In the last issue, we looked at the open treble tone on the smaller bongo and the lower tone stroke on the lower bongo. This time we will do a whistle stop tour of a few other tones and muting techniques, starting out with the ‘slap’ stroke.
The slap stroke is the sharp cutting sound we also find in conga and djembe technique.
To explain it simply, you cup the hand and ‘grab’. After you have struck the head of the bongo, you leave the fingertips on the head for a millisecond and grab slightly, like you were pulling some string towards yourself.
It is not a stroke that necessarily needs to be played loudly or forcefully. When it is played correctly, it ‘pops’ and stands out distinctly from the other strokes...



Examples and further information are in Issue 300 (available from June 2021) of Rhythm Magazine.


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