Here we have a fourth exercise on Son Montuno but this time in the “Marcha” style. Giovanni combines a serie of beats: Hembra, martillo, fingers, half palm and ghost, to complete this pattern. Notice type of accentuation.   Commentary: Another

Fifth Son Montuno exercise but this time “Reverse pattern.” Giovanni reverses the rhythmic concept with a serie of beats: Hembra, martillo, fingers, half palm and ghost, to complete this pattern. Notice the type of accentuation, especially the Clav

Second exercise on the “Seis Chorreao” pattern, but this time in 6/8. As Giovanni says, this kind of pattern derives from Jíbara music. This interesting pattern is based on triplets with Hembra, Martillo, Fingers, half palm and ghost beats. You ca

Interesting Demo-Solo of the great master Giovanni Hidalgo on the “Seis Chorreao” pattern. He plays two exercises with improvisation in 6/8 and 4/4 concepts   Commentary: Then, a third variation, that’s kind of “Floreo” addin

Your third Mambo exercise with slap on the “Martillo” at a medium tempo. This interesting pattern is based on eighth notes with Hembra, Martillo, Fingers, half palm, and ghost beats. You can listen to its development in slow and fast tempo. Notice

Your fourth Mambo exercise at fast tempo with slap on the “Martillo”. This interesting pattern is based on eighth notes with Hembra, Martillo, Fingers, half palm and ghost beats. You can listen to its development as well as to a free demo with impr

Fourth exercise for Bongo on the Afro pattern. Note how Giovanni uses the 6/8 pattern with a “Batás” concept, and variations in the hit of the Hembra and Fingers.   Commentary: They played the Afro with so many variations, and sometimes they

Fifth exercise for Bongo on the Afro pattern. Note how Giovanni uses the 6/8 pattern with two variations at different tempos, slow and fast, based on the “Bembé” clave with the placement of the Hembra and Fingers in different parts of the bar. &nb

In this solo-demo played by Giovanni Hidalgo on the Bolero pattern, he demonstrates how important it is to master all of these exercises to achieve a control of the language. It is a good idea to look at the previous exercises on this pattern to fully understa

The second of these solos on what the great master Giovanni calls the “Next Fronteer”. He demonstrates the level he has reached thanks to the knowledge and experiences lived during all these years. It is very interesting to see how Giovanni applies