(Cuban: tumbadora).
Afro-Cuban barrel drum (see Drum, §I, 2(ii)(b)). It is classified as a membranophone: struck drum. It has a long, barrel-shaped shell, of wood or fibreglass, about 76 cm deep and a single head between 25 and 33 cm in diameter. Early types had thick vellum pegged or nailed to the shell; on later instruments the drumhead is screw-tensioned, with the hoop well below the rim of the shell (as with bongos) to allow free action of the fingers. The pitch can be raised by applying pressure to the drumhead, from edge to centre, with the heel of the hand. Congas were integral to the Latin-American dance bands of the 1930s and have since become one of the main rhythm drums in all types of music. They are usually used in sets of two to four, of different sizes: the largest drum is the tumba (c33 cm), then the conga (30 cm), the quinto (28 cm) and the nino (25 cm). In the hands of an expert, congas are essentially hand drums; they are frequently played with sticks in the orchestra.
JAMES BLADES/JAMES HOLLAND