technique

Conga Drum Technique & Exercises

Technique refers to the disciplined way we produce specific sounds on the drum. Each distinct sound which is played on the drum can truly be thought of as a musical note. These notes are the most basic elements of drum music, and taken together they can be considered to form the drum’s musical scale. The sequence of these notes in a particular time is what will define distinct rhythms. The first task of learning to play the drum is to learn to articulate specific tones, and to be able to play them with some facility.

Open Tone

The open tone (sometimes called just “the tone”) is played with the full length of all four fingers (all the way to the first row of knuckles) striking flat against the drum head, and then immediately rebounding off of the head to allow a clear tone to ring. The hand should make contact with the drum parallel to the plane of the drum head. The hand should not first strike the rim of the drum before flopping down to the head.

Bass Tone

The bass tone (sometimes called just “the bass”) is played with the palm and heel of the hand in the middle of the skin. Lift up your wrist, and then drop your hand onto the skin. Your hand should immediately bounce off of the skin to produce a booming echo.

Slap Tone

The slap tone (sometimes called just “the slap”) sounds like a sharp, dry crack. Position the heel of your hand to pivot around the edge of the drum. Begin by cocking your fingers straight back. Then whip your fingers down towards the skin. Before your fingers strike the skin, slightly arch your hand at the first knuckles, while keeping the fingers straight, so that only the fingertips will strike the skin. You should feel the same sensation of trapping air under your fingertips as you do when you clap your hands. After you have struck the skin, the fingers fall dead on the skin to help produce that sharp sound.

General Tips on Technique

•Play each note with all four fingers. Do not lift any fingers off the drum.

•Keep your fingers held loosely together (not splayed apart), but do not tense your hand.

•Hold your thumb out of the way so you don’t hurt it on the edge of the drum.

•Keep your hand aligned with your forearm to form a straight line.

•Movement should originate from the wrists only. Do not move your entire arm.

•Keep your hands as close to the drum as possible, and limit your movements to preserve an economy of motion.

•Spend time working on your articulation of each of these three techniques (open tone, bass, slap) before playing the exercises.

Exercises

After you learn the basic mechanics of articulating different tones on the drum you must learn to become comfortable playing each of the tones, and moving among the tones in different combinations. These exercises will help develop this facility.

1) T S B T S B

l l l r r r

2) T T B B T T B B

l r l r l r l r

3) T T S S B B T T S S B B

l r l r l r l r l r l r

4) B B S S T T S S

l r l r l r l r

5) T S T T S _ T S T T S _

l r l r l (r) l r l r l (r)

T = Tone (open) B = Bass S = Slap

l = left hand r = right hand

Tips on Practicing

•Do not play these exercises too fast! The purpose of these exercises is to learn to play correctly, no matter how slowly you must play to do so. Speed will come much later.

•Always use good technique when practicing these exercises. Concentrate on clearly articulating the different tones.

•Play these exercises in an even rhythm and at a constant tempo.

•Whenever you practice or play anything, lead with your weak hand to help strengthen it, and build confidence in using that weak hand.

•Try to practice a little bit every day, rather than the occasional marathon practice session. If you don’t have access to a drum, use a bucket, a table, or anything that makes a good substitute. If you can’t hit anything, then at least think about what you should be practicing.