Bongo drum: Cuban musical instrument
The bongo drums are Afro-Cuban percussion musical instrument. The drums are of various sizes; the largest size of the drum is known as the...
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The bongo drums are Afro-Cuban
percussion musical instrument. The drums are of various sizes; the largest size
of the drum is known as the ‘hembra’ in Spanish, while the smaller version of
the drum is known as the ‘macho’. The larger sizes is regarded as the female,
while the smaller one is taken as the male. These drums are membranophones or
musical instrument that produces sound by vibration of a stretched membrane.
source: get-tuned.com
This musical instrument originated
from the eastern region of Cuba that is known as ‘Oriente’ in the 19th
century. The bongo drums used in changui, called ‘bongo el monte’ are larger
and are tuned lower than the modern versions of this musical instrument. They
have tack-heads rather than a tunable hardware, and play in a way that is
analogous to the rumba and other folkloric lead drum parts. These drums are
also used in the related Cuban musical genre that is known as the ‘son’.
The bongo drums came to the western
Cuba in the 20th century, when son migrated to the capital city of
the country of Havana. With the advent of son montuno in the later part of the
1930s, the players of the musical drums started playing a large hand-held
cowbell bongo drum during the chorus part of songs.
The bongo drums manufacture
comparatively high-pitched sound when compared to the conga drums, and should
be held behind the knees of the player when performing it with a larger drum on
the right when right-handed. The musical instrument is most often performed by
hand and is specifically linked in Cuban music with a stable pattern or
ostinato of eight-notes also known as ‘martillo’. The instruments are traditionally
played by striking the edge of the instrument’s drumhead with the fingers and
palms of the hand. The glissando used with bongo de monte is played by rubbing
the third finger of the hand, supported by the thumb across the head of the
musical instrument. The fingers of the hand can sometimes be moistened with the
use of saliva or sweat before the player can rub it across the heads of the
drum. When used in the art music composition, the musical instruments are
usually played with the use of drum sticks. The drums can be performed on a
stand, just like in the case with concert orchestras and bands.
