The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed
drum from Cuba. Congas are
staved like
barrels and classified into three types:
quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). Congas were originally used in Afro-Cuban music genres such as
conga (hence their name) and
rumba
The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba. ...
, where each drummer would play a single drum. Following numerous innovations in conga drumming and construction during the mid-20th century, as well as its internationalization, it became increasingly common for drummers to play two or three drums. Congas have become a popular instrument in many forms of
Latin music
Latin music ( Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Spain and Portugal) and the Latino United States inspired by Latin Amer ...
such as
son
A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative.
Social issues
In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...
(when played by
conjunto
The term ''conjunto'' (, literally 'group', 'ensemble') refers to several types of small musical ensembles present in different Latin American musical traditions, mainly in Mexico and Cuba. While Mexican conjuntos play styles such as '' norteño' ...
s),
descarga
A descarga (literally ''discharge'' in Spanish) is an improvised jam session consisting of variations on Cuban music themes, primarily son montuno, but also guajira, bolero, guaracha and rumba. The genre is strongly influenced by jazz and it wa ...
,
Afro-Cuban jazz
Afro-Cuban jazz is the earliest form of Latin jazz. It mixes Afro-Cuban clave-based rhythms with jazz harmonies and techniques of improvisation. Afro-Cuban music has deep roots in African ritual and rhythm.{{cite web, Cuba: Son and Afro-Cuban ...
,
salsa
Salsa most often refers to:
* Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments
* Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music
* Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music
Salsa or SALSA may also refer to:
...
,
songo,
merengue and
Latin rock
Latin rock is a term to describe a subgenre blending traditional sounds and elements of Latin American and Hispanic Caribbean folk with rock music. However, it is widely used in the English-language media to refer any kind of rock music featurin ...
.
Although the exact origins of the conga drum are unknown, researchers agree that it was developed by Cuban people of African descent during the late 19th century or early 20th century.
Its direct ancestors are thought to be the
yuka Yuka may refer to:
*Yuka (music), an Afro-Cuban style of music
*Yuka (mammoth), mammoth specimen found in Yakutia, Russia
*Manshu Yuka Kogyo K.K. Ssuningkai, a Japanese-German pre-WWII industrial co-operation
People
*Yuka (name), a Japanese perso ...
and
makuta (of
Bantu
Bantu may refer to:
*Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages
*Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language
* Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle
*Black Association for National ...
origin) and the bembé drums (of
Yoruba
The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...
origin).
In Cuba and Latin America, congas are primarily played as
hand drums A hand drum is any type of drum that is typically played with the bare hand rather than a stick, mallet, hammer, or other type of beater.
Types
The following descriptions allude to traditional versions of the drums. Modern synthetic versions are a ...
. In
Trinidadian
Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The country is home to people of many different national, ethnic and religious origins. As a ...
calypso and
soca, congas are sometimes struck with
mallets
A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head. The term is descriptive of the overall size and propor ...
, while in the Congos, they are often struck with one hand and one mallet.
Characteristics
![Conga's 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Conga%27s_01.jpg)
Most modern congas have a staved wooden or fiberglass shell and a screw-tensioned drumhead. Since the 1950, congas are usually played in sets of two to four, except for traditional
rumba
The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba. ...
and
conga, in which each drummer plays one conga. The drums are played with the fingers and palms of the hand. Typical congas stand approximately from the bottom of the shell to the head. The drums may be played while seated. Alternatively, the drums may be mounted on a rack or stand to permit the player to play while standing. While they originated in Cuba, their incorporation into the popular and folk music of other countries has resulted in diversification of terminology for the instruments and the players. In Cuba, ''congas'' are called ''tumbadoras''.
Conga players are called ''congueros'', while ''rumberos'' refers to those who dance following the path of the players. The term "conga" was popularized in the 1930s, when
Latin music
Latin music ( Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Spain and Portugal) and the Latino United States inspired by Latin Amer ...
swept the United States.
Cuban son and
New York jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
fused together to create what was then termed
mambo
Mambo most often refers to:
* Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form
*Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music
Mambo may also refer to:
Music
* Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...
, but later became known as
salsa
Salsa most often refers to:
* Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments
* Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music
* Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music
Salsa or SALSA may also refer to:
...
. In that same period, the popularity of the
conga line
The conga line is a novelty line dance that was derived from the Cuban carnival dance of the same name and became popular in the US in the 1930s and 1950s. In order to perform the dance, dancers form a long, processing line, which would usually ...
helped to spread this new term.
Desi Arnaz
Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986) was a Cuban-born American actor, bandleader, and film and television producer. He played Ricky Ricardo on the American television sitcom '' I Love Lucy'', in which he c ...
also played a role in the popularization of conga drums. However, the drum he played (which everyone called a conga drum at the time) was similar to the type of drum known as ''bokú'' used in his hometown, Santiago de Cuba. The word ''conga'' came from the rhythm ''la conga'' used during ''carnaval'' (carnival) in Cuba. The drums used in carnaval could have been referred to as ''tambores de conga'' since they played the rhythm ''la conga'', and thus translated into English as ''conga drums''.
Types of drum
Conga drums are classified according to their size, which correlates to their pitch: larger drumheads have a lower pitch and vice versa. Originally, drums were tuned by adjusting knots and tension ropes on the drumhead, or, more commonly, where the drum-heads were tacked or nailed to the top of the shell, by careful heating of the head. Modern congas, developed in the early 1950s, use a screw-and-lug tension head system, which makes them easier to tune (or detune). This modern type of tension system was pioneered in Cuba by
Carlos "Patato" Valdés
Carlos may refer to:
Places
;Canada
* Carlos, Alberta, a locality
;United States
* Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community
* Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County
* Carlos, Minnesota, a small city
* Carlos, West Virginia
;Elsewher ...
and in the United States by
Cándido Camero
Cándido Camero Guerra (22 April 19217 November 2020), known simply as Cándido, was a Cuban conga and bongo player. He is considered a pioneer of Afro-Cuban jazz and an innovator in conga drumming. He was responsible for the development of tun ...
.
Historically, terminology for the drums varies between genres and countries. In ensembles that traditionally employ a large number of drums, such as
comparsas and
rumba
The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba. ...
groups, a detailed naming system is used, which has been taken up by major conga manufacturers. The drums are listed from largest to smallest (drumhead sizes vary considerably by manufacturer, model, and style):
* The ''supertumba'' or ''rebajador'' can be as large as 14 inches across (35.5 cm).
* The ''tumba'' or ''salidor'' is typically 12 to 12.5 inches across (30.5 to 31.8 cm).
* The ''conga'' or ''tres dos'' is typically 11.5 to 12 inches across (29.2 to 30.5 cm).
* The ''quinto'' is typically around 11 inches across (about 28 cm).
* The ''requinto'' can be smaller than 10 inches across (24.8 cm).
* The ''ricardo'' can be as small as 9 inches across (22.9 cm). Since this drum is typically played while hanging from a shoulder strap, it is considerably shorter and narrower than a traditional conga.
In ''conjuntos'' that play
son cubano
Son cubano is a genre of music and dance that originated in the highlands of eastern Cuba during the late 19th century. It is a syncretic genre that blends elements of Spanish and African origin. Among its fundamental Hispanic components are t ...
, as well as in
charangas and other ensembles where one or two congas were introduced to complement other rhythmic instruments, the drums are named like the bongos: ''macho'' (male) and ''hembra'' (female), for the higher and lower-pitched drums, respectively; an additional drum would be called ''tercera'' (third).
These correspond to the ''tumba'' and ''conga'' in rumba ensembles. When the ''quinto'' is played by ''conjuntos'' it retains its name.
Tuning
Congas, being percussive instruments, do not have to be
tuned to any particular note in purely percussive settings. However, when playing with
harmonic instruments, they may be tuned to specific notes. Congas are often tuned using the open tone. In general, the particular note will depend on the make, model, and size of the conga drum. The drum should be tuned so that the bass tone resonates, the open tone rings, and the slap pierces through the musical mix. If the tuning is too loose, the bass and slap tones will sound "flabby"; too tight, and the drums will sound unnatural and "pinched". With a single drum, it is easy to tighten the drum until it makes a pleasing sound and then tighten a little more to reach a uniform desired pitch. It is very important to ensure that tuning is uniform around the drumhead, which can be checked by placing one finger pad in the center of the head and tapping the head near the edge above each lug location to detect any change, adjusting as necessary. Uniform tightness will help "let the drum speak".
Another important consideration is that head tension can greatly impact the ease or unease of the player, and generally a looser drumhead can lead to hand injury more than a tighter one, because a looser drumhead has less rebound and more muffling effect (hence potentially bruising joints and bones under spirited playing). Also, producing a crisp slap tone is nearly impossible on a loose head. During tuning it is suggested to "let the drum speak" and to conform tuning reasonably closely to the natural resonance (pitch) that the cavity of the drum interior presents. This resonance can be heard by singing or playing loud notes near the drum opening (this is true of tuning any drum) and noticing which pitch decays slowest - that will either be the fundamental (resonant) frequency or one of its simple overtones.
When two or more drums are used, there is the potential for more variation of which notes are chosen; however, tuning between or during compositions is rare in live performance. With only two drums, it is common to find them tuned a
perfect fourth
A fourth is a musical interval encompassing four staff positions in the music notation of Western culture, and a perfect fourth () is the fourth spanning five semitones (half steps, or half tones). For example, the ascending interval from C to ...
apart (the same interval used in "
Here Comes the Bride") as is the tradition in western classical music for the
timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally ...
. Having three drums (typically the ''tumba'', ''conga'', and ''quinto'') invites experimentation and individual customization. Some ''congueros'' like using the
intervals of a
major chord
In music theory
Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the " rudiments", that are needed to understan ...
(e.g. F, A, C). Some players use the
second inversion
The second inversion of a chord is the voicing of a triad, seventh chord, or ninth chord in which the fifth of the chord is the bass note. In this inversion, the bass note and the root of the chord are a fourth apart which traditionally quali ...
of a major chord (e.g. G, C, E); and some prefer a
major second
In Western music theory, a major second (sometimes also called whole tone or a whole step) is a second spanning two semitones (). A second is a musical interval encompassing two adjacent staff positions (see Interval number for more de ...
between the ''quinto'' and ''conga'', with a perfect 4th descending to the ''tumba''. Raul Rekow of Santana often plays five conga drums and tunes them to the opening phrase of a Latin tune.
Playing techniques
Strokes
There are four basic strokes in conga drumming:
[Quintana, Changuito & Hidalgo, Giovanni (1997).]
Evolution of the tumbadoras
'. Warner Bros Publications. VH0281.
*Open tone (''tono abierto''): played with the four fingers near the rim of the
head, producing a clear resonant sound with a higher pitch than muffled and bass tones.
*Muffled, muted, closed of flesh tone (''tono ahogado'' or ''apagado'') or simply "muff": like the open tone, it is made by striking the drum with the four fingers, but holding the fingers against the head to muffle the tone. It can also be played with a cupped hand or the heel of the hand.
*Bass tone (''tono bajo''): played with the full palm, in a slightly cupped position, somewhat off center on the head. It produces a low muted sound.
*Slap tone (''tono seco'' or ''tapado''): the most difficult technique, producing a loud clear "popping" sound.
The muted or pressed slap tone (''toque tapado normal'') involves playing an open tone while the other hand rests on the drumhead, which produces a higher pitch. There are open (''tono tapado abierto'') and half-open (''tono tapado semi-abierto'') variants, in which the playing hand briefly rests on the edge of the drumhead after the stroke, followed by another stroke with the other hand. When played at fast and short intervals, this is called ''floreo'', which is often used to instill emotion in the dancers.
Other strokes can be used to enhance the timbral palette of the instrument. They are not used by all drummers, but have become the hallmark of ''congeros'' such as
Tata Güines
Federico Arístides Soto Alejo (June 30, 1930 – February 4, 2008), better known as Tata Güines, was a Cuban percussionist, bandleader and arranger. He was widely regarded as a master of the conga drum, and alongside Carlos "Patato" Valdés, inf ...
.
*Touch or toe tone (''toque de punta''): as implied by the name, this tone is produced by just touching the fingers or heel of the palm to the drum head. It is possible to alternate a touch of the palm with a touch of the fingers in a maneuver called heel-toe (manoteo), which can be used to produce the conga equivalent of drumrolls.
*Nails stroke (''toque de uñas''): played with the tip of the nails, usually finger by finger in quick succession, starting with the pinky.
Glissando and pitch bending
The ''deslizado'', ''moose call'' or ''
glissando'' is done by rubbing the third finger, supported by the thumb, across the head of the drum. The finger is sometimes moistened with saliva or sweat, and sometimes a little coat of beeswax is put on the surface of the conga head to help make the sound. The moose call is also done on the
bongos
Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...
.
To
bend the pitch of the congas, a ''conguero'' sometimes uses his elbow to shift around on and apply pressure to different parts of the head; this causes the note to change. This is not a traditional stroke, but it is common in modern salsa and rumba.
Rhythms
Guaguancó
Guaguancó uses three congas. The smallest conga is the lead drum known as quinto. The following nine-measure quinto excerpt is from the guaguancó “La polémica” by
Los Muñequitos de Matanzas
Los Muñequitos de Matanzas is a Cuban rumba ensemble from the city of Matanzas. The group was established in 1952 as Conjunto Guaguancó Matancero and released their first LP in 1956 through Puchito. Since then, Los Muñequitos have continued to ...
(1988). This passage moves between the main modes of playing (A, B, C). The A section is the basic ''lock'' or ''ride'', as it is known in North America. It spans one clave (measure). An alternate phrase (B) is also one measure in length.
Cross-beat
In music, a cross-beat or cross-rhythm is a specific form of polyrhythm. The term ''cross rhythm '' was introduced in 1934 by the musicologist Arthur Morris Jones (1889–1980). It refers to when the rhythmic conflict found in polyrhythms is the ...
s, the basis of the third section (C), contradict the meter. By alternating between the lock and the cross, the quinto creates larger rhythmic phrases that expand and contract over several clave cycles. Los Muñequintos quintero Jesús Alfonso (1949–2009) described this phenomenon as a man getting “drunk at a party, going outside for a while, and then coming back inside.”
Marcha (tumbao)
Clave-neutral
The basic
son montuno
Son montuno is a subgenre of son cubano developed by Arsenio Rodríguez in the 1940s. Although ''son montuno'' ("mountain sound") had previously referred to the ''sones'' played in the mountains of eastern Cuba, Arsenio repurposed the term to de ...
conga pattern is called ''marcha'', or
tumbao In music of Afro-Cuban origin, tumbao is the basic rhythm played on the bass. In North America, the basic conga drum pattern used in popular music is also called ''tumbao''. In the contemporary form of Cuban popular dance music known as timba, piano ...
. The conga was first used in bands during the late 1930s, and became a staple of mambo bands of the 1940s. The primary strokes are sounded with open tones, on the last offbeats (2&, 2a) of a two-beat cycle. The fundamental accent—2& is referred to by some musicians as ''ponche''.
1 e & a 2 e & a Count
H T S T H T O O Conga
L L R L L L R R Hand Used
Key:
L: Left hand
R: Right hand
H: Heel of hand
T: Tip of hand
S: Slap
O: Open Tone
Clave-aligned
The basic tumbao sounds slaps (triangle noteheads) and open tones (regular noteheads) on the "and" offbeats. There are many variations on the basic tumbao. For example, a very common variant sounds a single open tone with the third stroke of clave (ponche), and two tones preceding the three-side of clave. The specific alignment between clave and this tumbao is critical.
![Conga tumbao](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Conga_tumbao.jpg)
Another common variant uses two drums and sounds ''bombo'' (1a) on the tumba (3-side of the
clave). For example:
1 . & . 2 . & . 3 . & . 4 . & . Count
X X X X X Son Clave
X X X X X Rumba Clave
H T S T O O H T S T H T O O Conga
O O Tumba
L L R R R L R R L L R L L L R R Hand Used
or
1 . & . 2 . & . 3 . & . 4 . & . Count
X X X X X Son Clave
X X X X X Rumba Clave
H T S H T O O H T S H T O O Conga
O 0 Tumba
L L R R L L R R L L R R L L R R Hand Used
Bolero
There is also the
bolero
Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...
rhythm that is used for ballads. The conga part is similar to the marcha.
Songo
Beginning in the late 1960s, band conga players began incorporating elements from folkloric rhythms, especially rumba.
Changuito
Changuito (born José Luis Quintana on January 18, 1948) is a Cuban percussionist.
Biography
Quintana was born in 1948 in Casablanca, Cuba.[Los Van Van
Los Van Van is one of the leading musical groups of post-revolutionary Cuba. It was founded in 1969 by bassist Juan Formell, who directed the band until his death in 2014. Formell and former band members Changuito and Pupy are some of the most im ...]
pioneered this approach of the
songo era.
This relationship between the drums is derived from the style known as rumba
The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba. ...
. The feeling of the high drum part is like the quinto in rumba, constantly punctuating, coloring, and accenting, but not soloing until the appropriate moment (Santos 1985).
![Songo congas](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Songo_congas.jpg)
In several songo arrangements, the tumbadora ('conga') part sounds the typical
tumbao In music of Afro-Cuban origin, tumbao is the basic rhythm played on the bass. In North America, the basic conga drum pattern used in popular music is also called ''tumbao''. In the contemporary form of Cuban popular dance music known as timba, piano ...
on the low-pitched drum, while replicating the
quinto (lead drum) of
guaguancó
Guaguancó () is a subgenre of Cuban rumba, combining percussion, voices, and dance. There are two main styles: Havana and Matanzas.
Percussion
* battery of three conga drummers: the ''tumba'' (lowest), ''tres dos'' (middle, playing a counter-c ...
on the high-pitched drum. The quinto-like phrases can continually change, but they are based upon a specific counter-
clave motif. [See
"Songo Patterns on Congas" (Changuito).
Timba
Tomás Cruz developed several adaptations of folkloric rhythms when working in Paulito FG's timba band of the 1990s. Cruz's creations offered clever counterpoints to the bass and chorus. Many of his marchas span two or even four claves in duration, something very rarely done previously. He also made more use of muted tones in his tumbaos, all the while advancing the development of . The example on the right is one of Cruz's ''inventos'' ('musical inventions'), a band adaptation of the Congolese-based Afro-Cuban folkloric rhythm ''makuta''. He played the pattern on three congas on the Paulito song "Llamada anónima.
Listen: "Llamada Anónima" by Paulito F.G.
Other genres
The conga repertoire includes many other rhythms found in genres such as
danzón
Danzón is the official musical genre and dance of Cuba.Urfé, Odilio 1965. ''El danzón''. La Habana. It is also an active musical form in Mexico and Puerto Rico.
Written in time, the danzón is a slow, formal partner dance, requiring se ...
,
mambo
Mambo most often refers to:
* Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form
*Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music
Mambo may also refer to:
Music
* Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...
and
cha-cha-cha, as well as foreign styles that have adopted Afro-Cuban percussion such as Jamaican
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
, Brazilian
samba and
bossa nova, and American
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
,
funk,
Latin jazz
Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave, and Afro-Brazilian jazz, which ...
and
Latin rock
Latin rock is a term to describe a subgenre blending traditional sounds and elements of Latin American and Hispanic Caribbean folk with rock music. However, it is widely used in the English-language media to refer any kind of rock music featurin ...
. In the 1960s, the conga became a prominent instrument in Haitian popular music styles such as
konpa,
yeye and
mini-djaz.
Conjuntos and orchestras playing Colombian dance music have incorporated
cumbia
Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, enslaved Africans during colonial times, and Europeans. Examples include:
...
rhythms, traditionally played on tambores known as alegre and llamador, to the conga drums. The standard Colombian cumbia rhythm is simple and played slowly; it goes 1-2-2-1, also heard as 1-2-1-2. In the Dominican Republic, the fast
merengue rhythm, which goes 1 2-1-2, can be played on the conga. It can also be heard as 1-2-1-2 1-2-1-2-1-2. Essentially, it is the rhythm of the
tambora applied to conga. In
merengue típico
Merengue típico (also known as merengue cibaeño or colloquially as perico ripiao) is a musical genre of the Dominican Republic, and the oldest style of merengue. Merengue típico is the term preferred by most musicians as it is more respectfu ...
(or ''cibaeño''), the rhythm is usually more complex and less standardized; it can range from simply hitting the conga on a fourth beat to playing full patterns that mark the time.
See also
*
Bongo
*
List of conga players
*
Ngoma drums
*
Timbales
Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfico ...
*
Tumbao In music of Afro-Cuban origin, tumbao is the basic rhythm played on the bass. In North America, the basic conga drum pattern used in popular music is also called ''tumbao''. In the contemporary form of Cuban popular dance music known as timba, piano ...
References
General bibliography
* Cruz, Tomás, with Kevin Moore (2004). ''The Tomás Cruz Conga Method v. 3''. Pacific, MO: Mel Bay.
*
* Mauleón, Rebeca (1993). ''Salsa Guidebook for Piano and Ensemble''. Petaluma, California: Sher Music. .
* Peñalosa, David (2011). ''Rumba Quinto''. Redway, CA: Bembe Books.
*
External links
Introduction to the Conga Drum at the Drum Dojo
* Plans t
Percussion Conga Anatomy
*
{{Authority control
Conga (drum)