Systematic Analysis of
Caribbean Conga Drums
Purloined by Don Jibaro Barbablanca
he conga is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum of African origin, probably derived from the Congolese Makuta drums or Sikulu drums commonly played in Mbanza Ngungu, Congo. A person who plays conga is called a "conguero".

Les Rivera with his new Puerto Rican Tumbadora ~~>

Although ultimately derived from African drums made from hollowed logs, the Cuban conga is staved, like a barrel. These drums were probably made from salvaged barrels originally.

They were used both in Afro-Caribbean...
religious music and as the principal instrument in Rumba. Congas are now very common in Latin music, including salsa music, as well as many other forms of American popular music.

Most modern congas have a staved wooden or fiberglass shell, and a screw-tensioned drumhead. They are usually played in sets of two to four with the fingers and palms of the hand. Typical congas stand approximately 75 cm 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.

Because congas are an understudied instrument, opinions vary on the names of the drums. Although 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.

Ben F. Jacoby's Introduction to the Conga Drum holds that the drums are called congas in English, but tumbadoras in Spanish. The drums, in order of size from largest to smallest, are the tumba, conga, quinto, the rare requinto, and the side-strap mounted ricardo.
The Conga Page at Rhythm Web agrees with the congas vs. tumbadoras terminology.
Music of Puerto Rico refers to the drums only as congas, but gives the names as tumba for the largest, niño for the smallest, and does not provide names for the two middle drums.
Alex Pertout's The Conga Drum: an Introduction points out that the names for the individual drums vary even in Cuba, and gives the names of three drums: tumbadora (largest), conga or segundo (middle), and quinto (smallest).
The Glossary Of Latin Music Terms agrees with tumba / conga / quinto, but defines the extra super quinto drum, smaller than the quinto. The term tres golpes may also be used for the conga.
Artdrum.com's History of Conga Drums also agrees with the terms tumba / conga / quinto, but allows the synonyms segundo (for conga) and tumbadora or salidor (for tumba).
Poncho Sanchez, in his Conga Cookbook, added a drum below the tumba, which he called the supertumba.

The conga is the center of the Latin percussion array.

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 1950s, when Latin music swept the United States. Cuban son and New York jazz fused together to create what was then termed mambo, but later became known as salsa. In that same period, the popularity of the Conga Line helped to spread this new term.

Desi Arnaz 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 boku 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.

Playing the Congas: The five basic strokes:
* Open tone: played with the four fingers near the rim of the head, producing a clear resonant tone with a distinct pitch.
* Muffled tone: like the open tone, is made by striking the drum with the four fingers, but holding the fingers against the head to muffle the tone
* Bass tone: played with the full palm on the head. It produces a low muted sound.
* Slap: most difficult technique producing a loud clear "popping" sound (when played at fast and short intervals is called floreo, played to instill emotion in the dancer).
* Touch: 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 combine the a touch of the palm with a touch of the fingers in a maneuver called heel-toe, which can be used to produce the conga equivalent of drumrolls.

Also, to bend the pitch of the conga, 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: Afro-Cuban and Puerto Rican
There are various rhythms for the conga, the most well-known being the marcha.This rhythm is commonly played on 1 to 3 congas, but has no true limit for the amount used. The marcha is the most common rhythm in Salsa/Son.

Some songs that include the marcha or slight variations (Guajira)(chacha) of the rhythm are:
* Oye Como Va by Tito Puente
* Pedro Navaja by Willie Colon and Ruben Blades
* Se Le Ve by Andy Montañez and Daddy Yankee
* Watermelon Man by Mongo Santamaria
* Los Dos Jueyes by Domingo Quiñones and Zion
* Amor Verdandero and A Maria Le Gusta by Afro Cuban All Stars
* Quizas, Quizas, Quizas by Omara Portuondo and Teresa Garcia Cartula
* Armonias del Romañe by Tomatito
* Soy Guanaco Salvadoreño by Bobby Rivas
* Hoy tenemos by Sidestepper
* Ahora Vengo Yo by Anthonious Meer, Richie Ray, and Bobby Cruz
* Hipocresia by Fruko y sus Tesos
* Escucha el Rithmo by Spanish Harlem Orchestra
* Me Voy Pa Cali by Oscar D'Leon
* Boogaloo Chevere by Sonora Carruseles
* Virus by Bamboleo
Countless other songs use this rhythm.

There is also the bolero rhythm
That goes 1-2-3 1-2 1-2-3. Being very similar to the marcha, it involves a minimum of two congas and can be heard on:

* Buena Vista Social Club by Buena Vista Social Club
* Melodia del Rio by Ruben Gonzalez
* Besame Mucho by Andrea Bocelli
* La Puerta by Luis Miguel

More complex rhythms can be heard in the music of Santeria and Abakua rituals, many of which also apply to the bata drums, such as Guarapachangueo and Chacha-lokafun. In Cuba, variants of Guaguanco, Bembe, and Abakua change from province to province, so there is no true stating to what is or isn't correct.

Afro-Dominican
The merengue rhythm, used in orchestral merengue, goes 1 2-1-2. 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. This can be heard on Elvis Crespo's Suavemente and Grupo Mania's Me Miras y Te Miro. Originally, this rhythm was derived from the trap drumming of African slaves from various animist religions.

In merengue tipico 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.

South American
The cumbia rhythm, simple and slowly played, goes 1-2-2-1, also heard as 1-2-1-2. It can be heard in Fito Olivares's Mosaico Fiestero and La Cumbia Sampuesana y La Cumbia Cienaguera by Ancieto Molino y Los Sabaneros it was an important thing to know. There are many other kinds of rhythms for the conga. It is constantly applied in new genres of music, therefore taking up the rhythms of that specific style, such as punta, reggaeton, Brazilian forms such as samba and bossa nova, and even reggae, funk, go-go, and country music.

Giovanni Hidalgo is considered the best conguero today.

Tuning the Congas
Conga drums are tunable to different notes. The original drums were tuned by adjusting knots and tension ropes on the drumhead, or, where the drum-heads were tacked or nailed to the top of the shell, by careful heating of the head. Modern congas use a screw-and-lug, tension head system which makes them easier to tune (or detune).

As was discussed above, terminology for the drums varies. Here, the naming system used is a composite of those mentioned before with those currently in use by major conga manufacturers. The drums are discussed in order from largest to smallest; the sizes of the drumheads given vary considerably by manufacturer, model, and style.

Sizes
* The supertumba can be as large as 14 inches across (35.5 cm).
* The tumba is typically 12 to 12.5 inches across (30.5 to 31.8 cm).
* The conga 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.

Tuning Systems
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. Generally congas are tuned using the open tone (see above).

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 a 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 apart (the same interval used in "Here Comes the Bride") as is the tradition in western classical music for the timpani.

Having three drums (typically the tumba, conga, and quinto) invites experimentation and individual customization. Some congueros like using the intervals of a major chord (e.g. F, A, C); some use the second inversion of a major chord (eg. G, C, E); and some prefer a major second between the quinto and conga, with a perfect 4th descending to the tumba. Raul Rekow of Santana often plays five conga drums and chooses to tune them to the opening phrase of a Latin tune he likes.

Famous Conga Players
* Carlos "Patato" Valdes
* Los Papines
* Tata Güines
* Chano Pozo
* Jose Luis Quintana "Changuito"
* Giovanni Hidalgo
* Armando Peraza
* Candido Camero
* Mike Gallichio
* Jose Vazquez-Cofresi
* Jose Rosa
* Poncho Sanchez
* Miguel 'Anga' Diaz
* Hector "Pocho" Neciosup
* Alex Acuna
* Mongo Santa Maria
* Carlos Patato Valdez
* Kevin Jones
* Ray Barretto
* Raul Rekow
* Michael Spiro
* Fermin Goytisolo
* Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez
* Carlos "Don" Alias
* Thomas Opava
* Safri Duo
* Brian Rosenworcel

A giganormous conga drum at Disney's All Star Resort. Florida, USA... Go ahead, tune it up!!

Well, if I knew more, I'd tell you more...

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