Editing Conga (section)

==Tuning==
{{more citations needed|date=April 2015}}
Congas, being percussive instruments, do not have to be [[Musical tuning|tuned]] to any particular note in purely percussive settings. However, when playing with [[Harmony|harmonic]] instruments, they may be tuned to specific notes. Congas are often tuned using the open tone. In general, the particular note will depend on the make, model, and size of the conga drum. The drum should be tuned so that the bass tone resonates, the open tone rings, and the slap pierces through the musical mix. If the tuning is too loose, the bass and slap tones will sound "flabby"; too tight, and the drums will sound unnatural and "pinched". With a single drum, it is easy to tighten the drum until it makes a pleasing sound and then tighten a little more to reach a uniform desired pitch. It is very important to ensure that tuning is uniform around the drumhead, which can be checked by placing one finger pad in the center of the head and tapping the head near the edge above each lug location to detect any change, adjusting as necessary. Uniform tightness will help "let the drum speak".

Another important consideration is that head tension can greatly impact the ease or unease of the player, and generally a looser drumhead can lead to hand injury more than a tighter one, because a looser drumhead has less rebound and more muffling effect (hence potentially bruising joints and bones under spirited playing). Also, producing a crisp slap tone is nearly impossible on a loose head. During tuning it is suggested to "let the drum speak" and to conform tuning reasonably closely to the natural resonance (pitch) that the cavity of the drum interior presents. This resonance can be heard by singing or playing loud notes near the drum opening (this is true of tuning any drum) and noticing which pitch decays slowest - that will either be the fundamental (resonant) frequency or one of its simple overtones.

When two or more drums are used, there is the potential for more variation of which notes are chosen; however, tuning between or during compositions is rare in live performance. With only two drums, it is common to find them tuned a [[perfect fourth]] apart (the interval between the first two notes of "[[Bridal Chorus|Here Comes the Bride]]") as is the tradition in western classical music for the [[timpani]]. Having three drums (typically the ''tumba'', ''conga'', and ''quinto'') invites experimentation and individual customization. Some ''congueros'' like using the [[interval (music)|interval]]s of a [[major chord]] (e.g. F, A, C). Some players use the [[second inversion]] of a major chord (e.g. G, C, E); and some prefer a [[major second]] between the ''quinto'' and ''conga'', with a perfect 4th descending to the ''tumba''. Raul Rekow of Santana often plays five conga drums and tunes them to the opening phrase of a Latin tune.