Just a quick history lesson for those who may not know:

The word Ñañigo is the name given to one of the dialects spoken in Cuba. It is this dialect that is often credited for coming with with the word mambo, which basically has no meaning, but occurs in the ancient phrase abrecuto y guiri mambo ("open your eyes and listen"), used to open Cuban song contests.

Typically people refer to any Afro-Cuban 6/8 rhythm or groove as a Ñañigo. So I'm assuming you are just wanting some Afro-Cuban 6/8 patterns, right?

• Afro-Cuban Rhythms for Drumset by Frank Malabe and Bob Weiner
  
• One Surface Learning by Roy Burns and Joey Farris
  
• Essential Styles for the Drummer and Bassist by Steve Houghton and Tom Warrington (Volumes One and Two; play-a-long CD/book)
  
• Groovin' In Clave by Ignacio Berroa

[size=-2]There are numerous other method books and information sources out there, but they all seem to give the same handful of examples and say basically the same thing.[/size]

From my studies, there are some distinctive differences between a Ñañigo and Afro-Cuban 6/8 but it's not worth going into here. If you want to go that deep you'll have to do some research on your own and/or take some lessons!

If you want to have some 6/8 grooves with back-beats you can start out by using a Double Paradiddle, with the right hand on the Bell (cowbell or ride) and the left hand on the snare. To see an illustration of this, visit my on-line lesson entitled Afro-Cuban 6/8 Groove.

Also be sure to check recordings of Elvin Jones play this groove!  

Nice lesson...now if I only had any ink for my printer.

I remembered I have a couple books with some of that stuff in it.

Rather than go into a lot of specifics ... let me just give you some approaches to take. Specific fills will best come from a book(s), listening to authentic recordings of the style, and experimenting with what sounds good to you. I know you know all of this ... but I'm saying it anyway for the Newbie New to Ñañigo ... say THAT three times fast!!!

The beautiful thing about Afro-Cuban 6/8 and 12/8 grooves is that they are made for POLYRHYTHMS. Finding the common denominator in these meters quickly shows you that any grouping of 2, 3, 4 or 6 will work VERY well since they are all multiples of 12. Authentic fills used in the Ñañigo style incorporates this idea; poly-phrasing as well as polyrhythm. Also, the use of the synopated bell pattern (show below with the bold print numbers) will flow smoothly with either one of these multiples.

Play the bell pattern with one hand while tapping out 2, 3, 4 or 6 with the other hand (or one of your feet). Incase the multiples are confusing, just think of everything in eighth-notes. To tap out 2 you would play every other eighth-note, tapping out 3 you would play every third eighth-note ... and so on. Doing so will line up perfectly with the bell pattern ... perfect for fills, solos and metric modulations. Playing duple and triple figures, broken and sequential, are also common traits found in authentic stylings.

For an unconventional approach ... do whatever you want as long as it sounds good!    The fills that I use in my Afro-Cuban 6/8 Groove - Part 1 on-line lesson is a good example (I think anyway) of the possibilities of getting outside of the groove but remaining in the style. My approach is definitely more back=beat oriented, but it's an Afro-Cuban 6/8.

Start singing fills ... being sure to notate them. Do some math equations and see what you can squeeze in the span of time allowed with the groove.

Now this may seem a bit over simplified, but to describe specific fills would took volumes ... which I know you all realize.

I'll second Mr. Walker's comment.  Sometimes you have to listen to find out what these things really sound like.  Sometimes things like which notes are accented or what tempo you play can make a big difference.

Hello everyone.  Long time guest, first time poster!  By the way, great site Bart!  This has quickly become one of my favorite sites.


Bartman - I was wondering if you could give me a couple of examples of tunes where Elvin plays these patterns.

Thanks to all for the input in this thread so far!

You are correct. The Bembe, however, is more specific in that it's used in religious ceremonies which involves singing, dancing and drumming.

All of this to say, it's the basis for West African drumming and is sometimes just referred to as Folkloric Feel because it is found in throughout the region, especially Nigeria, which is where most of the African population in Cuba originated. I'm guessing that Ñañigo is more of an African term ... but I'd have to research that to confirm it.

We need to get Chuck Silverman on here to answer some of these questions!