Can anyone help a bongo cajon noob?

[Timewall]

First off, hi all - both to the forum and the world of percussion, as I am completely new. I'm a bassist, so percussion is a new frontier for me.

I purchased a Meinl Snare Bongo Cajon and I was hoping someone here might have one and could give me some direction on how to learn to start playing it. I've looked at cajon and bongo resources, but this thing seems to be kind of unique. Like an other instrument, I want to learn the right way to play and practice it before I develop any bad habits. I truly appreciate any help yall can give me in starting my journey into percussion.

[bongobro]

Welcome aboard, Timewall! I don't play the bongo cajon myself, but if this is the Meinl model I think it is, it resembles a pair of bongos made with solid wood. As such, they can be played with either the hands (as you would play regular skin-headed bongos) or with sticks.

I know at least one DrumChatter has a similar bongo cajon set-up, so here's hoping he'll answer the question a little more fully than I can.

Enjoy!

[SladeGT40]

I recently bought both the Snare Bongo Cajon and Regular Bongo Cajon that Meinl makes from my local drum shop. I'd never played bongos for real before then and I had one of them demo some basic bongo techniques. They make a great sound (i took a piece of cardboard and slipped it under the snares on the bigger side to more mimic bass and snare) and easy to sit between your knees. That being said, if you plan on using them as a percussive addition to a gig make sure to mic them. I played with a keyboardist and acoustic guitarist and couldn't move my hands for three days afterwards. bongos don't make good backbeats

[Timewall]

Thanks for your replies - I really like the idea of using a bit of cardboard to dampen the snares on the larger side. I think the snares have a cool sound, but that sounds like a great way to get a deeper sound fast.

What bongo techniques do you find work well on the bongo cajon? There's quite a bit of bongo material out there, so I figure that I can use that to get me started - but it would be nice to know what particular techniques and areas to focus on . Thanks again.

[SladeGT40]

i did cardboard mainly cause i was too lazy to find a screw driver to take them out for good . as i said, my guy taught me basic techniques for getting different sounds out of the bongos, but im not sure of their names. middle finger on the deeper side near the edge gives a consistent bass note; first finger on the (snare) higher side gives a rimshot type sound. if you use your left thumb to mute the snare side you can get a very woody sound when you use your first finger.

thats about all i got :-/

[Timewall]

Hmmm, so individual fingers can be used. I had been playing with them all in unison, striking the surface together. This may be a silly question, but could you give me an idea of how many different tones you've been able to produce? As a non-percussionist trying to make my way, I'm trying to develop a little mental catalog of available tones for this particular drum and how to make those tones....coming from the world of notes, that's the only way it makes sense to me to do it

[bongobro]

Not a silly question at all. The basic bongo rhythm, the martillo, consists of a simple eight-count (1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &) rhythm played on the small (macho) and large (hembra) heads on the bongo. The sounds produced depend on which heads you hit, whether or not you use single fingers, multiple fingers, and, on bongos themselves, if you tighten the heads with a thumb or other part of one hand while striking the head with the fingers of the other hand. You can get low notes, higher notes, and sometimes some high-pitched pops and cracks based on the way the fingers and hands are placed.

On a bongo cajon, of course, you can also use sticks. If you can find it in your music store (or Google the title), get Mastering the Art of Bongo and Conga Technique by Ted Reed. The book was first published in 1961, but it's an excellent primer on bongo and conga beats for noobs (and a great reference for veteran skin-slappers).

Once you get the basics down, the rest, as shown and played on CDs and DVDs, comes easier...and easier for you than it was for me to start plunking notes on a bass!

[PsyAbi]

I play a bongo cajon that was made for me by SPIRITINTHEWOODS. It is more like a trad bongo and unlike the MEINL because it is two drums joined by a center block. I got it so I could travel fast and light when I need to. I agree with BB - get Tex Reed's book and practice the basics and variations as you would on a trad bongo.

But - the wood top on a cajon doesn't have the give that a skin has so you really won't be able to get the really high pop that you can get on a trad bongo when you press down on the skin with your thumb while striking the edge. The cajons are great but a bongo cajon is not really a substitute for a "real" bongo.

Also, because there is no give, take it slow and easy. You can hurt your hands if you play a cajon too hard and too long.

[AndyC]

Hi.

I may be the other member that someone mentions earlier. however, I can't be too much help. I really have no idea of proper hand drum techniques, everything I do is just me trying to replicate the feel of a kit. I can say, that the guy who plays cajon in my second video on here:- http://www.drumchat.com/showthread.p...gos-13717.html ...has has some hand drum training, and gets a much greater range of sounds out of both my Bongo Cajon, and a regular Cajon than I do. as such, The Ted reed book is very interesting to me too, and I will pick it up next time I am in town.

I have to say that from my experience, in an acoustic situation, they have plenty of volume. Sometimes it's deceptive, particularly if you are sitting against a wall, as the sound bounces back into the room, and is a lot louder than it sounds from where you are playing them.

Whatever you do, Enjoy the experience.

Andy

[Ned Lyons]

I agree with PsyAbi. Hit the drum FAST not HARD. On these cajons there is a sweet spot on each- find it and stay there (like a tennis racket). Cajons, like all percussion are for hands- not sticks. It gets easier as you experiment.
I have both LP and Meinl- both are good.
Ned

[Keifie]

I want to learn the right way to play and practice it before I develop any bad habits.

Develop those bad habits -- percussion stuff tends to tell you how to play it.
techniques learned on one instrument can work just as well on others -- if it sounds good and feels good then it's right.