M-Audio Wizoo Latigo [27/34] Claves

Latigo • User Guide 4

English

Claves

Claves are a pair of cylindrical pieces of polished hardwood, about

8 inches long and one inch in diameter. The stick in the player’s non-

dominant hand is held with cupped ﬁngers to form a sound chamber

(resonator), which changes the claves pitch when the ﬁngers are

ﬂexed. Claves are sometimes hollow and carved in the middle to

amplify the sound and produce a sharp tick or ringing sound.

Congas (Including Quinta)

Congas are long barrel-shaped Afro-Cuban hardwood or ﬁberglass

drums with a calfskin head. Played by the ﬁngers and palms of the

hands, they are usually used in a set of two or three different sizes. The

largest drum in a Conga set is the Tumba (12- 13 inches in diameter),

the medium drum is the Conga (11-12 Inches), and the smallest drum

is the Quinta (around 11 inches). The Quinta is used mainly for soloing

and introducing new rhythms, the Conga and Tumba for the base

rhythms.

Cowbell

Descendant from the bells traditionally hung around the necks of

cattle, musical cowbells are clapperless and struck with a wooden

stick. The tone is modulated by striking different parts of the bell and

by damping (with the hand holding the bell) to produce an open or

closed sound. The hand cowbell is usually quite large and often plays

open strokes on the beat to keep time. Sets of mounted cowbells are

often used in combination with Timbales on a stand.

Cuica

The Cuica is a friction drum from Brazil, typically used in Samba. A

stick is afﬁxed in the center of the drumhead and the squeaky, animal-

like sound is made by rubbing the stick between the thumb and the

foreﬁnger with a damp sponge or piece of leather. Adding tension

with the other hand to the drumhead changes the pitch.

Djembe

The Djembe is a large single-headed goblet shaped ceremonial drum

from West Africa. Beaten with the hands, the Djembe is traditionally

carved out of a single log, using a head of goat or antelope hide and

is capable of a huge range of tones, ranging from the rim slap to deep

resonant bass tones produced by striking the center of the drum.

Ganza

The Ganza is a large and very loud Brazilian metal tube shaker ﬁlled

with shells, beads, seeds, rocks or metal shot and primarily used in

Samba music.