Dafnis Prieto is a member of the jazz percussion faculty at New York University’s Steinhardt School. He has performed with artists such as Herbie Hancock, Eddie Palmieri, and Branford Marsalis.
Dafnis Prieto, a drummer and professor of Percussion at NYU’s Steinhardt School, visits Loyola University, New Orleans to give a master class in understanding and mastering the complex and demanding rhythmic building blocks of various Latin percussion styles. Starting from the very basics – the clave and how to find it – he walks the class through layering cross-rhythms like the cascara on top of the clave to construct the rumba, the cha-cha-cha, the conga, the Mozambique and many other substyles common to Cuban and other Latin music traditions.
Drummer and professor of Percussion Dafnis Prieto breaks down the rhythmic patterns that constitute the cha-cha-cha in this excerpt from his master class on Latin percussions and rhythms.
Drummer and professor of Percussion Dafnis Prieto continues his master class in Latin rhythms and percussion with a short showcase of basic 6/8 patterns used across all styles of Latin music.
Drummer and professor of Percussion Dafnis Prieto continues his master class in Latin rhythms and percussion with a response to an audience question about stick control and hand independence with Latin-themed practice suggestions geared toward improving your skills in these areas.
Drummer and professor of Percussion Dafnis Prieto continues his master class in Latin rhythms and percussion with a response to an audience question about the role of the piano in Afro-Cuban music, and how the tumbao pattern, played on a piano or a tres fits into the framework of the clave.
Drummer and professor of Percussion Dafnis Prieto continues his master class in Latin rhythms and percussion with a response to an audience question about developing stylistic range – whether it’s possible to be, for example, both a great bop drummer and Latin percussionist.
Drummer and professor of Percussion Dafnis Prieto continues his master class in Latin rhythms and percussion with listening suggestions for people who want to understand and master the rhythmic styles of Cuban music.
Drummer and professor of Percussion Dafnis Prieto wraps up his master class in Latin percussion styles with a tour-de-force drum solo that blends straight-ahead jazz with Latin flavors.
Dafnis Prieto, a percussionist and a professor at NYU’s Steinhardt School, sits down with ArtistsHouse President John Snyder in a forum held at Loyola University, New Orleans to talk about drumming, running a record label, the pleasures and challenges of teaching music at the college level, balancing competing work and life demands, and what it takes to become a well-rounded, versatile and dynamic musician and person who can sustain a music career.
Dafnis Prieto, a drummer and professor of Percussion at NYU’s Steinhardt School, opens his master class on Latin drumming with a drum solo incorporating styles from several countries.
Dafnis Prieto, a percussionist and a professor at NYU’s Steinhardt School, shares with ArtistsHouse President John Snyder his personal strategies for balancing the competing demands that artistry, business, and family place upon his time.
Dafnis Prieto, a percussionist and a professor at NYU’s Steinhardt School, continues his conversation with ArtistsHouse President John Snyder by discussing the works he has written for commission, and the educational path he took to become a musician who is comfortable working in a wide range of styles.
Dafnis Prieto, a percussionist and a professor at NYU’s Steinhardt School, continues his conversation with ArtistsHouse President John Snyder with a discussion of his music education in Cuba, how his ongoing music education has evolved since coming to the USA eight years ago, and how he approaches the art of teaching music to his students at New York University.
Dafnis Prieto, a percussionist and a professor at NYU’s Steinhardt School, continues his conversation with ArtistsHouse President John Snyder by discussing the sources of his inspiration and how he goes about helping his students find musical inspiration in non-musical sources.
Dafnis Prieto, a percussionist and a professor at NYU’s Steinhardt School, continues his conversation with ArtistsHouse President John Snyder by speaking about the unique demands that teaching music places on one’s time and mental energy, the benefits that teaching has had for his own musical development, and how he balances his teaching commitments with performing and private lives.
Dafnis Prieto, a percussionist and a professor at NYU’s Steinhardt School, continues his conversation with ArtistsHouse President John Snyder by sharing his thoughts on the best way to record drums in the studio, and why it’s important to trust your recording engineer.
Dafnis Prieto, a drummer and professor of Percussion at NYU’s Steinhardt School, explains the clave – the basic element of Latin percussion style, and how cross-rhythms such as the cascara are layered on top of the clave to produce more complex patterns.
Drummer and professor of Percussion Dafnis Prieto demonstrates how the conga and its substyles like the guaganco are constructed, in this excerpt from his master class on Latin percussion.
Drummer and professor of Percussion Dafnis Prieto discusses his approach to the mental side of practicing, and why he feels that what written on the page should not always be the main focus of your practice.
Drummer and professor of Percussion Dafnis Prieto demonstrates how to blend the basic elements of the rumba together with more complicated cross-patterns to take advantage of the strengths of the drum kit, in this excerpt from his master class on Latin percussions and rhythms.
