Percussion Instruments

  Batá Drums

These are made up of three hourglass-shaped drums of different sizes (as shown in the picture). Depending on the size, the sound and echo the instrument will perform. The design of these instruments were influenced by African drums.

The larger one is known as Iyá (mother drum) which creates the deepest tones, the medium one Itótele (father drum) and finally the samller one is Okónkolo (baby drum).These together form like a percussion family. Each drum has two leather membranes of various sizes which produce different sounds.

A red resinous substance of ritual significance, fardela, is placed on the center of the major head, modifying the vibrations of the drum head when played.
 

Interesting Detail: Before, these were used for religious or semi-religious ceremonies. Specially from the native culture from the land of Nigeria.

Bongos

The bongos are of Afro-Cuban origin and are used mainly in Latin American music. This musical instrument comes form the musical style Son. The bigger drum is known as hembra (female) and the smaller one macho (male)

It consists of two small drums, of different sizes, held together by a strap or a piece of wood or metal. It makes a separation between the sound boxes so tunes aren`t mixed. Each skin has a skin which is tunned to a different pitch. Depending on the place where the skin is played, the sound it will produced.

The main musical function of the bongo is accompaning the melody and creates great stability in the song.The bongo is involved in  many genres like pop music, jazz and salsa.

Congas

Congas are typical insrtrument which origin is from Cuba.These have a staved wooden or fiberglass shell, and a screw-tensioned drumhead. They are usually played in sets of two to four with the fingers and palms of the hand. 

In Cuba, congas are called tumbadoras. Conga players are called congueros or tumbadores. They have a skin top which, like the bongos ,use a system of tuning where some parts of the skin produce high or lower sounds.

The most well-known rhythmical music which are played with congas is "marcha".This rhythm is commonly played on 1 to 3 congas. The marcha is the most common rhythm in Salsa/Son.


Timbales

Timbales are shallow drums with metal casing. They are shallower in shape than congas, and usually much higher tuned. The player (timbalero) uses a variety of stick strokes and rolls on the skins to produce a wide range of sounds during solos or accompanying the melody. They have a fully adjustable tripod stand.

The timbales are a pair of "Cubanized" orchestral timpani, originally used in the nineteenth century Cuban music genre known as danzón.