A Closer Look at Latin Percussion

The whole spectrum of Latin genres and beats, including salsa, merengue and calypso would be nothing without the percussion that drives the groove. Latin percussion isn’t just limited to Latin American music but has reached out into pretty much every other genre going. In this blog, we take a look at the percussive instruments that make Latin percussion what it is.

Latin Percussion

Latin America encompasses all of the countries in South and Middle America. That’s a lot of countries, and each of them is home to unique genres of music, like the tango from Argentina, the bossa nova from Brazil and the bomba from Puerto Rico. Thanks to the Buena Vista Social Club, European music lovers are now more familiar than ever with Cuban musica tropicale and, in Cuba, a whole plethora of genres are mixed and played with, including everything from jazz to salsa and merengue, rumba or mambo. As you’ve probably already noticed, many of these genres are coupled with their own specific style of dance which makes sense, because what characterises most if not all Latin American music is the infectious, danceable rhythm and usually, it’s the often extensive percussion section of the band that brings the rhythm.

Latin percussion sets itself apart from other percussive genres simply due to the range of different instruments that can be involved. What are now considered Latin percussion instruments have been around for centuries and have evolved following the melding of South American tradition with the traditions that were introduced by African slaves. Every Latin music style uses specific instruments and specific basic rhythms, but there are a few instruments that are often played across all of them, and those are the instruments that we’re going to look at here.

The Congas

In short, a conga is a long, hollow drum shell left open at one end and with a batter head stretched across the other end. Usually you play at least two or three congas in a set so you have different pitches. The shape of the drum shell is a lot like an elongated barrel and, traditionally, congas are built in pretty much the same way as barrels, where wooden slats are held in shape by two hoops. Congas can be made from a variety of different woods, including rubberwood or oak. Modern congas can also be made from fibreglass or a mix of wood and other modern materials. The material can have an effect on the sound of conga, where wood has a warmer and rounder sound while fibreglass has a brighter and more powerful sound. The material of the drumhead can also vary from plastic to animal hide, including cowhide or buffalo hide. Natural drumheads tend to produce a warmer response while synthetic drumheads have a sharper response and pronounced attack.
The pitch of a conga depends on how tightly the drumhead is tensioned across the top as well as the diameter and the height of the drum shell. Traditionally, there are six conga sizes, measured by the diameter of the drumhead which are (from the smallest to the biggest): the ricardo, requinto, quinto, conga, tumba and the supertumba (some manufacturers use different names for the sizes). Generally, drums with a wider drumhead diameter will also have a taller shell, a combination which deepens the pitch as well. Conga players often use more than one size in one conga set. The number of congas in a set varies, but can be anywhere between two or even five, depending on the percussionist. You can play the congas while seated or standing, as long as the opening on the underside of the drum is unrestricted and can project the sound. The batter head of a conga is played with the hands where various different strike types are used – so just the fingers or the palm or the flat of the hand – all to make different percussive sounds.

Bongos

The bongos can definitely be seen as a smaller version of the congas and by small, we mean really small. While the average conga is around 75 centimetres high, bongos are usually no more than around 25 centimetres deep. Bongos also always come in sets of two as standard: one larger and one smaller. In Spanish, the two sizes of the bongos are actually gendered, where the smaller one is referred to as the ‘hembra’ (female) and the larger one is referred to as ‘macho’ (male), since they are considered culturally as complimentary opposites. The drumhead diameter usually measures somewhere between 18.8 and 21.6 centimetres so the pitch of the bongos is always very high but again, the exact pitch depends on the tensioning and tuning of the drumheads. The timbre of the bongos also depends on the kind of materials used to make them, so the same applies as for the congas: natural materials like wooden shells and natural drumheads produce a warmer sound while synthetic materials like fibreglass shells and plastic drumheads can produce a sharper and brighter sound. The traditional method for playing the bongos is to clamp them between the knees and strike the drumheads by hand in much the same way as with the congas. However, a lot of modern percussionists also play the bongos with drumsticks or beaters. Also, even marching bands and other ensembles include bongos where they are usually suspended from a snare drum.

The Timbales

Timbales look much like the normal drums we’re used to seeing and playing in Europe. Timbales can not only have wooden shells but metal shells and only have one batter head, leaving the underside open for a bigger and more spacious percussive sound. Timbales feature a much tighter than standard drumhead tuning which supports a really bright and sharp drum sound. Often, a set of two timbales will be used in one setup, often combined with a cowbell. The sides of the shell of a timbale are also struck as a main part of a rhythmic pattern while the drumhead is only struck to create accents or play solos and transitions.

Smaller Percussion

Within the Latin American music genres we’ve already mentioned, all of the instruments above are also supported by drums as well as an array of smaller percussion instruments, including cowbells, woodblocks, shakers, claves, guiros, triangels and maracas. Percussion is found more and more across the music spectrum, from jazz to EDM and all of the rhythms and instruments can often be traced right back to Latin percussion.

Find more information about percussion instruments here.