How to Position Hands for Conga Drumming

The conga drum is a single drum, tall and narrow and of African origin. It is one of the more basic percussion instruments, but can achieve a surprising array of sounds. These sounds are produced by playing the conga drum in a variety of styles: tone, muff, slap and bass. It is important to understand proper hand positioning on the conga drum, so that you can produce these various sounds. Once you learn the proper hand positioning, you will be well on your way to mastering the conga.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Conga drum

1. Place both your left and your right hand on the edge of the conga drum. Your fingers should be flat on the drum head, and your palms should not be on the drum at all. The rim of the drum should line up with the knuckles on your hands. This is the first hand position, and will allow you to play the basic sounds on the conga drum.

2. Place one of your hands over the middle of the conga's drum head. Your palm should be flat, your fingers pressed against one another. This is the way you want your hand in order to play bass sounds on the conga drum. Bring your hand down, in the form explained, against the center of the drum head to play these bass sounds.

3. Place your hands along the rims of the conga drum, much in the same way as you did in Step 1. This time, however, instead of having your fingers flat, they should be cupped, so that you are striking the drum with the outside portion of your fingers. This is the style you should use for slap playing.

4. Practice these various hand positions on the conga drum so that you can play in these various styles. Once you get the hand positions down you will be able to play the various sounds much more easily.

Tips & Warnings

• Your arms should be at a 90-degree angle as you play the conga drum.
• Do not come down too hard on the conga drum, as this will result in bruising of the hand.

Resources

• Video Tutorial From Expert Village