Volume III is the first educational product to tackle the complex subject of Timba, the new musical genre which has been played in Cuba since 1989. Timba represents a quantum leap for all the instruments of the rhythm section andespecially the congas. The recordings of Tomas Cruz are considered the mostadvanced examples of Timba conga-playing and so fascinated the three coauthors that they sought out Tomas Cruz and spent a year and a half studying his style and meticulously documenting it before even considering the idea of publishing it. After many hundreds of hours of passionate research, thislabor of love eventually reached fruition as Volume III. Volumes II & I were then written to trace the roots of the style and to understand the path Tomas took toarrive at his phenomenal level of technical mastery and rhythmic creativity. Much more than a collection of patterns or exercises, Volume III analyzes Timba arrangements from beginning to end, explaining the role of the congas in each section, the relationship to the clave, and Tomasito's creative process, including an exercise which teaches the reader to invent his own Timba conga parts. It was the intricacies of the material of Volume III which inspired the creation of the Step by Step online video Method, which enables the reader to learn these exciting new rhythms in a fraction of the time it would take workingwith only written music and audio recordings

"This is the first of a 3-volume series designed to teach the modern conga style being played by the leading bands in Cuba today. In this volume, Tomasito reveals the time-tested conga method which he himself studied with Changuito and other master congueros at the ENA conservatory in Havana. It starts at the absolute beginning and is designed for the person who has never touched the congas, but is also of great value to the advanced player who wishes to understand the foundation and rudiments of the approach that has allowed the ENA and the other Havana conservatories to consistently turn out so many world-class congueros each year. It begins with simple exercises to develop technique and systematically works its way to basic rhythm patterns such as Salsa, Chachacha and Bolero. These are presented using the Step by Step DVD method, which makes it fast and easy to learn the patterns without even looking at the accompanying workbook. The workbook presents an alternative approach using a simple and clear notation system which combines standard rhythmic notation with easy to understand letters which can be easily read by those who don't read music. The workbook can also be used without the DVD."--Publisher.