The percussion sections of Afro-Cuban ensembles do not traditionally include drum set. These ensembles often feature bongo, congas, timbales, and small hand percussion like maracas and guiro. Adapting the traditional Afro-Cuban rhythms for drum set, however, happens everyday as more and more drummers dive deep into Latin music.
The traditional rhythms and the instruments used to play the them are a great place to start when adapting the parts. Voicing the traditional parts is easier if you know the cáscara pattern en clave.
Each of the following Afro-Cuban style examples explain the traditional context as well as the adaptation possibilities on the drum set. Each section includes variations of the rhythms or instrumentation, as well as phrasing ideas and things to consider while playing Afro-Cuban rhythms for drum set.
1. Cha Cha
The cha cha is short for cha cha cha. Alongside the mambo, the cha cha branched off from the donzón. Perhaps the danzón is where the cha cha gets the downbeat accents of this laid back yet driving groove.
Cha cha percussion parts include three critical instrumental parts — the guiro, conga tumbao, and cowbell (compana). These parts are traditionally played by three different people, but all of them can be played by one person on a drum set.
To adapt these parts to the instruments commonly included in a drum set, you’ll have to make a few decisions. Consider the timbre and dynamics when making choices on how to voice the cowbell, for example. You could play it on the bell of the ride cymbal or as a cross stick on the snare drum — each giving you a very different sound for the same part.
| Cowbell | Bell of the ride cymbal, snare cross stick |
| Conga tumbao | Cross stick (slap) and toms (open tones), kick drum |
| Guiro | Hi-hat with foot or sticks |
The choices you make for one part will affect the choices for the other parts. If you choose to play the cowbell part with the cross stick on the snare, it will be harder to play the conga tumbao with the toms. In this case, the kick drum can pick up the conga part since it’s not being played on the toms.
Drum Key
Variation 1 – Cymbal Bell
Using the bell of the ride cymbal is my favorite way to approach a cha cha groove on drum set. There’s something about the wash of the ride cymbal bell that exemplifies the sound of Latin music on drum set.
Variation 2 – Cowbell
The traditional cowbell instrumentation works every time. It’s certainly the least intrusive on the authenticity of playing Afro-Cuban rhythms for drum set.
Variation 3 – Hi-Hat Slurps Guiro Simulation
Playing the guiro part with sticks on the hi-hat can really feature the long and short sounds. Notice that the cowbell part is played with the snare drum cross stick. This sounds really cool, especially when you have a conga player laying down a tumbao.
Variation 4 – Conga Tumbao
The conga tumbao in the example below includes the lower rack tom. This part accents the bombo note of clave and is supported by the kick drum in the example below. The kick drum on beat three is optional, especially if the groove is too heavy for the song.
Variation 5 – Buzz Stroke Guiro on Hi-Hat
This example features a third way to play the guiro part on the hi-hat. It uses buzz strokes with the tip of the stick on the top of the hi-hat cymbals and works great for quieter dynamics or if you need a different timbre.
To get long buzz strokes, pinch your fulcrum for the initial stroke and release it a little to produce multiple bounces — as many as possible.
So many hit songs in several different genres use the cha cha. Songs like “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson are generally not thought of as a Latin tune, but it fits the style.
2. Bembé (Afro-Cuban 6/8)
The name “bembé” refers to several different things. Religious music in Cuba is a bembé if it’s accompanied by secular instrumentation. In New York, on the other hand, you may hear people call the use of batá drums to accompany religious music a bembé.
Not to confuse the issue, but it’s a rhythm that varies in instrumentation and drum parts from one region of Cuba to another. In some cases, it’s different from one neighborhood to another.
The bembé that we play on the drum set is a bit more standard. Although there are variations on the bell patterns and the drum conversations, the bembé drum beat is usually called upon when a Latin tune is in 6/8 (or 12/8).
The example below uses the standard African bell pattern and an adaptation of traditional drum parts. The drum parts are played on the toms, and the bell pattern can be played on the cymbal, cowbell, or shell of a drum.
Variation 1 – Bembe Segundo Tom Pattern
Variation 2 – Rumba Columbia Tom Pattern
3. Mambo
The mambo, like the cha cha, developed in the 1940s out of the danzón. It was a section of a song that became a unique rhythmic style and song form and dance.
The timbale rhythms for mambo are the basis for music like salsa. Timbaleros generally play a casacara on the drum shells and the mambo bell pattern on the large cowbell.
When adapting these Afro-Cuban rhythms for drum set, you can also add the conga rhythm if there’s no conguero playing in the ensemble. The examples below include the cáscara pattern and the mambo bell, as well as the conga tumbao.
If the ensemble has a conga player, the drum set can play clave in one hand and the mambo bell in the other. The drum set player could also play the mambo bell and bongo bell patterns together, which is something that a lot of timba and salsa drummers play when the ensemble doesn’t have a bongocero.
Variation 1 – Mambo Bell
Variation 2 – Cáscara
4. Songo
The band Los Van Van created the songo in the 1970s. It is the only style on this list that was developed on a drum set. It . The style incorporates a lot of folkloric rhythms, feel, and improvisation into a more modern dance hall setting.
You can easily identify the songo by it’s half-note pulse. Like the bongo bell pattern that keeps a salsa ensemble together as the dynamics and rhythmic complexity increase, the songo has the half-note pulse as an anchor.
For many drummers, their first songo is shown in Variation 1 (below). We often called it the “Steve Houghton songo” because drum set teachers were sharing it in the 1990s after he published Essential Styles.
Variation 1 – Steve Houghton Songo
The changuito songo is more authentic because he was one of the creators of the rhythm. He played drum set and timbales in Los Van Van, the band credited with the development of the songo. His examples are shown below. Notice how he varies the filler rhythms and the kick drum.
Variation 2 – Changuito Cross Stick
Variation 3 – Changuito Snare Fill In
5. Bolero
The bolero is perhaps the most Spanish rhythm and dance that Afro-Cuban music ensembles still play. It’s often used for ballads because of it’s slow tempo style.
In the 1930s, the bolero mixed with son Cubano instrumentation, and the beginning of the modern bolero formed. This evolution included the introduction of congas and eventually bongo and timbales to perform boleros.
The two main rhythms for the Cuban bolero include the parts for maracas and congas. These rhythms are adaptable to the drum set in a few different ways. The examples below show the maraca part played on hi-hat, but it could also be played on the shell or rims of a drum.
Variation 1 includes the conga conversation every measure. If this part is too busy for the song or phrase, open it up to a two-measure conga phrase shown in the second example.
Variation 1 – Basic Bolero Drum Beat
Variation 2 – Bolero Drum Beat
6. Mozambique
Steve Gadd’s performance on “Late in the Evening” by Paul Simon introduced many drummers to Mozambique. Gadd plays the bell pattern and filler rhythm on the rims of different drums. This is very cool because the different rim tones point back to the comparsa roots of the Mozambique.
Cuban musicians developed the Mozambique from the conga de comparsa rhythms. New York drummers adapted it, creating a similar rhythm and feel.
The New York Style is already adapted for drum set, so it’s the go-to for this list. I suggest trying the Steve Gadd approach to the rhythm because it can help with voicing it around the drums. This also helps with incorporating improvisation without losing the fundamental rhythm.
Variation 1 – New York Style Mozambique
Variation 2 – Steve Gadd Mozambique
7. Guaguancó
Guaguancó on drum set requires knowledge of the drum parts, improvisations, and how all of this fits with clave. The best way to adapt this rumba style is to play clave and add the salidor, segundo, and quinto drum parts.
Variation 1 – Guaguancó Basic Habana Style
The following examples include 3:2 rumba clave, kick drum, hi-hat, and drum part variations. The kick drum plays the bombo clave accent, and the hi-hat simulates the shekere part.
Variation 2 – Guaguancó Segundo Convo 1
The segundo is the conga drum’s part, and the salidor is the tumba’s. The quinto is the quinto.
Variation 3 – Guaguancó Segundo Convo 2
The segundo’s drum part plays on the downbeat of the two side of rumba clave.
The last example switches up the groove to incorporate more drums. The snare drum fills in between the tom parts while following rhythms common to the quinto part. Since clave is not played with the hands, it could be played with the foot or by another musician.
Variation 4 – Guaguancó Snare Drum Fill In
Final Thoughts
Afro-Cuban rhythms for drum set are a study that every drummer should explore. These rhythms help with funk and rock grooves alike, building new coordination and syncopation ideas. Furthermore, it’s important to note the significance of Latin music on the use and development of drum set playing