Traditionally speaking the hembra is positioned on the left; macho on the right. Setting up this way makes it easier to play the hembra with the left hand while the right hand plays cascara or bell patterns. You'll want to set the height so that you can easily play a rimshot on the macho drum ... which is an important part of the Timbale's vocabulary.

Again, traditionally speaking, the cowbells are mounted so that they run parallel to the front of the performer ... meaning the opening of the cowbells face off to the left and right. The mambo bell is position on the right of the mounting post, with the opening pointing off to the right. The cha-cha bell is positioned so it's on the left of the mounting post, with the opening pointing off to the left.

Tuning varies among timbaleros but typically the interval between the two drums is a Perfect 4^th or Perfect 5^th. In know that Afro-Cuban percussionists Amadito Valdesand Jose Sanchez both prefer the 4^th interval, while guys like Jose Luis "Changuito" Quintana prefer the 5^th interval. Just use what sounds good to you ... and do some listening, checking out what other player's timbales sound like.

That's the basics.  

Experiment with the height. I know that I personally had to work at find the right height for me ... which is crucial to be consistent. Also, make sure you aren't dropping your arm below the playing surface. I was doing this, which made me just hit the rim and not actually get a rim shot.

So ... find a good height, then work on moving laterally across the playing surfaces as you go drum to drum. This is the sam approach to playing the Snare drum on a drumkit, but you're at a disadvantage in that you are standing, which means your body's position is more likely to be different each time. At least on the drumkit you are sitting, so you are in the same position ... although playing consistent rimshots presents it's own challenges regardless of the instrument.

Hello. Quick question, anybody know a good DVD showing you how to play the timbales. My teacher move to another state and is been hard to find one. thank you.

Thank you for that information. I got to go now, but I let you know pretty soon how far I'm on timbales. Thaank you again.

FYI ... I did tell him to position the lower drum on the left, high drum on the right, as you mentioned in your point #1. Thanks for sharing the information about the tuning to "A". The reason that particular pitch would be used was that the songs were in a key that "A" would sound best in. If that applies to the music you are playing now, then the "traditional" tuning that you have mentioned would work. I don't think you can say that the "A" tuning is THE traditional tuning as I just cited several older professional players who do not use octave tunings, nor tuned to the note "A". I've got a lot of transcriptions of traditional songs, and there are many where the "A" tuning would not sound good in ... for instance if the song was in the key of G Major. The "A" would work, but it would sit in the mix as well as if it were tuned to a "G" or a "D".

Perhaps you could cite some players or resources that would support the octave tuning as being "traditional" ... I've love to learn more about that.

Bongos are tuned in a similar fashion, interval wise, and I do know that some traditional players would tune the drums in octaves ... so perhaps this is the case with Timbales as well ... I'm just not familiar with that being part of "tradition".

Lastly, the word "tradition" unfortunately just doesn't imply ONE way in many cases. I wish it did because it would make it a lot easier. But when it comes to pitches and tunings, there really are many ways that were and are used. It may be "traditional" to a particular city, town, region or group of players, but travel a few hundred miles in any direction and you'll find slight, even big, differences.

Victor Rendón's Art of Playing Timbales Vol. I is an excellent resource.

Here is a link to a lesson sample from it.

http://www.lpmusic.com/Play_Like_A_Pro/Lessons_From_Pros/son.html

Saludos,

Jorge Ginorio