Bongo drum: Difference between revisions

{{Redirect|Bongos|the American pop band|the Bongos|the song|Bongos (song)||Bongo (disambiguation)}}{{Infobox instrument

[[File:Bongo sound.wav|thumb|261x261px|Bongos playing a [[cumbia]] beat]]

'''Bongos''' ([[Spanish language|Spanish]]: ''bongó'') are an [[Afro-Cubans|Afro-Cuban]] [[percussion instrument]] consisting of a pair of small open bottomed [[Handhand drum|hand drums]]s of different sizes.<ref>{{Cite Thebook larger|last=Strain drum|first=James isAllen called|url= hembra|title=A (SpanishDictionary for female)the Modern Percussionist and theDrummer smaller|publisher=[[Rowman drum& isLittlefield calledPublishers]] macho|year=2017 (Spanish|isbn=978-0-8108-8693-3 for|page=23 male).|oclc=974035735 They|quote=}}</ref> oftenThe playpair aconsists continuousof eight-strokethe pattern calledlarger ''martillohembra'' (hammer{{Literally|female}}), butand alsothe havesmaller the''macho'' most({{Literally|male}}), rhythmicwhich freedomare withinjoined theby ensemble,a providingwooden improvisatorybridge. flourishesThey andare rhythmicplayed counterpoint.with Thisboth mainlyhands employeesand Theusually Bongosheld are  inbetween the [[rhythmlegs, section]]although ofin [[sonsome cubano]]cases, andas [[Salsain classical music|salsa]] ensembles, oftenthey alongsidemay otherbe drumsplayed suchwith assticks theor largermounted [[congas]]on and the stick-struck [[timbales]]stands.

Bongos originated in eastern Cuba at the end of the 19th century, possibly from a pair of larger drums such as the bokú. These older, larger bongos are known as ''bongó del monte'' and played in [[changüí]]. The smaller bongos used in son cubano were popular across Cuba by the 1910s and reached the concert halls of the eastern United States in the 1930s. By the 1940s, bongos and congas were sharing the stage as son ensembles grew in size and Latin music began to cross-pollinate with [[jazz]] and other musicsgenres. During the second half of the 20th century, bongos began to be played in a wide variety of genres, from [[Bachata (music)|bachata]] to [[Latin rock]].{{sfn|Fernandez|2006|p=22–41}}

Bongo drums are about {{convert|20|cm|inch|0}} high and have diameters of approximately {{convert|20|cm|inch|0}} and {{convert|25|cm|inch|0}}.<ref name="BEPM">{{cite book |last1=Wacker |first1=Jonathan |title=Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World: Volume II: Performance and Production |date=2003 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=9780826463227 |editor1-last=Shepherd |editor1-first=John |location=London, UK |page=351 |language=en |chapter=Bongo drums |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pJvzEzjahkQC&pg=PA351}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Warden |first=Nolan |title=Encyclopedia of Latin American Popular Music |date=2013 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9780313087943 |editor-last1=Torres |editor-first1=George |pages=52–53 |language=en |chapter=Bongó |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MX5BXxjwV9cC&pg=PA52}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ortiz |first1=Fernando |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mXpdAAAAMAAJ |title=Nuevo catauro de cubanismos |date=1985 |publisher=Editorial de Ciencias Sociales |page=82 |language=es |author1-link=Fernando Ortiz Fernández}}</ref> The shells of the drums and the bridge (the small block that joins them) are usually made of wood, although fiberglass is also common. The heads are typically made of [[calfskin]] and attached to the shells via steel hardware that enables their tuning (lug tuning). Originally, metal tacks were used, so the skins had to be tightened by heating the skins with a flame and loosened with water or by striking them vigorously.<ref name="BEPM" /><ref name="Lapidus" /> This method of tuning is still used for the traditional bongos used in changüí. Therefore, Fernando Ortiz places the original bongó in the category of ''tambores de candela'' (flame-tuned drums), along with [[bokú]], [[yuka (music)|yuka]], [[conga]], [[Bembe (membranophone)|bembé]] and smaller drums, since these were all tuned with the flame of an oil lamp.{{sfn|Ortiz|1953|p=244}}

[[File:Desi Arnaz 1950.JPG|right|thumb|300x300px|[[Desi Arnaz]] playing a bokú in the 1940s. His father had banned the bongos 20 years earlier. The bokú is the most likely ancestor of the bongos.]]

[[File:SextHabanero72.jpg|right|thumb|300x300px|[[Sexteto Habanero]] in 1925. First on the left is Agustín Gutiérrez, the ''bongosero''. His tuning lamp is on the ground (circled).]]

Other Puerto Rican musicians who made a name for themselves on the bongos were Richie Bastar of [[El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico]], Ralph Marzán of [[Johnny Pacheco]]'s charanga, "Little" Ray Romero, [[Frank Colón]] and [[Roberto Roena]]. On the other hand, American master ''bongoseros'' include [[Jack Costanzo]] and [[Willie Bobo]] (of Puerto Rican origin), the latter more active on [[timbales]]. Other ''bongoseros'' who had more impact as ''timbaleros'' were [[Manny Oquendo]], [[Orestes Vilató]] and Nicky Marrero. American novelty rock acts such as [[Preston Epps]] and [[Michael Viner]]'s [[Incredible Bongo Band]] capitalized on the popularity of the instrument as well as its "exotic" and rhythmic qualities.