy this set, but he or she really needs some other learning tools as well, because this package falls way short on what I would consider to be the fundamentals of instruction that a beginner needs. Someone who already has good fundamentals though will appreciate the more advanced exercises, and there's an appendix in the book with one of the better discussions of clave that I've seen.

I wouldn't recommend it as a first package or as an only package, but it does have a place in a collection of book/video conga learning materials.

-Scott

I ordered the full set of these books/DVDs before taking in-person lessons with a conga professional and it was more of a slog (admittedly, that probably has more to do with me than the Tomas Cruz method). However, after starting lessons with a live teacher, the books started to make a lot more sense and I now find them indispensable, hence the 5-star rating. Full disclosure - it doesn't hurt that my teacher endorses the Tomas Cruz method :-)

An excellent step by step guide that provides excellent details in both music theory and Cuban conga technique. Very user friendly!

From such a master, I was supprised that anyone could make such a SLOOOW moving Tedious conga reference.
OK the basics are fine, but why 5 minutes of each hand movement and variation. not until chapter 64+ did we get to Tumbao.
This seems to be orientated at teachers or pedantic professionals.
Too boring for a beginner and improver, only the 'Recoursos 1-4 provided some relief.'
Where was the play along ?? for a bit of counterpoint. Even higly structured approaches need a bit of enjoyment.
A bit of rethink could make this very good recourso.
The menu layout could be greatly improved.
The synchronisation towards the end between sound and image on my recording was really distracting.
It was so slow moving that I would not recommend it only to the very very very patient !! or those wanting to focus on some particular problem aspect.
Alternative start with and Conga Drumming: A Beginners Guide to Playing With Time Alan Dworsky, Betsy Sanby ISBN: 0963880101 for beginner and Intermediate Conga players also Play Congas Now: The Basics & Beyond (Paperback)
by Richie Gajate-Garcia ISBN: 0769296572.