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5/11/2020 Conga - Wikipedia

Basic form of songo tumbadoras part. Triangle notehead: high-
pitched drum slap; regular noteheads: high and low drum open
tones.

In several songo arrangements, the tumbadora ('conga') part sounds the typical tumbao on the low-
pitched drum, while replicating the quinto (lead drum) of guaguancó on the high-pitched drum. The
quinto-like phrases can continually change, but they are based upon a specific counter-clave motif. [11]
[See: "Songo Patterns on Congas" (Changuito). (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGQu6rLQah0)

Timba era

Tomás Cruz developed several adaptions of folkloric rhythms when working in Paulito FG's timba band
of the 1990s. Cruz's creations offered clever counterpoints to the bass and chorus. Many of his marchas
span two or even four claves in duration, something very rarely done previously. [12] He also made more
use of muted tones in his tumbaos, all the while advancing the development of . The example on the right
is one of Cruz's inventos ('musical inventions'), a band adaptation of the Congolese-based Afro-Cuban
folkloric rhythm makuta. He played the pattern on three congas on the Paulito song "Llamada
anónima." Listen: "Llamada Anónima" by Paulito F.G. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMsZtCFK
sFQ)

Use in non-Cuban genres

Dominican

The merengue rhythm, used in orchestral merengue, goes 1 2-1-2. It can also be heard as 1-2-1-2 1-2-1-2-
1-2. Essentially, it is the rhythm of the tambora applied to conga. This can be heard on Elvis Crespo's
Suavemente and Grupo Mania's Me Miras y Te Miro. In merengue tipico the rhythm is usually more
complex and less standardized; it can range from simply hitting the conga on a fourth beat to playing full
patterns that mark the time.

The rhythm of Palos is also representative of what we can call Afro-Dominican music. The drums are
made out of hollowed-out tree trunks, and they are used both for secular and religious music in Santo
Domingo and Haiti. The drums are called palos (alcahuete, palo mayor and adulon). The balsie is
another drum played with both feet and hands. The player sits on it and uses a friction technique called
arrugao. Panderos are also used in Dominican folk music, like congos, salve, and palos. The Dominican
version of the 'clave' is 'la canoita', which are two sticks struck against each other, one with a handle. In
the Gaga they also use palo drums and in the rhythm called Palo de Muerto, which is played when a
member of the cofradia or brotherhood dies. The rhythm of palos is played throughout the Dominican
Republic and is the national dance of the country. This music was suppressed and persecuted during
Trujillo's rule due to social and racial discrimination.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conga 6/9