Track 8. Practice Groove – Slow
Lesson Length 5:08 min
Tumba, Conga, Quinto groove at at slow tempo for you to jam with, or practice any of the parts you”ve learned. I do not talk or count in this track, and I do briefly add in the key rhythm – Clave – at various points in the groove so you can check yourself.

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Track 9. Practice Groove – Medium
Lesson Length 7:01 min
Tumba, Conga Quinto groove at a faster tempo. I count the four pulse for one cycle during the music so you can check yourself. Knowing where this “four pulse” is at all times keeps you aligned correctly to each part. This is important, since the parts can seem to pull on each other, and you need concentration to keep in the groove. After you practice this a few times, it becomes natural and you can easily articulate that pulse when you need to.

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Track 13. Practice Groove 3
Lesson Length 6:44 min
This track is a groove of high conga with the bell and tumba at a nice slow tempo. You can copy the parts and play along, or add the high part or the main theme.

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Track 14. Mix Minus Practice Lesson 1
Lesson Length 4:20 min
In this track I”ve created a ” mix minus”. Each part will fade in and out and be combined with the others in different ways. Play a game by adding the missing part, to test your knowledge of the rhythm. The tempo is fairly fast and all the lesson elements from this program are included.

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Track 15. Mix Minus Practice Lesson
Lesson Length 5:57 min
Faster Tempo – Changing Mix. Test yourself at this speed and play along with me, find the missing part or copy a part being played and get totally in sync with it. You can also make up your own variations on any of the parts, and see how well you can stay in the groove.

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Pulsewave
... Kim breaks these rhythms down in every way possible and keeps your attention, while making listening and playing along to the different parts less like practice and more like fun.  He then builds the rhythms back up again in such a way that you get to hear every relationship between each of the parts played by the different instruments.  The best element in the series is his unique vocal adaptation of the different instruments played and sung in the rhythms. It is as entertaining as it is educational.

I thank Kim Atkinson for Sharing His Spirit with us in such a way that we can all become better players and facilitators
Pulsewave
"I just wanted to thank you for actually caring to develop a simple yet enormously powerful teaching method that has transformed my music playing, listening and also speaking ability. Coincidentally, its also helped me run further without being as tired....I think its due me being able to feel and attend to each step I take more like a rhythm than a battle, and maybe it's because I've been stepping the pulse - when I practice speaking the rhythms - in an oval around my room"
Pulsewave
"I really appreciate the way you have broken it down and shown how all the parts interweave.  It's a great way to get the whole rhythm into a non-left-brain part of my body." - Kathy
Pulsewave
"I often teach my students that if you can "say it", you can "play it".  In his Speaking of Rhythm series, Kim takes this concept to the next level. Using spoken syllables and playing drums, each part is explored separately and then in every possible combination with each other, and against both the underlying pulse and Clave. These highly effective CDs accomplish what could only otherwise be done by having a multi-track recorder available for every class. (Except of course they are MUCH easier to use, and work in your car!)

Another extremely useful feature is that a different syllable is assigned not only to each different drum sound, but also to each hand making the sound. Thus, by learning to speak the rhythm, students also learn the proper "sticking" at the same time.

I enjoyed the arrangements so much that I even adopted the Afoxe rhythms for use with my Brazilian Bateria. We now play the same Afoxe patterns on Surdos, Repeniques, and Caixas."
Pulsewave
"...the greatest benefit of your classes and CDs came to me as a salsa dancer, by improving my ability to hear and understand the Clave. ... this has made my enjoyment of salsa music and dancing that much better. Thank you again!"
Pulsewave
"I've had some great fun and learning from Kim Atkinson's CD's. Bembe, Makuta, Nigerian Highlife and others are great sets of rhythms I was glad to add to my repertoire. It was helpful to really get inside clave rhythms too. Kim knows his stuff, makes it clear and accessible... and he rocks!"
Pulsewave
WOW... Kim!! I spent about two hours enjoying and learning from your CD.. I was TRULY impressed with the format and success it gave me and will give others... YOU DID IT!

1) Connect the Syllables to Drum Strokes

Practice each drum stroke separately and speak the syllable as you hit the drum. Do this many times – you’re learning a kinesthetic language – connecting your voice and your hands.

If you need to review the syllables, hand positions and sounds on your drum, click here.

2) Speak Drum Language – Make Sentences:

Now learn the syllables for a drum pattern (for example, the tumba for Afoxé). Go slowly. Speak the sounds out loud and learn to say them effortlessly so they feel like a sentence.

3) Orient Yourself – Syllables with the Pulse:

Next, clap the pulse while speaking the syllables. This will show you how the drum part (via the syllables) relates to the main beat.

4) Make a Sentence with your Hands:

Now that you’ve learned a sentence in drum language map the vocal sounds to hand positions on the drum. (You can do this without a drum, but make sure you’re saying the syllables out-loud. You can practice this on a table, your body, anywhere).

5) Say the Sentence On the drum:

Say and play the drum rhythm. Notice that the drum is saying what the voice is saying and the voice is saying what the drum is playing.