This week we're gonna work a few more transitions to add to our arsenal. And they'll be based on the figures we learned in our first Quick-Tip Lesson on transitions from a couple weeks back, so feel free to check out that lesson first, if you haven't already.

Now, these fills will generally work very well to help us transition from a "down" section to an "up" section and can add some variety to our playing as long as we're very aware of the form of the particular arrangement, and have an idea for where the timbale player will be playing his or her fills or transitions. Being that the timbales are commonly more responsible for helping us move from section to section in a traditional context, when attempting to use the transitions we're learning here, we have to make sure we're aware of the style we're playing in and be respectful of leaving space for the timbale player to play fills as well.

So for this first example we're going to work on a four bar phrase in 2-3 clave. We'll play our transition starting on the "and" of four in the third bar, finishing off with a low drum open tone on the down beat of the first bar of the following four bar phrase. Let's check it out.

This transition feels very natural to play within our tumbao pattern because its first note, the open tone on the "and" of four, is also the last open tone we play on the two side of our modern one-drum tumbao. And it also leaves enough space for the timbale player to fill in, and reinforces the downbeat of the following bar. Now, this makes it a relatively safe but super tasteful option when playing all kinds of different styles and respects the timbale player's sonic space.

For this next transition, we'll be working on a bit longer phrase which involves some more notes, so it will be up to us to use our own discretion to decide when it feels appropriate to play a transition that's this busy. Now, remember that these fills just serve as different options when it comes to playing transitions, so we want to make sure we use them tastefully. Which can entail only using them once in an entire song, or taking the time to work them out with the entire percussion section to play in specific parts. Now, in any case, it's important to note that not every percussion instrument has to fill in every transition every time in the form. It's learning when and how to use these transitions that makes them especially powerful and adds some variety to our playing. So let's hear what this longer fill sounds like.

So if we take a second to analyze this fill, we can see that bulk of the action on behalf of the conga happens in the third bar of the phrase, while we leave some space in the fourth bar to let the timbales do their thing. Now it's important that we note that we're playing these examples 2-3 clave. So these fills are initiated in the third bar which is on the two side of the clave, and end on the first bar of the following four bar phrase. If we wanted to play them in 3-2 clave, all we'd need to do is initiate them on the opposite side of the clave, in this case the "three side," and make sure that the accents of our tumbao in the bars that precede and follow our transitional fills, lock up with their respective sides of the clave.

For our last transition, we're gonna play a fill that uses all muffled tones on our main drum. Now it's one of my personal favorites as it features a nice set up for the timbales to fill, and also incorporates some upbeat accents just before getting to the downbeat of the following bar. Let's check it out.

So now that we have our three transitions let's work on using them to move "up" from a down section within an eight-bar phrase. So in the first four bars, we'll play a one drum tumbao as if we're in the "down" section of an arrangement, then use our first fill to transition "up," in the fourth bar, to a two-drum tumbao, where we'll also add a bongo bell. From there, we'll transition back down to our one drum tumbao after four bars and move on to the next example within our eight-bar phrase. Let's see what it sounds like.

So as with all of our transitional fills it's important that we're very aware of not only the form and dynamics of an arrangement, but also what the timbalero is playing as they are traditionally responsible for helping us outline the form and move from section to section as a band. Now remember that if you're working in a conjunto format, where there is no timbale player, you'll generally have a bit more freedom with these types of transitions, as you'll be more responsible for outlining the form and helping the band move from section to section.

These types of transitions are again something you'll hear used more deliberately in a modern salsa context. Now, that's not to say you won't hear the conga player add some fills to help transition in a more old school context, but as we mentioned in last week's lesson one of the defining characteristics of the modern salsa sound is having more organized arrangements in terms of the individual percussion parts within different sections, that allows for more interplay and complexity during transitions. This is something that you'll ultimately start to develop more of a feel for, the more you listen to and analyze different players, songs and styles.

So now that you have some of these things in mind, try to see if you can spot where these types of transitional fills may be used as you're listening to your favorite recordings.