by Raymond » Mon Aug 04, 2003 1:25 pm
The notation you want is foror conga o tambora?
In merengue, the patterns of the conga normally follow "a caballo' (on a horse) beats with its variations which resemble sort of a "songo" type beat. (Sometimes in "pambiche" patterns of merengue arrangements which are not pambiche completely, the conga could be sort of providing a "complementary" beats like sort of soloing. I do not know if you know this song but there is a song by Olga Tanon named "Sin ti No Soy Nada" in which there are about 8 bars at the beginning of a song with a "pambiche" and the conga sort does 4 continous eight notes in the quinto/conga bars and improvises along those lines).
In pambiche like in the traditional merengue, contrary to the new "maco" style in merengue in which the conga and tambora almost do the same beats, the tambora is the ones that provides the principal beat that gives the "pambiche" feel to the song. When there is no tambora, the conga does practically the same beats at the tambora would do.
Saludos!