Explore Latin percussion rhythms right from your browser with this virtual bongo pair. Tap them with mouse or trackpad to play. For those who like more feel, they also responds to your computer keyboard. They are designed to feel responsive under your hands, whether you are jamming away to some music or practicing basic patterns.
Two drums is joined together via a centre block. The larger of the two drums is called the hembra (left). It is lower pitched than the other one which are called the macho (right). These are the usual positions if you play it as a right-handed player. You will hear that hitting the rim ring at the edge of the drum produce a sharp slap sound whereas hitting the centre of either drum head produces an open tone. In this respect it is like how real bongos are played. You can use this to produce texture and contrast in your rhythmic playing.
How to Use the Virtual Bongos
The controls is set up easy by mapping them to letter keys if you like playing with keyboard. The right hand is set up for the macho drum: use the K key for the open tone and the L key for the slap. Similarly, the left hand are set up for the hembra drum: Use the A key for the open tone and S for the slap. They’re placed nicely under your hands so that you don’t have to stretch when switching back and forth between two drums.
Alternatively, just tap the Space bar to play and pause the automatically looping pattern. To turn the help panel on/off (in case you forget which buttons do what), press the question mark key.
Controls to modify how you want to play are located below instrument. The tempo slider controls the rate at which the automatic martillo pattern plays. The martillo pattern is a classic pattern made up of eight strokes that loop endlessly. If you increase the tempo, the pattern will be quicker; perfect if you’re looking to build some endurance and speed. On the other hand, decreasing the tempo will slow it down so there’s more time to hit the right note.
The tuning slider modifies the pitch of both drums equally. Raise or lower the tuning to suit key of other instruments that you may be playing alongside. The volume slider controls the master output level, making sure that sound fits comfortabley within your mix. Finally, the fullscreen button will expand the widget to fill your whole screen. This removes any distractions whilst you play.
The martillo pattern is automated but adding manual play to this would of further improve the use of this widget. Press the spacebar to start the loop. Then, use either keyboard or your mouse to add accents on the off beats to really build up the sound. This is like what the pros do when they come together on a groove.
Notice how it’s visual as well. When you hit a slap the rim flashes and if you hit one of the open tones, the center circle flashes. Good to know where you’re striking as you go fast.
As you experiment with the tuning slider, you will discover that pitch have a large effect on how the rhythm sounds. Higher pitched drums sit up more, are tighter, and is perhaps more present. In contrast, lower pitched drums has depth and warmth added.
Use this opportunity to work on strengthening the independence of your hands as well with the following coordination drill. Use your right hand to focus on playing the macho drum (the heartbeat of the martillo pattern) while your left hand drop the hembra tone on the fourth beat.
You could switch between using a keyboard and a mouse halfway through a session to see which one feels more natural for your rhythm. Getting to grips with basic controls is easy. After that, why not ramp up the speed and make things more challenging? Try to play as smoothly as possible, evenly, neither dragging nor rushing any of the notes. As you play, the widget respond immediately to what you’re doing. This makes it quick and easy to fine-tune your playing in real time.
If you need to remind yourself how something works, take a look at the help panel which contains the key mappings. Each button has been designed to be clear and plays an immediate part in creating your sound. Explore the various pattern and sound options until you find what works best for you.
With the virtual bongos, there’s no pressure to learn percussion. If you’re new to playing percussion, it can be as basic as figuring out how things work. If you’ve played before, it can be something more advanced, like maintaining your timing. All it takes is one tap on a drum or key to make some music now.