Online-Guide Congas Introduction

Welcome to our online conga drum advisor. The congas are among the most widely used and thomann important percussion instruments in the world and the quality of their manufacture, materials and design can have a major impact on their sound.On the following pages we will bring you an overview of congas and their features, materials and differences between them to help make your selection easy. thomann We will discuss how different shell materials and head types affect a drum’s sound and how suitable each is for different musical situations. Hopefully, we can help you give hints to avoid problems before purchasing your drums.

We hope you enjoy reading and learning about congas.
Our Online Advisor extends thomann over several pages – you can jump from section to section using the index below or the navigation at the bottom of each page.

The conga comes from Cuba but originated in Africa. Most people believe it originated in the thomann Congolese Bantu area and is based on that region’s conical shaped makuta drum. Its name may be derived from its Congolese origins. Since its appearance of the tumbadora (the original Spanish name of the Conga) had a simpler appearance to the modern version of the drum. A head thomann was stretched over the wooden shell and nailed into place. It could only be tuned by using heat to tighten the head. Modern drums often have aesthetically beautiful finishes and tuning systems that use hoops and tension screws to adjust the head tension.Though we commonly refer to these thomann drums as congas, the term conga was originally used to describe the rhythms and drums played during the Cuban carnival celebration. The conga is normally played with the fingers and hands, and more rarely with sticks. A musician who plays the congas is referred to as a conguero. thomann Most congas stand about 75 cm from bottom to head though there are three common sizes of conga drums determined by the head diameter.

The largest drum produces the deepest pitch and is called the tumba; the medium-sized drum is called the conga; the smallest and highest-pitched drum is named the quinto. This small drum thomann is often used for soloing over the rhythm of the other instruments in a Latin percussion ensemble. However, the medium-sized conga is the most musically versatile drum of the three. The standard sizes of these drums are 12 1/2”, 11 3/4”, and 11” in diameter (1 inch = thomann 2.54 centimetres).Conga drums are often sold as pairs (a conga and a tumba) since these sizes are the most versatile and can cover musical styles as diverse as pop music, salsa, Latin jazz and Afro-Cuban music.

Online-Guide Congas
Form

Most drums have one or two skins (heads) and a shell between them. The heads thomann are usually struck with hands, fingers, sticks or mallets. Other than the human voice, percussion instruments are the oldest form of musical instruments. Drums are percussion instruments, sometimes classified as membranophones.There are innumerable types of drums originating from right across the world. However, drums are usually classified according thomann to two things: the type and method of attaching the skin, and the shape of the shell. The first of these helps to differentiate between modern and traditional or more primitive instruments, whose heads may be simply affixed to the shell with strings, ropes and nails. Sometimes pegs thomann are placed within the strings and twisted in order to apply extra tension to the head. African Talking Drums have cords that are squeezed by the player’s arm to vary the pitch of the drum. The more modern method of head tensioning uses hoops, brackets and screws. The thomann modern snare drum uses hoops that hold the collar of the drumhead which are attached to lug brackets fixed to the shell. The pitch is raised by tightening the head; conversely, to thomann lower the pitch the head should be loosened.Drumheads can be made from animal hide, fish skin, cloth or synthetic materials. The shell functions as a resonating chamber that amplifies the volume as well as affecting the timbre of the instrument.

Its shape can affect timbre; common drum shapes include the cylinder, cone, barrel, hemispheric, parabolic, box and gourd shaped drums. Combinations and variations are commonplace. The Conga is similar in shape to a barrel and their stave thomann construction further indicates that early drums may have actually been made from salvaged barrels.

Music Styles

Cuban music evolved from a mixture of African and thomann European (especially Spanish) elements that can still be heard in its melodies, rhythms and instrumentation. Rhythm instruments such as congas, bongos, timbales, cajon, cowbell, claves, maracas and guiro all play an important role in Afro-Cuban music. The main characteristics of this music, and also some of the music of Africa in its original forms, are:

The use of call and response (question thomann and answer) between solo thomann voice and choir.
The use of polymeters (i.e. the simultaneous use of different meters such thomann as 4/4 and 6/8 time signatures)
Polyrhythms (the use of different rhythmic divisions on top of one another)
Pentatonic and non-Western scales with the melody.

The concept of clave is integral to an understanding of Afro-Cuban music. The word clave (Spanish for keys) describes both an instrument and a rhythmic structure which acts as a framework that the other rhythmic thomann instruments must complement. The rhythmic interaction of the other instruments should follow and not contradict or distract from the underlying clave pattern. The most important clave rhythms in Cuban music are the son clave and the rumba clave...

Son Clave
I				II				III				IV				Beat
1	+	2	+	3	+	4	+	1	+	2	+	3	+	4	+	Counting of the eigth´s
X			X			X				X		X				Hits

... and the ...

Rumba-Clave
I				II				III				IV				Beat
1	+	2	+	3	+	4	+	1	+	2	+	3	+	4	+	Counting of the eigth´s
X			X				X			X		X				Hits

There are two variations on these Clave rhythms designated 3-2 (above) or 2-3 (below). The two halves of thomann the patterns remain the same but their order in the sequence is reversed.

Son-Clave
I				II				III				IV				Beat
1	+	2	+	3	+	4	+	1	+	2	+	3	+	4	+	Counting of the eigth´s
		X		X				X			X			X		Hits

... and the ...

Rumba-Clave
I				II				III				IV				Beat
1	+	2	+	3	+	4	+	1	+	2	+	3	+	4	+	Counting of the thomann eigth´s
		X		X				X			X				X	Hits

If you look closely you’ll notice the two clave rhythms are very similar and differ only in the timing of one note, in each case the third note of the three-note bar. In the rumba clave this note occurs one quaver (eighth note) later than in the son clave. Knowledge of these rhythms is essential to understanding and being able to play Afro-Cuban music.The son thomann clave was essential in the advancement of Afro-Cuban music, as was its mixture with jazz and the emergence of salsa. The son unites Cuban music with Spanish and Afro-Cuban elements of melody and rhythm, and originated in the 19th century in the rural areas of the eastern region of Cuba. The typical instruments used were the thomann guitar, the tres (a Cuban variant of the guitar) and later the bass, with percussion instruments thomann such as bongos, maracas, claves and guiro. Two of the instruments developed in connection with the Son: the tres and the bongos. The mutual influence between thomann Cuban son and North American jazz began in the early 1920s. Cuban music spread, along with Puerto Rican music and other music from the Caribbean, to New York and eventually thomann all across America. The emigration of musicians from those areas to New York along with the development of mass media and recording contributed to the expanding popularity of these forms of music. New dance styles such as the cha cha, the mambo and modern rumba became very successful thomann between 1940 and 1960 in America and Europe.The term salsa (actually Spanish for sauce) became a general term for these styles of music in the 1960s. As a musical category salsa encompasses a variety of different styles and rhythms including plena and bomba from Puerto Rico, cumbia from thomann Colombia, tamborito from Panama, son and rumba from Cuba as well as boleros from other countries.

In summary

son plus jazz and other Afro-Cuban rhythms developed into the modern mambo and cha cha. In the 1960s Afro-Cuban elements combined with soul to develop, largely in New York, a danceable yet spicy musical sauce, which we now call salsa.

Online-Guide Congas
Arrangement of the Drums

Congas are often sold in pairs: a conga and a tumba drum. Arranging the drums is normally done as follows. The conga (medium-sized) drum is placed directly in front of the player and the tumba is placed to thomann the right.

The quinto, when used, is placed between the thomann conga and the tumba in a triangular formation:

Notice thomann that the quinto drum is now placed directly in front of the conguero.

Stand or Sit?

Traditionally, congas were played sitting. One wedges a drum between the knees, either the conga or quinto, depending on whether thomann playing two or three drums. When performing on stage many percussionists prefer to stand, in order to be seen and to move more freely. This can also affect the sound as the bottom of the drum is open when stand-mounted but effectively closed when placed on the floor.There thomann are two main types of stands for congas. One type suspends the drum from brackets on the shell and the other type sets the drum into the stand.

If you choose to sit and play, here’s a hint: congas sound louder and can be heard more clearly if positioned diagonally so that the bottom is not closed thomann and the sound is projected towards the audience. However, this only works for one drum at a time (the conga or the quinto depending on the size of your setup). If holding the drum for long periods between the knees is tiring, a strap or a belt may help to support it. A bungee cord attached at the brackets near the head can work too.

Online-Guide Congas
First Steps thomann

Anyone can learn basic conga technique. It just takes a little thomann time, patience and practice. Don’t be frustrated if you don’t sound like a master conguero in a few weeks. Stick with it and your skills will grow as you develop the muscle memory that’s required to play without effort.The most important strokes thomann for playing the congas are:

1. Bass (= B).

This is the deepest thomann note of the conga.
To create this tone hit the drum with your palm in the centre of the drumhead. This will produce a low, muffled sound. This thomann may be varied by quickly moving the hand back off the head for a longer tone.

2. Open tone (= O).

The basic sound of each conga is clearly heard using this technique. Using the first four fingers strike the outside edge of the head quickly as if slapping a hot pan on a stove. This will produce a clear pitch with a resonant tone.

3. Closed slap (= S).

The closed slap is played by thomann slapping the fingers against the head and allowing it to rest there briefly. The other hand may also rest on the head to muffle the drum more.

4. Open slap (= OS).

The open slap is the loudest note of the conga and is used frequently during solos for its bright, cutting timbre. To play the closed slap, use only the fingertips and slap the drum very briefly to create a penetrating note.

5. Heel (= H).

The heel is played by dropping the heel of the palm onto the drumhead creating a soft, muffled tone that’s often used between other notes.

6. Tap (= T).

The tap is another quiet technique but thomann has a higher pitch than the heel and is also used to fill the breaks between other techniques along with the heel. To play taps let your fingers rise from the heel position and strike the drum from a low height.
Heel-toe rolls may be played by rapidly alternating thomann heel strokes and taps.