conga

Description. The conga drum is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels. Congas are traditionally used in Afro-Cuban genres such as conga and rumba, although they are now very common in some other forms of Latin music.

The conga drum is at the cornerstone of countless Latin rhythms, and has helped Latin percussion as a whole, become extremely popular in many musical genres from all over the world. Of Afro-Cuban origin, the conga is more widely known as a tumbadora, timba, or jícamo in Cuba.

noun,plural con·gas. Also called conga line . a Cuban ballroom dance that consists of three steps forward followed by a kick, characteristically performed by a group following a leader in a single line.

Congas are part of a battery of idiophones and membranophones that provide the distinctive rhythmic patterns underlying Latin American dances. They are also used in contemporary solo mixed-percussion and percussion ensemble works and in 'world music' hand drumming ensembles.

The term "conga" was popularized in the 1930s, 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.

Conga drums produce five different sounds: muffled stroke, open slap, closed slap, bass tone and open tone, each produced by different hand movements and positions on the drums.

Conga Hand Positions & Sounds

The conga is a dance that originated in Cuba, and in which the participants form a winding line, take three steps forwards or backwards, and then kick.

Congas have become a popular instrument in many forms of Latin music such as son (when played by conjuntos), descarga, Afro-Cuban jazz, salsa, songo, merengue and Latin rock.

Fun and simple arrangement of Gloria Estefan's "Conga" for percussion ensemble. Listed instrumentation is 1 glockenspiel, 2 vibraphones, 2 marimbas, and a drumset, but this can be modified to fit your ensemble.

Congas & Bongos - Bongos and congas are normally notated on a two lined staff, with one line representing each of the drums. An additional line may be added for a third drum. The top line represents the highest-pitched drum. A cross- shaped notehead is used for muted drums.

History of Congas The conga drum has Afro-Cuban roots, the result of bringing thousands of slaves to Cuba from the Bantu-speaking Congo region of Africa during the 17th and 18th centuries. Around the time Cuban slavery ended in 1886, African drumming merged with Latin percussion, and the conga drum was born.