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Latin Percussion Glossary

Bongos

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bongos are two small drums made of wood, metal, or composite materials, attachedby a thick piece of wood. There is a layer of animal skin stretched across the top.Bongo drums produce high-pitched sounds, and should be held between the knees. They are traditionally played by striking the drumheads with the fingers, althoughsome contemporary classical compositions require sticks or brushes. The two drumsare of different size; the larger is called hembra (Spanish: female), and the smalleris called macho (Spanish: male). In Cuban music, bongos are usually played by thesame musician as the cowbell (Spanish: cencerro). This musician is called abongocero.

Congas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The conga is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum of African origin, probablyderived from the Congolese Makuta drums. Although ultimately derived from Africandrums made from hollowed logs, the Cuban conga is staved, like a barrel. Thesedrums were probably made from salvaged barrels originally. They were used both in Afro-Caribbean religious music and as the principalinstrument in Rumba. Congas are now very common in Latin music, including salsamusic, as well as many other forms of American popular music.Modern congas have a staved wooden or fiberglass shell, and a screw-tensioneddrumhead. They are usually played in sets of two to four with the fingers and palmsof the hand. Typical congas stand approximately 75 cm from the bottom of the shellto the head. The drums may be played while seated. Alternatively, the drums may be mountedon a rack or stand to permit the player to play while standing.

Cowbell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Clapperless cowbells made of metal are an important element in Latin-American andgo go music. These cowbells are struck with a stick - the tone being modulated bystriking different parts of the bell and by damping with the hand holding the bell.In several parts of the world (notably in West Africa) pairs or trios of clapperlessbells are joined in such a way that they can be struck separately or clashedtogether. The Brazilian name for these is "agogo" bells. Cylindrical wood blocksplayed in the same way are also called "agogo". In Cuban music the cowbell iscalled cencerro and often played by the same player as the bongos, which has ledto bongo players being called bongocerros.

Maracas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maracas (sometimes called rhumba shakers) are simple percussion instruments(idiophones), usually played in pairs, consisting of a dried gourd shell (cuia - 'kOO-ya') or coconut shell filled with seeds or dried beans. They may also be made of leather, wood, or plastic. Often one maraca is pitched high and the other low. The instrument is of prehistoric American origin. The word maraca is thought tohave come from the Tupi language of Brazil, where it is pronounced 'ma-ra-KAH'.Although a simple instrument, the method of playing the maracas is not obvious. The seeds must travel some distance before they hit the leather, wood, or plastic,so the player must anticipate the rhythm.Maracas are heard in many forms of Latin American music and are also used in popand classical music. They are considered characteristic of the music of Colombia,Venezuela, and Brazil. In rock and roll, they are probably most identified with BoDiddley.

Afuche/Cabasa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Cabasa, originating from an instrument called afuche, is a percussioninstrument that is constructed with loops of steel ball chain wrapped around a widecylinder. The cylinder is fixed to a long, narrow wooden or plastic handle. It wasoriginally of African origin, and constructed from dried oval- or pear-shaped gourdswith beads strung on the outer surface. Modern manufacturers (LP, or LatinPercussion, Inc.) have built a more durable cabasa that they call an afuche-cabasa.It provides a metallic, rattling sound (Similar to the sound of a rattlesnake).

Shekere

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The shekere is a percussion instrument from Africa, consisting of a dried gourd withbeads woven into a net covering the gourd. Throughout the continent it is calleddifferent things, such as the lilolo, axatse (Ghana), and chequere. It ispredominantly called shekere in Nigeria. The shekere is made from small gourdsthat grow on the ground. The shape of the gourd determines the sound of theinstrument. A shekere is made by drying the gourd for several months thenremoving the pulp and seeds. After it is scrubbed, skillful bead work is added as wellas color. The instrument is used for folkloric as well as some of the popular music.

Guiro

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The guiro is a percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd withparallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a wooden stick along thenotches to produce a ratchet-like sound. The guiro is commonly used in Latin-American music, and plays a key role in the typical cumbia rhythm section.Modern guiros are also made of metal, plastic or even fiberglass. The scraper istypically made with metal tines attached to small block of wood but may be madeentirely of wood, metal, bamboo, shell, bone, ceramic or plastic. The size of theguiro can vary widely although it typically ranges from 25-35 cm long. A metalinstrument from the Dominican Republic that is very similar to the guiro is calledguira.

Timbales

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Timbales (or tymbales) are shallow cylindrical single-headed drums, similar tosingle-headed tom-toms, but usually much higher tuned. The shells are referred toas cáscara (the Spanish word for shell) which is also the name of a rhytmic patterncommon in salsa music that is played on the shells of the timbales. The shells areusually made of metal but some manufacturers offer shells made of maple andother woods. The heads are light and tuned fairly high for their size. A musician whoplays the timbales is called a timbalero. Timbales is also the French word for