Babatunde Olatunji's Warm-Up Exercises

Gun = rh bass Go = rh open tone Pa = rh slap
Dun = lh bass Do = lh open tone Ta = lh slap

1) Gun GoDo
2) Gun GoDo GoDo Gun
3) Gun GoDo GoDo Gun Go Do
4) Gun GoDo GoDo Gun Pa
5) Gun GoDo GoDo Gun Pa Ta
6) Gun GoDo GoDo Gun PaGo PaGo
7) Gun Pa Gun Pa Gun Pa GoDo
8) Gun Pa Ta Pa Ta Gun Pa GoDo
9) GoDo GoDo GoDo GoDo

These are a great starting exercise. You play each 4 times, then move on to the next. When you get to the end of number 6, you cycle back to number 1 and keep going. Apply the same approach (4x repeats) in solo practice to groups of rhythms, such as the rhythms for Fanga, Saba, etc. It's good practice at not only getting the individual rhythms right, but for being able to switch around from rhythm to rhythm to fill in holes when a group is playing. You also get a very good understanding of how the rhythms relate to each other when you play them this way.

Find out more at Baba Olatunji's Web site.