How to Read Conga Music

The bottom of the conga should be off of the ground for better sound.

Congas are African drums with long wooden bodies extending downward from the drum heads. They typically come in a pair of two drums of different size and pitch, but can come with multiple drums or individually. They are larger and lower in pitch than bongos, and can produce a variety of interesting sounds. Notation can vary, but all will convey the same elements. The most common notation uses standard rhythmic notation and incorporates letters above the notes to indicate how you strike the conga, and below the conga to indicate the hand you should use.

Instructions

1. Observe the time signature. It will appear as two numbers at the beginning of the staff stacked on top of each other. The top one indicates how many beats are in a measure and the bottom one indicates which type of note gets one beat.

2. Notice the rhythmic figures in the music. If the bottom number of the time signature is four, whole notes gets four beats, half note,s get two beats, quarter notes get one beat, eighth notes get a half of a beat and sixteenth notes get a quarter of a beat. If the bottom number of the time signature is two, these values are halved. If the bottom number of the time signature is eight, these values are doubled.

3. Notice the lines or spaces on the staff that the conga notation uses. Usually parts are written for two drums, so conga music is often written on a two line staff. The higher of the two lines on the staff is for the high drum and the lower of the two lines is for the low drum.

4. Strike the appropriate drum in the appropriate rhythm determined from previous steps. If the note has an "O" over it, strike the conga with the fingers of your hand half way between the middle and the edge. If the note has a "S" over it, slap the edge of the conga with the fingers of your hand. If the note has a "B" over it, strike the center of the conga with the heel of your hand. If the note has a "M" over it, hold the heel of your hand on the conga while striking the drum to mute the sound. If the note has a "L" under it, strike the drum with your left hand. If the note has an "R" under it, strike the drum with your right hand.

Tips & Warnings

• Be patient when learning to read notation. You must train yourself to instantly recognize several elements at a glance.

References

• Drum Rhythm Lesson: Reading the Congas
• Audio Graffiti: Drum and Percussion Notation