When are congos used instead of bongos and vice versa?!
Question: My brother's getting one of them for Christmas, but he doesn't know which one to get.
Answers: My brother's getting one of them for Christmas, but he doesn't know which one to get.
BTW, it's conga... Congo is a country in Africa... ;-)
Conga drums are probably the most versatile and can be played in many styles of music besides Latin American.
Bongos are generally used as a higher voice for accents or a complementary rhythm. They also fit in many styles of music, but alone are not quite as versatile as congas.
The playing technique is different too. The full hand (heel, fingertips, palm and slap) is used to play congas. Bongo technique uses mostly the fingers.
Hope your brother enjoys playing them. If he can swing it, lessons would be really helpful.
peace
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It's just a matter of preference.