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Hi all.
HTSTHTOO
is this pattern tumbao or marcha?
By tumbao does it mean it should be played exclusively on tumba?
Thanks
Peace Olivah
PS : I'm a beginner

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Olivah:

You may use both terms. Some people also call the rhythm by the style of music it is applied to, f.i. "Mambo", "Guaracha" or whatever. What really matters is that you know what is meant and play what is required as well as you can.

I have heard Cubans refer to "tumbao" as any kind of ostinato pattern. In a narrower sense, tumbao describes the movement of the conga drum(s) - alias "tumbadora" - and the bass, both of which largely emphasize the "4" in the first place, and then the "2+".

Marcha can refer to the same thing, but doesn't have to. Marcha is anything like what US-Americans might call a "ride". It is your basic fundamental rhythm pattern that you use for standard accompaniment. But "marcha" also implies a certain quality; the way in which you perform this ride: Your basic marcha should be solid, strong, confident, relentlessly moving forward. And this may also be said of an entire percussion- or rhythm section; provided each individual player is able to strut his own "marcha"!

Skip the commercial nomenclature of tumba - conga - quinto. It is musicologically inaccurate.

I hope that helps.

Thomas

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Leedy,

A small correction the word Tumbao. In Spanish it meaning is beat . In many parts of world they change it's meaning but when refered conga it means a beat that is being played nothing specific .

I concur with this additional remark of yours. As a matter of fact, I said the same thing, in a different thread, years ago.

Tumbadora or Tumba is the reference given to the largest conga drum mostly referred by Cuban's and many Hispanic around the world .

I am rather familiar with the terminology of macho and hembra, something that has only been confirmed by Changuito in his video (I think it was "Evolution of the Tumbadoras"). I suppose the distinction of tumba(dora), conga and quinto came about when percussion companies were looking for product denominations of their respective items. In fact, "conga" comes from "tambor de Conga", meaning the drum used for the first time in the comparsas, playing ritmo Conga; "tumbadora" was/is the drum that plays the beat (tumbao), which is often the same.

"Quinto" refers to the solo drum in Rumba and Conga, period. It defines a function rather than the size of the drum (although admittedly the quinto is usually the smallest drum in the ensemble). The quinto is a conga drum, but not a tumbadora. A cajón can be a quinto, too.

If drummers have meanwhile adopted the commercial nomenclature, that's fine as long as it helps in communication; but obviously, it does not.

Thomas

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thanks Leedy, Danke schön Thomas.
Olivah