Latin drummer or percussion? How to choose

It's up to the music that moves you and the space that you have. If you dream about playing rock, pop, funk or metal in a band, and have a place to place a set or you can practice with an electronic battery, select a drummer. If they call you the salsa, cumbia, are or Afro-Colombian music, or you live in an apartment where noise weighs, choose a Latin percussion: conga, bonga, timbal or box.

The two are learned in a class of percussion and share the most important: pulse, rhythmic reading and ear to play with others. What changes with the body. In the battery you coordinate hands and feet with baquetes and at the percussion of his hand, his hands are the instrument.

To sum up

The drums are a set that plays a single person with hands and feet and the Latino percussion spreads the rhythm between several instruments and musicians.
The battery requires independence from four extremities and conga and dubbed, a hand-held technique with several types of blow.
A sound battery needs a fixed space and makes a lot of noise and a drawer or a bonus can be found anywhere.
The minor percussion can be initiated from age 5 and the battery at age 6 or 7 as soon as the child reaches his or her paedal.
The skills are transferred: many drummers play percussion, and many percussionists end up at the drums.

Batteries vs. Latin percussion: Comparison

Differences between drums and Latin percussion for those with start
Aspecto	Drums	Latin Percusion
What are you playing?	A set: bulb, pounding, toms, hy-hat and sauces.	independent instruments: contas and dubbed with his hands, tidal with drawers and hands, drawer sitting on his back.
Coordination	Four extremities with different functions at once.	Especially both hands with a variety of blows and sounds.
Central technical	Baits: bounce, rudiments, independence.	Hand strokes: open, covered, slap and low, in timbal, shell and bell.
Gender	Rock, pop, funk, jazz, metal, ballads and mergers.	Salsa, are, cumbia, meringue, Latino jazz, Afro-Peruvian music and mergers.
Role in the group	One person holds his whole groove.	Several people knit their rhythm, each with their share.
Espacio	A clear and spacious corner.	A drawer or a dubbed suit anywhere, and conga jobs something more.
Ruido	That's high in acoustic and electronic with hearing aids greatly reduces them.	Conga and timbal sound strong and more moderate.
Transporte	Difficult. The local battery is usually used in the tests.	Roast and bonquado get with ease.
relative cost	The complete set with sauces is a big investment.	The drawer is among the most accessible options and a pair of conga costs more.
Age of Orientation Initiation	About 6 or 7 years old, when they reach the pedals.	Minor perception from age 5.

How to learn each

Drums

The first classes go into the posture at the bench, how to take the baccalaureates and bounce: let the baccalaureate come back alone rather than get up with force. Then come the rudiments, as the simple blow, double and paradoxle, and the first rock rhythm: hy-hat at clocks, bulb at one and three, pounding at two and four. It looks little, until you try to get the right foot to do something with his hand.

Latin Percusion

Here everything revolves around the key, the five-blow pattern that organizes the salsa and the are. The conga will learn the Seville and to make different sounds depending on where and how his hand goes down and how his hand goes down and his hammer and his tidal and his skin and his clasp. The drawer works as a minimum battery: his centre gives his low and his edge, his sharp.

In Colombia, the Latino percussion intersects with the traditional: cheerful drum, call, drum, maraca and guache. We tell you about [instruments of Colombian Caribbean music]](/blog/instrumentos-de-la-musica-del-caribe-colombiano).

Space and noise: the practical question

In many apartments in Bogotá, an acoustic battery isn't feasible without conflict with its neighbours. Before deciding, think about these options:

A number of practice: about quiet and ideal for rudiments and baqueta technique.
Electronic battery with hearing aids: resolves sound, although the paddle's paddle blow is passed to the ground. A rough carpet or a platform helps.
Roof: Sounds far less than a battery and allows complete rhythms to be worked.
Conga and timbal: they sound strong, so we have to agree to schedule.

If you live at home or have an isolated space, the acoustic battery is best experience. Otherwise, starting with hand percussion or with electronic drums isn't a plan B: it's a real way to learn. To compare concrete instruments, read how to choose a battery or a box to start with.

Choose drums if... / choose Latin percussion if...

Choose the battery if...

Your favorite songs are rock, pop, funk or metal.
That's a challenge for you to coordinate hands and feet.
You want to be the base of a band by yourself.
You have space or you can use an electronic battery.

Choose the Latin percussion if...

Your salsa, your cumbia, your son or your Latino jazz move.
You like to play with your hands and feel your leather.
You live in an apartment and you need something more manageable, as a drawer.
Enjoy playing as a group, where every instrument knits its part.
It's for a 5 or 6-year-old that his pedals aren't up to yet.

At [percussion classes]](/clases/percusion) drums and hand percussion are worked and teacher guides you according to your music and space.

How to merge or change later

Many drummer's have been taught with Latin rhythms at set, such as cumbia or songo, and they play conga or drawer in acoustic formats and many percussionists get to the drums with a pulse and a sense of groove that can be felt from day one.

From the drums to the Latin percussion: The new thing is the handheld technique and understand the key. Reading and pulse have them.
From percussion to battery: the new are feet and independence. It starts with slow with [methonomics]](/herramientas/metronomo)and divide hands and feet before they come together.
For children: start with minor percussion and get to the drums as they reach the pedals is a very natural path. More details in [child's battery guide]](/blog/bateria-para-ninos-guia-para-padres).

Frequently asked questions

What's more difficult, drums or conga?

They have different difficulties. The battery requires to coordinate four extremities at once and conga demand a precise hand technique to get different sounds and a lot of understanding of the rhythm as a group.

Can you learn drums at an apartment?

Yes, with adaptation: pada de practo para la tecnica, padra electronic con audifones and something that amtigüga la pocorro. Many students practice and use an acoustic drummer only in class or essays.

Can the box be used to learn drums?

It serves to develop pulse, rhythm and serious and sharp sounds but does not replace the battery's foot co-ordination. It's a good entrance door to the percussion.

How old can a child start with his or her drums?

To conduct an orientation about 6 or 7 years old, while reaching the pedals and coordinating better hands and feet. First, the minor percussion is a great preparation.