[Thanks to Joaoclima for the photo, rollover for credits.]

I was frustrated with my pandeiro practice a few months ago, because I felt like I had enough practice to keep up with and play along with some slower sambas / pagoda tunes - but my playing didn't sound right, it didn't "fit" the music.

My pandeiro teacher had always stressed the active use of the left hand - in particular to bring the pandeiro to meet the right hand when playing. To be clear - this is true, and is not the problem.

But if you take the classic pandeiro rhythm - thumb / tip / heel / tip / thumb - I was accenting the the first finger tip note. I would strike the thumb, then focus my left hand bringing the pandeiro up to meet my finger tip for a solid note and then continue.

One of the firs things you learn about samba is that it's the upbeat note prior to the 1 that should give a little kick, not the eighth note after the one. So I had to re-learn / re-teach myself to accent the fingertip note right before the thumb, and not the one after.

It's beginning to sound better, but my speed has taken a hit, and I'm often missing the thumb accent on the one. I feel like the learning process is a continual effort of two steps forward, one step back. The only consolation is that I'm able to discover and fix these little problems myself.