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From a purely technical standpoint (not music styles or the role of the drum), how does comga technique differ from djembe technique?

The heel/toe manoteo movement so important in conga technique I have not seen used in djembe playing.

Ok First they are 2 different drums with 2 different forms of folkloric drumming-One African one Cuban

Next the technique is totally different...with a Djimbe u play standing with it hanging over your back bending at the waist keeping a straight back...if you notice any great Djimbe player strokes what we used to call 'off' the drum where the hands are moving upward in stroke when hitting the drum

With the Conga drum you hit 'on' the drum coming on a downward stroke...

African drumming is what I would call 'raw' drumming....coming from villages that have that drum in their community's with there own fundamental rhythms for that village...which have been played for hundreds of years....

Conga drumming is also 'raw' with an attachment now of Academia....learning to drum in Africa is
passed down from the village Head drummer to his sons to keep 'their traditions' alive thru there drums...
that does not necessarily happen with the Conga drum in Cuba..though in Cuba it has been more I would say 'evolving' rather than being passed down..2 totally different physical approaches as well as technical...I dont think there are many African brothers trying to pull off "double strokes" or paradiddles or ruffs..(not to say they couldnt) which are now common with conga drumming...and the new way of learning to play the Conga drum in Cuba today as well as here in the States...

About a minute and 24 seconds you will see a brother come forward for a solo..watch his hands as they come 'off' the djimbe during his solo spot...

these guys kick ass...

http://youtu.be/htDTJMUwgWQ and this is from Guinea not Senegal...

The area on the head where the best sounding slap and tone is found, or "sweet spot" as I like to call it, is different on the djembe due the the thinner skin and shape of the drum itself.

The thinner goat skin on a djembe makes it more sensitive to proper technique IMHO

I really appreciate the responses. JohnnyConga brings up the very interesting aspect of how the drumming traditions are passed down.
One question remains: Is a technically savvy conga player at an advantage over the newbie when he sits down (or stands up with) a djembe?

That is a very vague question. In what context would the conga player be playing in? If the musical style is rumba or some other distinctively Afro-Cuban style then the "conga player" would have the advantage. It's important to note the distinction between "conga player" and "conguero".

If the musical style being played is West African, particularly from the areas populated by the Pulaar (Peul), Mandinque, and many other ethnic groups who have developed their traditional music over centuries, the "conga player would likely feel left out. Especially in ballet or group where there are several djembes, dununs and other instruments playing. I don't think the congas would even be heard over the djembes, however, a skilled conguero would be able to play something within the polyrhythmic structure that the West African music is based on.

There are numerous videos on YouTube where there are conga/djembe duets like this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1ytxtTx1Pc that are amazing to watch. The Seck brothers are from Senegal (I don't know which ethnicity) which is a country with very diverse musical influences, including Latin and Caribbean, and there are several bands like Africando that play a crossover of Latin and traditional styles.

"One question remains: Is a technically savvy conga player at an advantage over the newbie when he sits down (or stands up with) a djembe?"

Your remaining question cannot truly be answered in my opinion. What do you mean by advantage? Can a trombone player have an advantage over a trumpet player? An electric guitar player over a banjo player? Do you see what I am getting at? It's not a simple yes or maybe question.

I get students coming on a regular basis who are interested in learning " hand drums " , not specific , just hand drumming . Some are interested in conga and some bongo , djembe etc . My advice to them is nearly always to learn conga first as i feel the conga technique can be applied to other hand drums easier than the other way around . I have found djembe players struggle to play congas in a traditional latin way because there technique is very " open " and the heel /toe movement is alien to them . I have had the chance to sit in with some good djembe players and while i never pretend to be one i can sit in easily enough and get good enough sounds from the drum , i will never have the stlye and feel they have but because i have good sounds on the conga they easily translate across . Bougarabou is much closer in technique .... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xrDoyId ... re=related

" Is a technically savvy conga player at an advantage over the newbie when he sits down (or stands up with) a djembe?"

Yes.

Not a hard question at all.

Same way a trumpet player would have an advantage over a complete novice if the two both picked up a tuba.

As long as the conga player realises it's not just a funny shaped conga and doesn't try to learn djembe technique he/she wuld have an advantage. No question

I've been watching this thread for a bit and just want to chime in on a couple of things JC said...

The idea of the head drummer of a village passing the tradition to his sons is true in some sense in the case of the village, but that tradition is evolved quite a bit. The best musicians these days (or at least the most mobile ones) end up in the cities performing in the local ballet companies. Lots of them go on to tour the world with groups or bands or on artist visas and end up teaching or living abroad where they can makle more money.

Drumming in Africa is very much alive and evolving as much as music does everywhere in the world. The difference as I see it in Africa is that you can still take a trip back in time to the village to understand the context and source of the rhythm and dance. The mask dances are still performed traditionally in Mali, Guinea etc... But many of the common rhythms have been modernized over the last 40-50 years as the musicians from various regions have come together to perform in the cities.

The tradition of family passing these traditions on lies with the djeli or griot, who usually play balafon or kora. They know all the songs and histories of their specific areas and are historically bound much tighter by the tradition of passing knowledge through oral history and music. Anyone may play drums, but griot is a special thing.

The biggest difference that I've found between djembe and conga technique is the slap. Really there are only 3 sounds that you produce on the djembe. I tend not to stand with the djembe unless I'm performing with it. Especially in dance classes. But JC is right about the contact being much more brief. You really do come off the head as though it were a hot iron. I will say that my djembe technique suffers a bit from playing so much conga. I tend to use a lot more of my hand than I should. Overall though I think playing both is mutually beneficial. It keep s your hands in shape and I feel like playing one informs the other. But they are definitely two different drums with two different voices.

Garvin wrote:The biggest difference that I've found between djembe and conga technique is the slap. Really there are only 3 sounds that you produce on the djembe.

2005, Guinea. We had Famoudou Konate visiting our place and asked him how many different slaps he can produce on djembe.
He counted on his fingers and told: - "Seven"

I can get 6 different slaps on a conga drum...no problem...3 different muted slaps...1 open slap ...Bata slap(top center of drum with left hand using the last 3 finders on the hand)) and the Octave slap...

Im gonna have to post these slaps because I KNOW u guys think Im talking shit again...JC

OK CUCO AND U OTHERS...here are my 6 slaps all different sounding on the conga drum....

http://youtu.be/MV-6aKrBwuQ

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