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Learn to Solo on Djembe or Conga
A step-by-step course on CDs (with accompanying booklets)
by Alan Dworsky

This series is my latest and most thorough course on soloing. It's for any djembe player or conga drummer who wants to learn to solo in a systematic way. Each lesson consists of an hour-long CD you can play along with. And each CD comes with a booklet containing charts and explanations of all the patterns you'll be playing.

The lessons are organized around licks, the building blocks of a great solo. Each lick is woven into bite-sized patterns that start simple and gradually get more complex. And each later lesson builds on earlier lessons, so you'll be expanding your soloing skills outward from a solid center.

On the CDs, each pattern is played for about two minutes in four different ways: slowly on djembe, slowly on conga, medium fast on djembe, and medium fast on conga. The djembe tracks are played over West African grooves and the conga tracks are played over Afro-Cuban grooves.

On each track, I leave space between repetitions of a pattern. That way you can alternate playing a repetition along with me and playing a repetition on your own. And on the CDs for lessons 7 and 8, all the individual licks you'll be learning are combined into an extended solo you can play along with, so you'll really get a feel for how to tell a story with a solo.

Each CD/booklet lesson is $14.95. You can order each of the 8 lessons separately, or get all 8 for $99.95.



Click here for a sample audio clip

  


"An ingenious method for understanding the mystery of how to solo with heart and mind, hidden from most hand drummers until now!"
Gary Meitrott, Founder and Director, Drum Journeys of Earth


"I wanted to drop you a line to say how pleased I am with your books and CDs. I play congas, dununs and djembe. I started out as a set drummer years ago, then got into multi-percussion such as tympani and marimba. So I come into this with rhythmic independence and knowing how to read music.

However, I must say that your three works A Rhythmic Vocabulary, Secrets of the Hand and the Learn To Solo series have provided me with the most solid foundation I think possible. Your systematic solo method allows me to easily construct musical phrases that sound impressive because their underlying simplicity comes alive when played at burning fast tempos. Soloists are story tellers as well as illusionists - and both elements are amply captured in the Dancing Hands paradigm.

Thanks for providing a great product and a great service to serious drummers such as myself."
Jeff Halverson

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• Learn to Solo on DVD



$14.95 Add to cart


Lesson 1: The Power of Pairs (CD/booklet)
by Alan Dworsky


  





$14.95 Add to cart


Lesson 2: The Rippled 8 and the Illusion of Speed (CD/booklet)
by Alan Dworsky


  





$14.95 Add to cart


Lesson 3: The Perfect Lick--The Rippled 6 (CD/booklet)
by Alan Dworsky


  





$14.95 Add to cart


Lesson 4: The Funky Offbeat Path (CD/booklet)
by Alan Dworsky


  





$14.95 Add to cart


Lesson 5: Hip Deep in Six (CD/booklet)
by Alan Dworsky


  





$14.95 Add to cart


Lesson 6: Getting Off the Grid with Quarter-Note Triplets (CD/booklet)
by Alan Dworsky


  





$14.95 Add to cart


Lesson 7: Upbeats and Half-Note Triplets Over a Burning Disco Groove (CD/booklet)
by Alan Dworsky


  





$14.95 Add to cart


Lesson 8: Checkered Licks Over a Polyrhythmic Pulse in Six (2 CDs and booklet)
by Alan Dworsky


  





$99.95 Add to cart


Package deal: All 8 "Learn to Solo" lessons in CD/booklet format


  








Learn to Solo on Djembe or Conga
A step-by-step course on DVD (with accompanying printed charts)
by Alan Dworsky

This video series covers the first four lessons of my soloing course. Each DVD covers the same material as the comparable CD/booklet lesson. For those of you who are visual learners, the advantage of the videos is that you can watch my hands move as I play each lick. You also get to see my smiling face as I explain each new lick and pattern. I even crack a joke or two.

At the time I recorded the videos, I had a bruised finger on my right hand. My best alternative was to play the patterns on two electronic drums, with the drum closest to me being my tone and the drum further away being my slap. As it turned out, this actually makes it easier for you to see and hear the difference between my tones and slaps!

Each DVD comes with printed charts for $14.95. You can order each of the 4 lessons separately, or get all 4 for $49.95.

View clips (Quicktime required):
Click to play clip 1 Clip 1: Warm-Up Exercise
Click to play clip 2 Clip 2: Pattern Explanation
Click to play clip 3 Clip 3: Play-Along
Click to play clip 4 Clip 4: Hand Pattern Strategy
Click to play clip 5 Clip 5: Solo from Lesson 4

 





$14.95 Add to cart


Lesson 1: The Power of Pairs (DVD with printed charts)
by Alan Dworsky


  





$14.95 Add to cart


Lesson 2: The Rippled 8 and the Illusion of Speed (DVD with printed charts)
by Alan Dworsky


  





$14.95 Add to cart


Lesson 3: The Perfect Lick--The Rippled 6 (DVD with printed charts)
by Alan Dworsky


  





$14.95 Add to cart


Lesson 4: The Funky Offbeat Path (DVD with printed charts)
by Alan Dworsky


  





$49.95 Add to cart


Package deal: All 4 “Learn to Solo” lessons on DVDs with printed charts.
by Alan Dworsky


  




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