Download of "Teaching CDs for Community Choirs Volume 1"

This is the instant download version of the two CDs contain recordings of every pattern in the book "A Rhythmic Vocabulary." I recorded them after the book was published, so they were not originally included with the book.  I played all the patterns on a Roland V-Drum, using the conga slap for the "X" sound and the conga tone for the "O" sound. 

"Thank you thank you so much for making the accompanying audio CDs which go with Rhythmic Vocabulary! I knew if I could hear it, I could play it. Really awesome." John Scalici, founder of Get Rhythm!

This is the downloadable version of the Timelines CD that originally came with the Rhythmic Vocabulary book and the World-Beat & Funk Grooves book.  It contains extended tracks of the son clave and 6/8 bell pattern at seven different speeds.

This is the audio CD that comes with the Conga Drumming book in the form of an instant download. 

With Jorge Bermudez, Alan Dworsky, and Betsy Sansby

This video uses the same step-by-step approach as our book Conga Drumming, covering the same rhythms and many of the same parts from the first half of the book. The video format is especially good for visual learners; nothing can beat it for demonstrating proper technique and conveying the excitement of actual ensemble playing. 

The video features Jorge Bermudez, a talented, and warm-spirited Bay Area drummer and drum teacher. He demonstrates "mano secreta", the technique used by Cuban drummers to protect the hands and play with grace and fluidity. Each stroke is demonstrated with the aid of slow-motion photography. After three conga parts are taught for each rhythm, they're put together in sizzling ensemble performances you can play along with.

In those performances, special guest Raul Rekow of Santana solos on congas and bongos, while electrifying Cuban dancer Rosie Lopez Mores from the legendary Tropicana nightclub in Havana dances rumba in our Minnesota living room. 

This video is also available as a DVD. Just click on the DVD image in the middle below.

"A must-see for all beginners" Mickey Hart

"The perfect addition to the book" Latin Beat Magazine

"Slammin! The best video for learning to play congas." Chalo Eduardo, percussionist with Sergio Mendes

"Few videos capture the spirit of fun as well as Conga Drumming. All the basics are covered and the educational information is interspersed with burning performances by the ensemble. When Rosie Lopez Mores is on screen the video is ablaze with energy. While there is much to be learned from Conga Drumming, it also provides a highly entertaining viewing experience that will inspire any beginning conga drummer."  DRUM Magazine.

This is the downloadable version of the CD that comes with the book.  It has recordings of all the patterns. 

This downloadable version of the Practice Partner CD has recordings of the son clave, rumba clave, and 6/8 bell pattern at slow, medium, and fast speeds.

by Alan Dworsky

This series is my latest and most complete course on soloing. It's for any djembe player or conga drummer who wants to learn to solo in a systematic, step-by-step way. In the original version of this course, each of the eight lessons consisted of an hour-long CD (with 2 full CDs for the final lesson) and printed sheets containing charts and explanations of all the patterns.

Now I've made the whole course available as a download, with the 9 CDs converted to mp3 audio files and the printed charts and explanations converted to a 50-page PDF file.

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.

Here are the lessons:

Lesson 1: The Power of Pairs

Lesson 2: The Rippled 8 and the Illusion of Speed

Lesson 3: The Perfect Lick--The Rippled 6

Lesson 4: The Funky Offbeat Path

Lesson 5: Hip Deep in Six

Lesson 6: Getting Off the Grid with Quarter-Note Triplets

Lesson 7: Upbeats and Half-Note Triplets Over a Burning Disco Groove

Lesson 8: Checkered Licks Over a Polyrhythmic Pulse in Six

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 improvisation you can play along with, so you'll really get a feel for how to tell a story with a solo. 

“I think your step-by-step course on soloing is one of the most musical, well-organized, and well-explained of any of the instructional materials on the market.”  Salil Sachdev, Professor and Chair, Music Department, Bridgewater State University

"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

When I was learning to solo, my teachers told me to "just feel it."  That didn't work for me, so I spent years breaking down the art of soloing to a step-by-step learning process.  And I put everything I know into this series on soloing.  If you want to learn how to build a solo brick by brick, there's nothing else out there like this.

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.

This video series has four one-hour lessons as downloads that were originally released as four DVDs:

Lesson 1: The Power of Pairs

Lesson 2: The Rippled 8 and the Illusion of Speed

Lesson 3: The Perfect Lick--The Rippled 6

Lesson 4: The Funky Offbeat Path

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 video comes with PDF file of charts of all the patterns that you can print out and use to help you practice.

If you're interested in an audio version of this course (which is even more extensive than the video version) click on the image on the right below.

“I think your step-by-step course on soloing is one of the most musical, well-organized, and well-explained of any of the instructional materials on the market.”  Salil Sachdev, Professor and Chair, Music Department, Bridgewater State University 

This is the downloadable version of the audio CD that comes with the "Hip Grooves" book.  It contains a recording of every pattern in the book.

This is the instant download version of the Hip Grooves DVD.  It shows you how every pattern in the Hip Grooves book is played. It's designed to be used with the book and the CD to create a complete learning package: use the book for the charts and explanations, use the CD to hear how the patterns sound and for play-along practice, and use the DVD to see how the hands move on every pattern.

The download is divided into four parts to make the downloading process faster.  

This is the CD that comes with the book in the form of an instant download.  

This downloadable video shows you how every pattern in the "How to Play Djembe" book is played. It's designed to be used with the book and the CD to create a complete learning package: use the book for the charts and explanations, use the CD to hear how the patterns sound together and for play-along practice, and use the video to see how the hands move on every pattern.

This is the downloadable version of the CD of all-original music featuring Dean Magraw on acoustic guitar and me (Al Dworsky) on conga drums. It also features several great world percussionists including Congolese Master Drummer, Coster Massamba on djembe, Jorge Bermudez on bongos and timbales, and Marc Anderson on frame drum, talking drum, clay pot, and shakers.

Live class with Betsy Sansby & Al Dworsky

If you love to sing in the shower and are looking for a place to sing with your clothes on, there's a spot for you in the One World Community Choir. You'll learn a crazy mix of beautiful multi-part songs from all over the world: Scottish ballads, funky songs from Africa, hypnotic chants from India, and the best of American roots and popular music. Our motto is: If we love it, we'll sing it.

The choir is led by us--Betsy Sansby and Al Dworsky--and we conduct it with the same dramatic imperfection that we bring to our marriage. We led the choir in Minnesota for 10 years (the video clips here are of the Minnesota choir) and in Atwater Village in Los Angeles for 3 years. Now we're moving to Santa Ynez and starting a new incarnation of the choir in the place that will be our new home.

The atmosphere in class is welcoming and relaxed, but we work hard, so you'll never be bored. Everybody cares about the music, but nobody cares if you mess up. Mistakes--including our own--lighten the rehearsals with laughter. And in both previous versions of the choir, we became a community, with relationships that extended into our daily lives. Hanging out and having snacks or a glass of wine after each singing session helped make that happen: 

Unlike most choirs, who spend most of their time preparing for performances, we sing mainly for our own pleasure. Occasionally we'll sing at a community event or benefit, but these are rare, and we always invite our audience to sing along. The clips of us singing on this page are from our "friends and family" concert in October 2016.     

 
This downloadable CD contains a recording of every pattern in our book "Secrets of the Hand." I played the patterns on a Roland V-Drum using its digitally sampled conga slap and conga tone sounds. For a reference, all the patterns are played against a background of a pulse on a bass drum and either the son clave (for patterns in four) or the 6/8 bell (for patterns in six).  If you want to get the CD and the book together, you can save money by getting the package deal--just click on the image at the far right in the "Related Products" below. 

Betsy Sansby, who leads the One World Community Choir  of Minnetonka, MN, has produced a set of teaching CDs for community choir leaders.  This is the downloadable version of Volume 2.

Each beautifully recorded volume in the series contains all the parts to five or more a cappella songs from around the world. Each part is highlighted on a separate track, so it’s easy to hear how each part should sound, as well as how it interacts with the others. And each song is recorded with a click, so you always know how each part relates to the beat. Each volume comes with a PDF file including the lyrics of the songs (but not a score), translations for the songs, and teaching suggestions for choir leaders.

As a bonus, you'll get some free music when you order this book, including the album Jaguar at Half Moon Lake and the four piano songs I wrote for The Joy of Six. 
Volume 2 songlist:

• Chiro Chacho. A playful 4-part wedding song from Zimbabwe.
• Hambe Kahle. A traditional song of farewell and friendship from South Africa
• Bright Morning Stars Are Rising. A 3-part song from Appalachia.
• Sigalagala. A 3-part lullaby by Kenyan songwriter, Anindo Marshall.
• Because All Men Are Brothers. A 3-part hymn. Music by J.S. Bach, words by Tom Glazer, an American activist.
• Parting Glass. A soulful, traditional Irish drinking song in 3 parts, based on an arrangement by Ruth Moody of the Wailin Jennys.

"Exceptionally high quality recordings made with glorious attention to detail. A delight to hear and wildly useful for all choir directors needing the gift of quick and easy access to ready-prepared songs their choir will love." Alise Ojay, Crediton World Music Community Choir, UK 

“I tried for years to start a choir, but couldn't pull it together. Betsy's teaching CDs have finally made it possible." Holly Shure, Durango, Colorado