Two small drums joined by a block of wood: the high macho and the deeper hembra. Strike the edge for the open tone, the middle for the finger, hold Shift for a slap. Then start the martillo, the eight-stroke hammer of Cuban son, and play it yourself over the clave and a conga.
The bongos are played with fingertips and thumbs, fast and light. Here they are recorded, with the band around them.
The small macho, on the left for a right-handed player, gets most of the work: thumb, finger, open tone and slap. The larger hembra, on the right, answers with deeper open and muted tones. Strike the edge, the middle, or hold Shift for a slap.
Every stroke of the macho and the hembra is a recording from the Versilian Community Sample Library, in the public domain under CC0, with two takes that alternate. The slap adds a short crack to the recorded finger stroke.
Thumb, finger, thumb, finger, then an open tone on the hembra on beat four: the martillo, or hammer, is the eight-stroke pattern bongo players keep going under the singer. Play it over the clave 3-2 or 2-3, slower, or try Call on the hembra, a GOONS original.
Press My bongo part: the conga, the clave and the güiro or bell keep going, your lines light up, and every stroke flashes blue when it lands in time on the right drum.
In the son conjunto the bongos sit next to the congas and the clave. The grooves bring them in, recorded too, so you hear where the hammer fits.
A S D F play thumb, finger, open and slap on the macho, J and K the open and muted tones of the hembra. Keys are read by position, so QWERTY, AZERTY and QWERTZ keyboards all work.
Strike the edge of the macho for the open tone, the middle for the finger; on the keyboard D and S.
Strike the edge of the larger drum, or press J, for its deeper open tone.
Press Play the groove and follow the grid: thumb, finger, thumb, finger, then the hembra.
Press My bongo part and play it yourself over the conga and the clave.
| Type | Bongos (Cuban pair of hand drums), playable on this page, free |
|---|---|
| Strokes | Macho: thumb, finger, open tone, slap; hembra: open tone, muted tone |
| Sound | Recordings from the Versilian Community Sample Library, CC0, 2 takes per stroke, in one 180 KB file shared with the congas |
| Grooves | Martillo (clave 3-2), martillo with güiro (clave 2-3), slow martillo, Call on the hembra (GOONS original) |
| Parts | Macho, hembra, conga tumbao, clave, bell or güiro; your bongo part can be muted and played by you |
| Tempo | 60 to 180 BPM |
| Keyboard | Macho A S D F, hembra J K; mouse, touch and pen with pressure |
| Requirements | Any modern browser with Web Audio - Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari |
Bongos are a pair of small open-bottomed drums joined by a wooden bridge: the smaller macho ("male") and the larger hembra ("female"). They were first documented in eastern Cuba in the late nineteenth century, in the changüí and the son, and were popular all over the island by the 1910s. They are held between the knees and played with the fingers and the palms.
In the son and in salsa, the bongo player keeps the martillo going through the verses: eight even strokes per bar, mostly on the macho. When the band moves into the lively montuno section, many players put the bongos down and pick up a hand-held cowbell, the bongo bell, which is why a bell joins some of the grooves here.
Add the deep voices of the congas, sit on the cajón, or travel to the darbouka of the Arab world, and find every instrument on the world music studio map.
Yes. The bongos at the top of this page are free, with no account and nothing to install. They run in your browser with the Web Audio API.
The smaller, higher drum, on the left for a right-handed player. The larger, deeper one on the right is the hembra.
The basic bongo pattern of Cuban son and salsa: eight even strokes per bar, thumb and finger alternating on the macho, with an open tone on the hembra on the fourth beat. Martillo means hammer in Spanish.
Yes. Every stroke of the macho and the hembra, the conga, the clave, the bell and the güiro come from the Versilian Community Sample Library, released under CC0. Only the crack of the slap is added by synthesis.
Yes. Press My bongo part to mute your lines, then play them with the mouse, your fingers or the keyboard. Each stroke flashes blue when it lands in time, and a counter keeps the score.
The bongos are free, with no account. GOONS Studio adds a looper, synths, drum machines and a sequencer that play together - free for 7 days, no card required.
Free on this page, no account. Play the online congas →