Congas and Bongos

Afro-Cuban roots

The conga drum comes from Afro-Cuban traditions, especially the rumba, where groups of drums play interlocking patterns. In rumba the three sizes are the low tumba, the middle conga and the high quinto, which improvises. Bongos grew up in the Cuban son of eastern Cuba, as a small pair of drums held between the knees.

The tumbao

In salsa the conga player usually plays the tumbao, a steady pattern with two open tones near the end of each bar, often on beats 4 and the and of 4. These open tones are a big help for dancers, because they mark where the music breathes. On2 dancers often say they listen for the conga.

The martillo and the bell

The bongo player plays the martillo, a constant hammering pattern, during verses. In the montuno, the exciting section with coro and solos, the bongosero switches to a large hand bell, the bongo bell, which pushes the band forward. Watching the bongo player is a good clue to which section of a song you are in.

Into jazz and salsa

In 1947 Cuban conguero Chano Pozo joined Dizzy Gillespie's band, and their tune Manteca helped bring congas into jazz. Mongo Santamaria and Ray Barretto became stars, and Barretto's work at Fania made the conga central to New York salsa. Today players such as Giovanni Hidalgo are famous for astonishing technique.

Learn the sounds

Conga players make several sounds: open tones, slaps, bass tones and muted touches. Even if you never play, learning to hear them will make you a better dancer. See our clave rhythm page for the pattern that holds everything together.

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