The basic sounds and strokes of the Conga

It takes a lot more creativity to play congas than most people think. Look at it this way, each drum has only one tone, so a pair gives you two notes to work with. By altering the way we strike the congas, we change the sonic characteristic, or timbre, of each drum. However every person is different and the true test of any drum “note” is the sound you get out of the drum. If the note sounds great, you are doing it “right” no matter what anyone says.  If you hear some other player getting a great tone that you don’t, perhaps you’d better ask how he/she is doing it!  The ability to call up the various drum sounds (notes) at will in a pattern is called “tone separation”.

All conga strokes are produced by some combination of the fingers, the flat of the hand, the palm, and the wrist. Arm weight is used only to add volume. The hand rebounds from the drumskin in the Open and Open Slap strokes, resulting in a ringing tone. The other strokes are “closed” or “dry”, meaning that the hand and the fingers come to rest on the drumskin after striking it.

Basic strokes are “speaking strokes” in terms of defining the type of rhythm. As there are usually multiple drummers, sticks, shakers, bells and other auxiliary perscussion instruments, all that is needed to identify a conga rhythm is the “melody” produced by the Open tones, Slaps and Muffs.

Slap strokes use wrist motion and curvature of the fingers to create a whipping action. The hand is closed in the shape of a semicircle and the cupped palm forms a resonant space to amplify the sound. The player should feel vibration in the fingertips after these strokes. Slap strokes are the most diifficult technique producing a loud clear “popping” sound.

Open (spanish: abierto)

The most basic conga sound is called an Open or Open Tone because the drum is allowed to ring after it is hit, producing a clear resonant tone with a distinct pitch. The Open sound is played at the edge of the drum using the arm and wrist together with the fingers slightly apart. Each open stroke should consist of a simple up-and-down motion of the forearm and hand. Make a quick downward motion with the wrist as the forearm approaches the drum. All four fingers should hit the drum and immediately come off it so the sound is not muffled. The hand is held so that the fingers and thumb are held together. Most of the movement is initiated by the wrist, not the arms. As the hand hits the drum, the fingers immediately rebound upwards, allowing the whole skin to sound. It’s important to keep your fingers together so one finger doesn’t strike first. You are trying to create the effect of a padded mallet. Stay relaxed and flexible. A full resonating tone is achieved, as well as stating the true “pitch” of the drum.

Muff (spanish: presionado)

The position of the hands for the Muff stroke is identical to that of the Open, but whereas the fingers rebound from the skin for the Open stroke, they remain on the skin at the point of impact for the Muff stroke. A slight pressure is used at the end of the stroke to make it sound dryer and fuller (as indicated by the Spanish term presionado). The key is to regulate the damping of the note to just the right amount. You should always hear the pitch of the open tone but it should damp out quickly. If there is no pitch to the note you have damped it too much. If it rings nearly as long as a normal open tone, you haven’t damped it enough.  While muff notes are common, they are much less common than the standard bass, open and slap notes.

Closed Slap (spanish: tapado)

The weight of the slap is concentrated on the fingertips, and the movement again comes primarily from the wrist. The hand is closed in the shape of a semicircle and the cupped palm forms a resonant space to aplify the sound.  It takes some practice to get nice slaps easily. One teacher has described the wrist action as “slapping your little sister’s arm when she gets into your toys”. The sound should be a single bright “crack” with no ring. A variation of the Closed Slap, sometimes called the “pressed slap” or “muted slap”, involves using the opposite hand to dampen the rest of the conga’s surface, creating the ubiquitious popping sound found in most Cuban and Puerto Rican dance music. The opposite hand can be placed in the center of the conga or towards the edge to control the dryness of the sound.

Open Slap (spanish: semi-tapado)

This technique is somewhat a combination of the open tone and closed slap. The hands strike the conga with a little more force than an open tone, the fingers are also slightly spread, and the hand does not stay on the drum (as you would a closed slap). The Open Slap uses the same hand position and movement as the Closed Slap, but like the Open stroke, the fingers rebound from the drumhead immediately after the initial impact. Open Slaps are used primarily in soloing.

Bass (spanish: bajo)

The bass tone is produced by the palm of the hand pushing into the drumhead. The fingers and thumb are relatively close together and the wrist bends upward so the drum is struck with the heel of the palm and the weight of the arm helps produce the sound. The hand should not rebound off the drum as quickly as for the open sound. For the Bass stroke, place the fingers slightly apart, with the thumb tightly closed against the hand. The hand comes down flat in the center of the conga. Although often called the “palm” stroke, it’s very important that the whole hand is used and not just the palm. The palm produces a low thud, while the rest of the hand makes the sound sparkle with higher frequency padding that helps it cut through dense musical and rhythmic textures. Make sure the bottom of the drum is open to get a resonant bass tone. You can use a stand to lift the drum, or tilt it slightly away from you. Cracks in the drum shell, no matter how small, may diminish the bass sound. A helpful image is that the drum head is a trampoline pushing your hand up.

Tip (spanish: punta)

The Tip stroke employs the same wrist motion and fingertip position as the Closed Slap, but is played in the center of the drum. It was introduced to maintain the time while not getting in the way of other instruments. This stroke will make a high sound if played near the rim of the drum and a low sound if played near the center, as long as the bottom of the drum is open.  Unlike a slap where the tips are slammed against the head to make a sharp sound, here the fingertips are pressed flatter, with the pressure going further back from the tips. Usually the fingers are together as in an open tone.  A “tip” should never produce any open-like tone.  If you hear an open tone pitch the note you are playing is a “muff” rather than a “tip”.

Manoteo

This movement also called heel-toe consists of two alternating strokes: The Bass and the Tip. Since the manoteo fills in the smallest rhythmic subdivisions of the groove it has to be loud, steady and crisp. In most styles of Latin music the manoteo is played with the left hand and most of the Slap and Open strokes are played with the right. But in modern rhythms all strokes are played on all drums in endless creative combinations. Therefore you should practice the manoteo with both hands from the beginning. A fast, fluid and ambidextrous manoteo is also extremely useful in soloing.

Glissando

The glissando or moose call 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.

Pitch bending

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.

Stick Sounds

Typically Conga drums are never played with two drumsticks in the manner of drumset drums. However, in certain African musical styles a single stick is used. (Usually in the strong hand.) For example, this is typical of Senegalese playing. There are three fundamental notes produced by stick playing. The first is a typical drum stroke to the head where the stick is held loosely and allowed to bounce off the head. In the second note, the stick is gripped tightly and is brought down at a high angle into the head and is pressed into the head so as to give a more muted higher pitched note. And finally, there is a “choke tone” where the drum is struck in the usual bouncing note, but with the weak hand laying on the drumhead in the manner of the muted slap.  This gives a very damped sharp sound.  Usually a timbale stick or a shortened timbale stick is used for stick strokes. The “wrong” end of a common drumstick will also work in a pinch.