How to Play the Congo Drums
Conga drums are rhythm instruments that can produce a wide array of tones and beats when played properly. With practice, you can play an open tone, a bass tone and various slap sounds. Playing conga drums isn’t easy; professional drummers spend years perfecting rhythms and sounds on these drums. However, learning a few basic techniques will put you on the path to becoming a great conga drummer.
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Instructions
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Place the Quinto drum between your legs. This is the main drum. Tilt it slightly forward. Place the Conga and Tumbaroda drums to the right of the main drum. If you’re left-handed, place them on the left-hand side of the main drum.
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Keep the fingers of both hands together in a relaxed fashion. Do not point your thumbs out; keep them close to your fingers. Your hands should be relaxed, and your wrists flexible. You will be using your arm to make the main downstroke.
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Play an open tone. Lift your hand about six inches above the drum and hit it near the edge, using the area of the fingers near your palm. Let your fingers bounce quickly off the drum to make an open tone sound.
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Play a bass tone. Use your palm to hit the center of the drum, and quickly bounce your hand off the drum to produce a bass tone.
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Press against the drum with your left hand while slapping the drum with your right hand to produce a closed slap sound. Try hitting different spots on the drum to produce different closed slap tones.
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Play an open slap tone. Slap the drum with your right hand and immediately bounce your fingers off the drum. This should produce a ringing sound.
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Combine these different playing methods to produce a rhythm and a variety of tones.
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Tips & Warnings
Play along with music to learn how to maintain a rhythm.
To advance further, consider taking conga drum lessons from a professional.
References
- Photo Credit traditional drum image by bayu harsa from Fotolia.com
