Traditionally speaking you are backwards ... IF ... you are a right-handed player. But the truth is that it doesn't matter; do what works for you.

Luis Conte sets up his Congas like you, but he's left-handed.

Sheila E. is right-handed, and she sets up her Congas like you. Her reasoning is that she was mirroring what she saw her father and brothers doing. So traditionally her set-up is backwards, but it's more important to set-up the instrument the way that it works for you!

What happens when you have more than two Tumbadoras (aka Congas)? What if you have four? What's the "right way" to set them up? The truth is that everyone sets up the instrument in the way that best fits their body.

When playing traditional tumbaos, and when you are right-handed, it does work well to have the Quinto on the left, Tumba on the right. But that doesn't mean that you can't play the way you are.

Personally, I practice so that I can play either way. This is especially beneficial when playing on someone else's set-up ... like sitting in. It's also beneficial because sometimes I set-up a particular way because it works best for a particular tune, especially when I'm playing more than just Congas. I can split the parts up so I'm playing Congas with one hand while playing Cowbell, Shaker, Tambourine, etc., with the other hand; right or left. Another benefit is when you play with a drummer, and the venue or stage has you placed on the side opposite where you normally are, in relation to the drummer. Being able to flip the Tumbadora arrangement has helped on many ocassions.

When I play with three Tumbadoras, sometimes the Tumba is on my right and sometimes on my left. The same goes for the Conga. Sometimes the Tumba and Conga are on the same side, making sort of a triagle in relation to the Quinto.

So ... it's all good ... just find what works best for you, and be as versatile as you can with your set-ups!

Hi Bart, This is a question that I've had on my mind for some time now: How does one balance versatility with excellence?

Certainly there is a synergy to all practice, wherein anything we might improve in one area will generally bleed-over into improvements in other areas, e.g., developing coordination by working on a given exercise on drumset will generally improve coordination globally and could be applied to other instruments, and vice-versa.

But doesn't taking the time to become proficient playing both left and right set-up positions take away from time perfecting new patterns, or working on speed or touch, or playing drumset, or working on any of the myriad of other techniques, skills, musical styles that one might aspire to master?

I see your point. For me, I've found that the time I've spent trying to become more proficient with either set-up has made me a better player. It takes me less time to learn and develop new skills, styles, techniques, etc., because I have worked on being able to lead with either hand. Don't get me wrong, I have a long way to go; I would never say I'm equally proficient with both left and right set-ups. I feel really free when I can play either way ... like both sides of the brain are working together symbiotically.

Having done a lot of pit-work and shows where my set-up had to change from the norm, or I had to cover a lot of parts all by myself, I learned that being able to play with reversed set-ups freed me up a lot. I'm sure it's not for everyone, and some of us learn/adapt more quickly than others, but I think its worth looking into. For me, once I crossed the initial awkwardness, things became easier and more quickly ... it wasn't always this huge battle every time I reversed a set-up.

Try it; experiment. You might like the results.

Wow, great dialogue about changing handing and its affect on mastery!
I think that anything you can do to jog your normal patterns will enhance what you already have in you as mastery, or the potential to master.
Singing with it, playing with a foot pedal, various numbers of drums, different handing.
All good...

since i wrote the first post a year ago, i have been reversing my setup so that i now play in the 'correct' pattern with quinto on the left and conga on the right. i actually have found that i get much much better slaps this way than the opposite.
as an added bonus, i can still play 'backwards' too, so im at an advantage in setups where there is little room and i have to position the drums at something other than standard position such as front to back instead of side to side, or angled off to the ne or nw from the quinto between my legs.

its a definite help to be ambidextrous on the congas, i think.