Free video lesson · Intermediate
How to Play Three Simple Conga Fills
In this lesson
In this Quick-Tip we work on three simple fills you can use to add a bit of intensity in the "up" sections of an arrangement. They're built only from eighth notes and open tones, and we practice them over a loop in 2-3 clave. It's the first of the Quick-Tips on simple fills.
Key takeaways
- A variation stays in line with the groove, while a fill takes you away from the tumbao and creates some tension, so fills are generally played sparingly, often only once in an entire song.
- Adding just one open tone to the first fill creates a different fill that still has a similar feel and function.
- Pay attention to the clave and to what the rest of the band is playing, including the vocals, before you choose where a fill goes.
In this video
Fills vs. Variations
For the purposes of this lesson, a variation can loosely be thought of as a figure or phrase that stays very much in line with the groove, changing only a couple of notes at a time. The tumbao variations from the earlier Quick-Tips keep a similar shape without disturbing the groove much, so they can mostly be repeated throughout a song.
The fills in this lesson take you away from the tumbao a bit and create some tension within the groove, so they're best used sparingly, generally only once in an entire song. All three are made up solely of eighth notes. They still fill up the groove, while adding several open tones creates different melodic shapes.
Fill 1: Four Open Tones from the "And" of 1
The first fill is a four-bar phrase in 2-3 clave. It uses the "and" of 1 on the 3-side of the clave as a jumping-off point and adds four open tones to the normal tumbao pattern.
A short fill like this can be used at the end of a four-bar phrase to help "close" it and set up the following bar. Playing a figure with several open tones takes you away from the groove a bit. Coming back and playing one more open tone that lands on beat 4 then gives a feeling of resolution before moving on to the next section or phrase.
Fill 2: One More Open Tone
For the second fill, add one more open tone on the "and" of 4 in the fourth bar of the phrase. That small addition creates a different fill with a similar feel and function. The extra open tone gives a little more movement before the next four-bar phrase.
It's up to you to decide when and how to use these fills. Understanding how they feel and what purpose they can serve is what lets you incorporate them tastefully.
Fill 3: The Busiest of the Three
The last fill uses the first fill as its foundation and is certainly the busiest of the three. To make it clear where you are in respect to the clave, stick to the accents of the one-drum modern tumbao in the first bar of the following phrase.
Practicing Them over a Loop
Once you have all three fills, work on them at a bit faster tempo over a practice loop. Play each fill only once every eight bars, and repeat the eight-bar phrase six times in total, so you hit each fill twice.
Practice it with the real thing
You can practice fills like these over the CongaChops loop library: 100+ practice loops recorded with a real rhythm section. Members can play along with the whole library, plus a handpicked Spotify playlist for each course.
Where to Use These Fills
All of these fills serve a similar function, but each has its own feel, and you develop an understanding of that the more you listen to and analyze different players, songs and styles. You can use them at the end or in the middle of a section, as long as you're paying attention to the clave and to what the rest of the band is playing.
You might use one to add intensity to a phrase or section, or as a musical response to something another instrument plays, including the vocals. Work on them as two-, four- or eight-bar phrases, so you get used to how they would work in a musical context.
Listening for Fills
As you listen to your favorite recordings, see if you can spot where these types of fills are used, and pay attention to any factor that may have influenced the conga player's decision to play a particular fill in a particular space. That's how you start to develop an understanding of when fills feel natural in the course of an arrangement.
Then, at your own discretion, start implementing them carefully when you play with other musicians, to see how they feel.
Members also get a Quick-Tip Spotify playlist, with tracks to work on the fills, variations and other patterns from the series.
Quick Answers
How often should I play these fills?
Sparingly. They take you away from the tumbao and create some tension in the groove, so they're generally played only once in an entire song.
What does it mean to "close" a phrase?
It means playing something that gives a feeling of resolution before the next section or phrase: in this lesson, a figure with several open tones that takes you away from the groove a bit, then one more open tone that lands on beat 4.
Where can I use these fills?
They can often be heard at the end or in the middle of a section. As long as you're paying attention to the clave and to what the rest of the band is playing, anything goes.
Go Deeper with CongaChops
This Quick-Tip is one small piece of what we cover on CongaChops, the online school where I teach congas step by step. Our foundation courses, Congas 101 and Conga Fundamentals, lay the groundwork for everything else.
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Next lesson · Quick-Tip 15
How to Play Simple Conga Fills Part 2
Two simple fills for the up section: a shorter fill, then a longer one built from the same shape.
Watch the next lesson ▸All Conga Quick-Tips
The full series, in order, is on the Quick-Tip Conga Lessons index.
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Video Transcript
This week we're gonna work on three simple fills that we can use to add a bit of intensity in the "up" sections of an arrangement.
Now, the main difference between the variations we covered in the first several lessons of this series, and the simple fills we'll work on today and in the following weeks, is that a variation can loosely be thought of as a figure or phrase that stays very much in line with the groove we're playing, changing only a couple of notes at a time. In the case of the tumbao, the variations we worked on made sure to keep a similar shape without disturbing the groove all that much, and could, for the most part, be repeated throughout the course of a song. These simple fills we'll cover, however, will take us away from our tumbao a bit and create some tension within the groove, and should thus be used sparingly in our playing. Generally only once in an entire song.
The simple fills we'll check out in today's lesson will be comprised solely of eighth notes. So, they'll still help us fill up the groove while we create some different melodic shapes by adding several open tones. So let's check out this first one as a four-bar phrase in 2-3 clave.
You can hear that we're using the "and" of one on the three side of the clave as a jumping-off point and adding four open tones to our normal tumbao pattern. Now, this short fill can be used at the end of a four-bar phrase to help "close" the phrase and help set up the following bar. Now, what I mean by close is that by playing a figure with several open tones that takes us away from the groove a bit, then coming back and playing one more open tone landing on beat four, it gives us a feeling of resolution before moving on to the next section or phrase.
For this next fill, we're just gonna add one more open tone on the "and" of four in the fourth bar of the phrase. Let's check it out.
By simply adding an open tone to the first example in this lesson, we've created a different fill that still has a similar feel and function. So, the extra open tone just gives us a little bit more movement before getting into our next four-bar phrase. Now, it's totally up to you to decide when and how to use these fills, but understanding how they feel and what purpose they can serve will really allow you to incorporate them into your playing tastefully.
So for this last fill, we'll again use the first example in this lesson as our foundation.
So you can hear that this is certainly the busiest of the three fills, and to make it clear where we were in respect to the clave, I made sure to stick to the accents of our one-drum modern tumbao in the first bar of the following phrase.
So now that we have all three fills, let's work on them at a bit faster tempo over one of our exclusive CongaChops practice loops. We'll play each fill only once every eight bars, repeating the eight-bar phrase a total of six times, so we can hit each fill twice. Let's check it out.
So all of these fills serve a similar function, but each has its own unique feel. And this is something that you'll start to develop an understanding for, the more you listen to and analyze different players, songs and styles. Now, you can of course use these freely at the end or middle of a section, as long as you are paying attention to the clave and, of course, what the rest of the band is playing. Also, it's important to note that we want to work on these as two-, four- or eight-bar phrases, so we can get used to how they would work in a musical context.
Now, you might use these fills just to add some intensity to a particular phrase or section, or as a musical response to something that's played by any of the other instruments in the band, including the vocals. So, now that you have some of these things in mind, try to see if you can spot where these types of fills may be used as you're listening along to your favorite recordings, always making sure that you're paying attention to any contributing factor that you feel may have influenced the conga player's decision to play a particular fill in a particular space.
Now, by doing this, you'll start to develop an understanding for when these types of fills can feel natural to play throughout the course of an arrangement. And of course, at your own discretion, feel free to start to implement these fills carefully when you're playing with other musicians to see how they feel.