My Hand Drums - and Exotic
Percussion
Drums From African
Talking Drum (known
as a Dun Dun, or Dondo in Ghana and Nigeria)
Click
Here for Talking Drum Photo
This type of drum originates from
Yoruba, Nigeria and was used to spread announcements
as well as to praise a king or tribal leader. It was
also used in Niger, Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal; to send messages of happiness, sorrow, of war etc. Evidently, the original "Dun Dun" makes
sounds that closely correspond to many tonal peculiarities
of the Yoruba language. Hence, the name "Talking
Drum".
A Talking Drum is actually hand-carved from
a single piece of wood. Heads are then added to each
end; tensioning together using strings that
run the entire length of the drum. To play the talking drum,
you place it under your armpit and strike one end with
a bent stick (or your hand) while squeezing the tensioning
strings. Since the middle of the shell is narrower
than the ends, positioning for this is fairly easy, and you can get quite
a range of tonal variance. Also, pebbles are put
within the drum - to provide a "quiet rattle" effect
(if you know how to move the drum as you play it).
Multiple size versions of the Talking
Drum exist. These offer a wide range of tones.
The longer the drum, the deeper its pitch. For example,
my talking drum is approximately 19-inches in length.
This is considered a "fairly long and low-pitched" talking
drum.
Kalimba (also called
Mbira, and thumb piano)
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Here for Photo of Kalimba
This instrument is unique to Africa,
and is widely used throughout the continent. It is
used as an accompaniment to song, and also played
alone. In Zimbabwe, the Kalimba is played during ceremonies.
In these situations, its use is intense, joyful, and
spiritual. It can produce complex rhythms and beautiful
melodies (if you know how to play it - and I'm not
very good).
The Kalimba is made up of a set of
metal (or sometimes bamboo) tongues of varied length.
They are mounted to a board, or a gourd as a resonator. The
varied length of each tongue defines a basic pitch.
To produce sound, the ends of each tongue are twanged
downwards by one's thumb or finger. Metal-tongued versions
allow for the adjusting of the position of each tongue on the fastening
bar. This provides for some degree of pitch adjustment
(somewhat like tuning a guitar string).
Bowl Drum
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Here for Photo of Bowl Drum
From what I've been able to find out,
this particular drum is an African ceremonial drum.
A family member brought one home to me upon returning from a vacation
- but they didn't provide much insight into where it was made.
It has a 19.5-inch wide head - and both the head and
shell are tanned black. It is constructed very well
and sounds beautiful. Wound twine handles are on each
side of the shells top; which allows it to be held
while played. However, since there are two handles,
it would appear that one person is intended to be the
holder, while the other is the player?
Shakers (several types)
1). Juju Seed Rattle (Ghana)
Although I don't have one of these, I had the opportunity to play a set
and really loved their sound. The rattles are made
up of nutshells attached by vine string to the end
of a wooden handle. The sound ranges from a very loud
tone when shaken strongly, to a quiet rattle when you
barley turn the handle.
2). Cachos Rattle
Click
Here for Photo of Cachos Rattle
Constructed similarly to the Cachos
Rattle. However, "large" seed pods are attached
to a bamboo stick with fabric binding them. When
I played this instrument it was a little softer then the
Juju Seed Rattle. My pair is from Cameroon.
3) Chekere.
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Here for Photo of Chekere
This instrument is basically a large
round gourd (with a natural handle) that's loosely
covered by a woven netting composed of tree-seeds, shells, beads,
and/or fruit-kernels. It produces many types of swishing
and "maraca-like" sounds. When it's tapped or
shaken hard it will produce a loud "rattley" sound
that can be heard over many drums. My Chekere was made
in Senegal, and was purchased by my wife (thanks babe - love ya!).
4) Kpoko Kpoko.
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Here for Photo of Kpoko Kpoko
An unusual rattle which consists of two "wooden bells" mounted to a common wooden rod. Each
wooden bell contains multiple wooden bell ringers within them.
To play it, you grab the center region of the instrument
in your hand, and twist your wrist back and forth.
This produces a unique wooden clanging sound. It's hard
to describe! Its origins come from the Ebo Tribe of
south-central Nigeria.
Udu (also called "side
hole pot drum")
Click
Here for Photo of Clay Pot Drum
An Udu is a clay pot drum based on
the original ones created by the Ibo and Hausa tribes
in Nigeria. Its origin came from a water pot. Ancient African potters evidently made a second
opening on the side (for easier pouring?) and some "drummer" probably
discovered the beautiful sounds that could be produced.
The Udu "side hole" pot drum
produces deep tones that many Africans believe are "voices of their ancestors." Initially,
they were only used in religious and cultural ceremonies.
Udu's are beautiful works of art as well as amazing tone
producers. Their extremely deep bass tones are at the lower range of human hearing and carry like like the "lows" produced by powered sub-woofers! Pitch can also be varied
somewhat; kind of like a talking drum (if you know what I mean).
anyway, all of this makes the Udu well-suited for very unique melodic and
rhythmic articulations.
Playing technique involves
striking the top or a side hole with one hand while opening
and closing the opposing hole to varying degrees with
the other. One hole can also be completely closed and some variation in pitch can be made by varying the degree of open area as you strike. By varying the type of stroke, hole combinations used and the way
in which you strike (and release your hand), you can coax many different
kinds of deeply haunting tones from this drum. The top hole
of an Udu is sometimes struck with a mallet
that has soft padding on one side and a harder leather
covering on the other. And to adjust the basic tone on any Udu (i.e.,
to tune one), water is added or removed.
Native American Drums
Medicine (or hoop) Drum
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Here for Photo of Medicine Drum
Medicine Drums are traditionally used
in Native American ceremonies; like in healing, while meditating
or in celebrations. The type of drum that I own has
a frame-type shell and a single-piece rawhide head. On
the backside, there are many separate "strings" of
rawhide that come together to maintain head tension. They culminate at
a center point where they have been strung together
and tied. This "join point" also serves as
an excellent holder - so the drum can be played easily
while sitting or when dancing.
I have an Apache Medicine Drum
from the native peoples of the White Mountains of Arizona
(near Flagstaff, AZ). It's 15-inches wide and about 3-inches
deep. The beater used to strike the drum is made of
red willow. The striker is made of a soft deerskin wrap that has been filled-out. In fact,
a Native American drum maker told me that the deerskin
beater is usually filled with a good amount of tobacco.
I was told that they did this because Apache's loved their tobacco
and having it in there served as a "stash" of sorts.
Native American Gourd-Rattle
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Here for Photo of Gourd-Rattle
A generally painted or ornamented
gourd (mine is not painted). Mine does have feathers
at the junction of the handle and gourd. I have no
idea what the gourd is filled with. However, the resulting
sound is much gentler than any of the other maraca-like
rattle I have ever heard.
Drums From South American
Rainsticks (Chile
and Peru)
Click
Here for Photo Chilean Rainstick
My Chilean Rainstick is rather short
(which is the typical way they are made). The instrument
is used in ceremonies to help bring rain to regions
of the Atacama Desert, and also for other occasions. The name
is descriptive of the soothing rain-like sound produced. NOTE: The long "store-bought" rainsticks you usually see around do not sound
the same as a real one.
Chilean versions are made using dead
Quisco or Copado cactus plant "wood". This
wood is called Normata. Living plants are never used
for obvious reasons. These cactus grow in abundance
in the large desert areas of northern Chile.
After collecting the dead wood, pieces
chosen are filled with small volcanic ash pebbles.
Then, to make their characteristic rain-like sound,
spines are driven through the wood in a spiral fashion.
The combination of the ash pebbles, and the spined
wood insert pathway results in a unique sound as gravity is allowed to move the mass downward. Chilean
rainsticks supposedly sound better than Peruvian (and
other) versions. I can't speak for Peruvian versions,
but mine sure sounds better than any store bought
version I've ever heard.
Drums From India
Tabla
Click
Here for Photo of a Tabla
The Tabla is a northern Indian instrument.
It is an integral component of this region' music (along
with the Sitar). Although the word Tabla implies
"one drum", it actually is two separate
drums. The smaller drum is called the javerhi, and
the larger is called the bayan.
Playing the Tabla requires
excellent wrist/finger strength and wrist/finger positioning.
The primary method of striking is not at all like a
Conga or Bongo (although this is still one manner in which both are played).
It is mainly more of a downward finger based motion that feels quite odd to the uninitiated. It is considered
by many to be the hardest hand drum to master - and I agree.
If you are unsure of what a Tabla
sounds like, it's actually quite likely that you've heard
one already. Its most common sound combination includes an upward
pitch-modulated "doouuum" from the low pitched
drum - along with varied bongo-like strikes from the
high pitched drum.
Each drum has a separate goat skin head (called
a puri). Each head also has a special black circular
overlay (called a gaab or syahi) on it. You wouldn't guess
it, but the gaab is made up of coal dust, iron fillings,
and rice paste! On the javerhi, the gaab is approximately
1-millimetre thick and on the bayan it is about 2-millimeters
thick. In addition, the gaab is "centered" on the
javerhi, while it's " off-center" on the
bayan. both have varied texture across their surface, and
this is down to enable the production of varied sounds.
The javerhi is narrower then the bayan
and is made of teac or sheesham wood. The head assembly (the puri)
is held in place by buffalo skin straps (baddhi), along
with round wooden chocks (called gittak). You move
the gittak upwards or downwards around the drum, and hit the edges of the puri using special tuning hammer to change the pitch of this
drum.
The bayan is made of metal (mine is
hand-hammered copper). It's is typically laced to the
metal shell with goat skin straps. Unlike the
javerhi, if pitch needs to be adjusted, you can only hit
the puri edges with the tuning hammer - which re-tensions
the lacing. In most cases where there's humidity (unlike the northern desert areas of India), you'll also need to place a damp
cloth over the head (for 10-20 minutes). Then you let the
head air dry (or, carefully use a hair dryer to dry the head). This will cause its pitch to move upward (best to use a hair drier where you'll be playing where it's very
humid, or, right after wetting). Whatever you do, one
must NEVER get the gaab of either drum wet! If you do, it
will disintegrate!
I love the tabla more than any other
hand drum I've come across. I bought mine while in
India. I went to a drum factory in Delhi, spent several
many hours with the people there; where I learned basic techniques
and purchased my Tabla. I continue to play this
amazing hand drum, and realize that I have a lot to
learn.
Drums From Korea
Hand Hammered Gong
My incredible, hand-hammered 20-inch
gongs were given to me by my mom upon returning from
South Korea. Evidently, my mom ran into a cymbal smith
who had been making ceremonial Korean drums of all
kinds for all of his life. It's a great way to wake
up my wife on a weekend morning (NOT)!
