Bongo drum: Difference between revisions

[[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 [[hand drum]]s of different sizes.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Strain |first=James Allen |url= |title=A Dictionary for the Modern Percussionist and Drummer |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield Publishers]] |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-8108-8693-3 |page=23 |oclc=974035735 |quote=}}</ref> The pair consists of the larger ''hembra'' ({{Literally|female}}) and the smaller ''macho'' ({{Literally|male}}), which are joined by a wooden bridge. They are played with both hands and usually held between the legs, although in some cases, as in classical music, they may be played with sticks or mounted on stands.

 

Bongos are mainly employed in the [[rhythm section]] of [[son cubano]] and [[salsa music|salsa]] ensembles, often alongside other drums such as the larger [[congas]] and the stick-struck [[timbales]]. In these groups, the bongo player is known as ''bongosero'' and often plays a continuous eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' ({{Literally|hammer}}) as well as more rhythmically free parts, providing improvisatory flourishes and rhythmic counterpoint.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Goldberg |first=Norbert |date=October 1985 |title=The Bongos |journal=[[Percussive Notes]] |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=25–26}}</ref>