The movement to produce the open tone is identical to the slap. Both are primarily controlled by your wrist. Proper use of your fingers & elbow are also essential and your shoulders are also involved in the movement.

Your Wrist

The movement of your wrist may be the most important part of the open stroke.

Amazing Fact: The human wrist is many times more complex than the largest existing computer

Anatomy: The wrist joint moves circularly, side to side, and forward and back.

Forward & back is the motion of the wrist for the open tone.

Tip: The open tone movement is viritually identical to dribbling a basketball.

Practice Tip: Wave your hand, moving front & back. Do this in sets for twenty seconds each. To perfect the motion & help build strong wrists you can do this as often as you want .

Keep the movement firm and even - moving only forward & back.

Your Fingers

Your fingers and especially the pads of your fingers are the main striking portion of the hand in the Open Stroke.

Your fingers should be straight; but never stiff.

Your fingers & hand should be straight and relaxed; yet never lethargic.

(Compare the Open roundedness with bass roundedness - the hand for the bass is more rounded...)

When first learning the open tone, keep a closed finger position (do NOT allow there to be space between each finger), except thumb which should to the side & relaxed.

After you learn to produce strong slaps in closedfinger position (no space between fingers), then play around with fingers in the open position (space between fingers).

Tip: Keep fingers straight throughout the entire stroke, whether playing open or closed. Do not bend or curve your fingers at any time when playing open tones.

Comparison of Closed Finger & Open Finger Slaps

Closed Finger Slaps

Volume: Soft to Very, Very Loud

Tempo Range: Very, very slow to Super fast

Tone Subtleties: Good Variety

Open Finger Slaps

Volume: Very, very soft to Loud

Tempo Range: Very, very slow to Super Fast

Tone Subtleties: Great Variety

Your Palms - The Reference Points

The Upper Most Portion of the palm - where your fingers connect to the palm - is your reference point for the Open Stroke.

When playing the open tone, always line up the reference point of your palm with the edge of drum head.

Your left hand should hit the left side of the conga; your right hand should hit the right side of the conga.

Your fingers for your Right Open should strike to the right of the center line.

Your fingers for you Left Open should be perfectly symmetrical to the right fingers.

Tip: Look at your palm.

Imagine a line going across your hand. (The line is located at the upper most portion of you palm, where the palm meets your fingers.) This line should touch the edge of the drum head on every open tone stroke so that the pads of your fingers will land on the right spot on the drum head.

Note: The open sound is not made when your palm hits the rim; rather your palm serves as a reference point.

Just prior to touching the rim your wrist should snap forward and your straight but relaxed fingers should, in an instant, strike the head and bounce up, aided by your wrist snapping back.

This all occurs in a split second.

The faster the wrist breaks and the quicker the fingers bounce up from the drum head the better the tone.

The Melodic Drum Tone

The open tone is known as the melodic tone for the conga, bongos and other hand drums.

The open tone should sing.

The open tone is not as loud as the slap, if both are executed with the same force, but it is a bit prettier to the ear.

Afro-Cuban Drum Strokes

Rhythms

LP Drums

Percussion