A different kind of conga slap

[pavloconga]

One of the most intriguing (and definitely the loudest) kind of slaps I have ever heard on the congas was shown and demonstrated to me by master conguero Sandalio 'El Macho' Calderon in Havana, Cuba.

It's a variation on the rumba slap (usually you slap with the dominant hand, while the other hand is more or less flat and exerting slight pressure on the drum head).

He demonstrated to me his technique of a different kind of rumba slap where he still exerted pressure with his left hand on the drum head... but he formed his left hand into a hollow so that it became in effect like a sound chamber which greatly amplified the volume of the slap. Played by him it was almost deafening (and kind of mind blowing). He also showed to me the difference in volume between the two techniques and how you could use both slap techniques in the course of playing. This kind of slap was usually used in a rumba context.

I would be interested to know: has anyone seen this slap technique used on the congas?

Pavlo
Australia