Nengon was the precursor to both Son and Changüi. It evolved into Son in Santiago de Cuba and Changüi in Guantanamo province.
Nengon was traditionally played with a Tingotalango or Tumbandera. Basically the Tingotalango is made from a tree which has a rope tied to it and pulled down. The other end is then tied to a rock in a hole functioning as a Contra-Bass. Of course, the Marimbula took over after it's invention and eventually the Bass was used.
Modern Nengon is played with a Changüi ensemble, so from a practical point of view, a group is playing Nengon when the parts are much simpler and with very little or no syncopation. Clave, as it is now know, hadn't been invented yet so the time is just straight quarter notes.
The Cuban Tres is the main melodic and harmonic instrument with the Bongos and Marimbula also present.
The tres part plays a repeating pattern, which although it is harmonically and rhythmically easy, is the foundation for the song and must "groove" appropriately.
The bongo plays a very simple pattern and does not play lots of fills or embelleshments. The pattern (in common time) is typically a 1/4 note rest, 1/8 note on macho (high) head, 1/8 note on hembra (low) head, 1/4 rest, 1/4 note on both heads at the same time.
The marimbula (or Tingotalango) plays a very simple pattern of 1/16th notes on the and a (i.e. 2 e and a). Of course on a Tingotalango the part would be even simpler and probably be only an 1/8th note on the and of 2.
Nengon was traditionally played with a Tingotalango or Tumbandera. Basically the Tingotalango is made from a tree which has a rope tied to it and pulled down. The other end is then tied to a rock in a hole functioning as a Contra-Bass. Of course, the Marimbula took over after it's invention and eventually the Bass was used.
Modern Nengon is played with a Changüi ensemble, so from a practical point of view, a group is playing Nengon when the parts are much simpler and with very little or no syncopation. Clave, as it is now know, hadn't been invented yet so the time is just straight quarter notes.
The Cuban Tres is the main melodic and harmonic instrument with the Bongos and Marimbula also present.
The tres part plays a repeating pattern, which although it is harmonically and rhythmically easy, is the foundation for the song and must "groove" appropriately.
The bongo plays a very simple pattern and does not play lots of fills or embelleshments. The pattern (in common time) is typically a 1/4 note rest, 1/8 note on macho (high) head, 1/8 note on hembra (low) head, 1/4 rest, 1/4 note on both heads at the same time.
The marimbula (or Tingotalango) plays a very simple pattern of 1/16th notes on the and a (i.e. 2 e and a). Of course on a Tingotalango the part would be even simpler and probably be only an 1/8th note on the and of 2.
About the Author
Jon Griffin runs http://salsablanca.com and has been playing music for 35 years. He went to the Grove School of Music and has been playing and writing about Cuban music for 20 years.
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