Bongo drums make their distinctive sound by striking the drumhead with your hands and fingers. The sounds from the bongo drum come from the vibrating drumhead, which vibrates the surrounding air, which is the source of sound.

How do drum make sound?

Striking the head of the drum changes its shape and compresses the air inside the shell. The compressed air presses on the bottom head and changes its shape. Then, these changes are transmitted to the drum shell and reflected back, and this action is repeated, creating a vibration.

What notes to tune bongos to?

When tuning your bongo, you should tune the hembra and macho an octave apart, with the macho tuned at B through D, or about two octaves above middle C and the hembra (or larger drum) tuned at A octave, or, again, two octaves above middle C.