Bongos, as we know them today, came from the Afro-Cuban music known as son in the mid to late 1800's. During the early years of son the bongos were the sole drum used in most groups. Throughout history the bongos have played an important role in most popular styles of music.

The martillo is the fundamental rhythm of the bongo. In Spanish it means hammer. like the hammer, the martillo nails down a solid structure. This structure establishes a strong sense of time for the musical piece. The martillo represents for the bongo what the tumbao is for the tumbadora (conga). Similar to the ride cymbal pattern in jazz the martillo is the foundation upon which improvisation can be built and often returns.

Legend for Rhythm Charts
r- right
l- left
cs - closed slap (left thumb is placed against head while right strikes with finger(s)
f - finger(s)
th - thumb
rs - rim shot with finger(s)
o - open stroke
* - rest
macho-small drum
hembra-large drum

The most common variation occurs in the second bar on the upbeat afterfour (4+). The left thumb strike is replaced by a accented left rim shot on the macho. The most common difficulty for the new bongoseros is what to do after this note, on the downbeat of one, (1) when repeating the martillo. Basically there are three main options that will maintain the flow and continuity of the martillo when repeating the rhythm. 1) Replace the closed slap with a rest 2) Play a soft right open stroke on the hembra 3) play a soft right open stroke on the macho.

I hope this information will heLP you master the basic martillo variation and encourages you to to create your own variations. May you have many years of enjoyment with bongo drumming.

For more detailed information on the martillo and bongos in general see The Bongo Book/CD by Trevor Salloum (Mel Bay Publications (1-800-863-5229)

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