Bembe 3 (Bembe Bakoso)

This Bembe is played by three drums.
Bell part is the same as other Bembes, please check previous post for the bell pattern.

Cachimbo (Salidor)
Highest drum.
Played by bare hands.

1

2

1

2

Salidor (High)    6/8

O

S

S

.

S

S

O

S

S

.

S

S

(hands)

R

L

R

R

L

R

L

R

R

L

Mula (Medio)
Middle drum.
Played by bare hands.

1

2

1

2

Medio  (Medium) 6/8

S

S

O

S

S

.

S

S

O

S

S

.

(hands)

R

L

R

L

R

R

L

R

L

R

Caja
Lowers drum.
Played by a bare hand (Left) and a stick (Right).
Caja player improvise, so one I showed here is a ride.
Stick play open (middle of drum head) and rim (rim or side of drum).

1

2

1

2

Caja  (Low)         6/8

O

.

Rim

.

Rim

Rim

.

Rim

.

Rim

.

O,O

(with one stick)

R

R

R

R

R

R

R,L

Right hand with stick

Please click Here for YouTube demonstration.

Bembe 2 (Havana Style)

This is "one" of Bembe from Havana.
All Bembes use same Bell (and Cata) rhythm, so I don't show that here.
Please check my past post for Bell and Cata pattern.

Salidor
Salidor is highest drum for this ensemble.
Some barrios (neighborhood) call highest drum "Cachimbo".
Salidor just keep tempo.
Played by bare hands.

		1			2			1			2
Salidor (High)    6/8		O	.	.	O	.	.	O	.	.	O	.	.
(hands)		R			R			R			R

Medio (Mula) is middle drum played by bare hands.

1

2

1

2

Medio  (Medium) 6/8

O

S

S

O

S

S

O

S

S

O

S

S

(hands)

R

L

R

L

R

L

R

L

R

L

R

L

Caja is played by one bare hand and one stick.
Caja player improvise.
I showed here the ride for this rhythm.

		1			2			1			2
Caja  (Low)         6/8		O	.	.	B	ST	.	B	.	.	B	ST	.
(with one stick)		R			L	R		L			L	R
Right hand with stick

Please click Here for YouTube demonstration.

Bembe 1

From this time, I will post several different Bembe styles.
Bembe rhythm is usually used for songs for Orishas.
If you are interested to learn songs for Orishas, Italian Santeiro Luca Brandoli is writing marvelous books.
Bembe has several variations depend on regions.
One I post today is one of the most popular Bembe rhythm.
Instrumentation I show here is:
Bell, highest drum (Cachimbo), mid-high drum (high Mula), mid-low drum (low Mula) and lowest drum (Caja).
If you have 3 drums only, play Cachimbo, high Mula and Caja.
Cata can be added to ensemble by playing the same rhythm as Abakua.

Bell
Bell rhythm is most popular 6/8 bell rhythm.

		1			2			1			2
Bell                 6/8		X	.	X	.	X	X	.	X	.	X	.	X

Cachimbo is highest drum for this ensemble.

1

2

1

2

Cachimbo        6/8

O

S

.

O

S

.

O

S

.

O

S

.

R

L

R

L

R

L

R

L

.

Mula (high).

1

2

1

2

Mula (High)      6/8

H

T

S

T

O

O

H

T

S

T

O

O

(High drum)

L

L

R

L

R

R

L

L

R

L

R

R

Mula (low).

1

2

1

2

Mula (Low)       6/8

B

B

O

T

S

T

B

B

O

T

S

T

(Mid drum)

R

L

R

L

R

L

R

L

R

L

R

L

Caja
Caja player improvise.
The pattern I showed here is a ride.

1

2

1

2

Caja                6/8

O

T

B

B

S

T

H

T

B

B

S

T

R

L

R

L

R

L

L

L

R

L

R

L

Please click Here for YouTube demonstration for this rhythm.