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Hi all,

I just thought ir would be nice to hear your oppinions/experience for percussion tunning for pop/funk etc songs.
Let's say 2 congas and a bongo.

If you have quint or quart between congas, do you "tie" bongo to them ?
Any particular octave to "jump-off" ?

Roka

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Not to be disagreeable, because I agree with pretty much all of the above, except

leedy2 wrote:Many out there will say that a drum is tuned to B & G and other notes, no such thing on conga drum.

When I play for my blues band, I tune my tumba to match my guitarist's G, the conga to match the guitarist's D. It makes a huge difference to the overall sound, because G is a blue note (b3) against an E chord, dominant 7 against A chord, root in key of G, fifth in key of C etc. and there a lot of similar relationships between the D note and the chords most likely to be played in a guitar-based band. By so tuning, I can make two note open tone melodies using pitches that resonate well in most keys that the guitar will play in. I use thick cowhide, and check tuning right before each set - takes about 10 seconds per drum if I need to re-tune, because the drift will be slight, maybe an eighth of a turn on 3 or four lugs restores the tuning. And I play two or three patios every week during the warmer months (bike nights and parties mainly) where there is a considerable temperature swing during the gig as the sun sets.

For another artist I play with sometimes, I tune my tumba down to E and my conga to A, as that works with the majority of his material.

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OK my friend I think I understand - when using the music staff to notate drums, the position of a note on the staff is unrelated to the tuning of the drum that it signifies. I like the way you explain that, and also explanation of the variation for Latin music. Thanks, that is good information I didn't have before!

But going back to Roka's initial question about tuning for pop and funk, the concept I wanted to convey was that, based on my experience, by tuning the conga, tumba, bongos, etc. to important scalar tones that are found in the predominant keys that the band plays in, the open tones in the percussion patterns make a really nice melodic/harmonic contribution to the music being played, which is over and above the rhythmic contribution of the patterns, i.e., the open tones "sing" within the music, at least to my ear!

Actually, for bongos (when I carry them with me), my macho I tune without regard to pitch - I tune it up as high as I think I can get away with without splitting the skin - I like it tight! But the hembra I will tune so that it cooperates harmonically with my conga and tumba tunings. I use the melodic relationship found in the blues line "its cheaper to keep her" to establish the tuning relationship between those three drums.

Which brings us back to tuning congas/bongos/timbales to actual notes and intervals.
I agree with you both. I am also a sax player and it took me a while to get used to the notation for percussion, however there seems to be no standard way of showing percussion other than drums, so it can be confusing for newbies. On top of that when playing with others, a well tuned set of tubs does sound good.

Dice

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I don't disagree, but by keeping the drums tuned within the (somewhat notional) usable range as based on the size of the drum, such as is shown in the attached scheme that was published by Gon Bops, the richness of the sound is still present. I consider the range notional because it may be different depending upon the type and thickness of the skins that are mounted on the drum.

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Drums with synthetic skins can be tuned and stay in tune very easily compared to hide heads . Anga did a tune with multiple tunes congas on his debut album .Great track .

leedy2 wrote:The conga drum does not have melodic tones it what referred as tone deaf instrument.

I don't agree with this. Can you say the interval between tres dos and tumba is usually perfect fourth? Can you sing the basic tone of your drum? Can you play melodies on your drums? I can, and I'm sure you can too... If so, the conga have melodic tones...

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leedy2 wrote:to play a melody on a conga you need a complete scale of drums, meaning need more than 3 drums that is from a 9 to 14'' drums and include bongos of different tones and sizes then you can play a melody . What you are playing with a 3 drum are just tones in a melody you have lows, mid-range, low notes, sharp, flats and in order to do this you need a lot of drums . Take a look a Daniel Mele videos so you can get an Idea on you tube.

Sure, you need more drums to play some "tunes", but even three tones melody is melody. You can tune your drum to whatever exact pitch you want, including the "A440". So, the GonBops sheet is maybe promotional, but naturaly can be applied.
Sorry for hijacking this thread, I just wanted to clear it... I would also be interested in the relationships between conga/bongos tuning...

I just tune my tumba and segundo to a guaguanco that I have in my head (or ears I guess.) I feel that it's consistent but I know that it changes all of the time. Probably influenced by the last guaguanco that I have heard. Then I crank my quinto up. Allowing for the natural resonance of the individual drums of course.

Lately I have been tuning my quinto a bit lower, allowing the skin to be a little looser so that I can dig in more. Which makes me think about a requinto to get a higher pitch without tuning so tight, for some situations.

I'm sure that this is real helpful for all

I have experienced my tuning drop lower the longer I have been playing, I think I used to tune higher as it was easier to get those bright slaps when I didn't have good technique. I read a comment by Isaac from JCR talking about lifting the notes off the skins, sounded strange when I first read it but it's come clear to me now.

Barrie