Things That Go THUMP!
"Bangin' on the bongoes like a chimpanzee..."
Djembes
A djembe is a goblet-shaped wooden drum that seems to have originated in West Africa. It has a single goatskin head capable of a wide range of pitch, from the bass note struck in the middle of the head to the crisp ringing slap struck a fingers-length from the rim. It is played with the hands, not with sticks. A traditional West African ensemble will comprise several djembes, a dundunba, a sangban, and a kenkeni. The dundunba is a low-pitched, cylindrical, two-headed drum, headed with cowhide and played with sticks. The sangban and the kenkeni are smaller, higher-pitched replicas of the dundunba. The dundunba, sangban, and kenkeni, known collectively as the duns (doons), are each accompanied by a cowbell. They (along with the bells) are responsible for the distinctive "bottom end" of each rhythm. Traditionally, one person plays each dun, but in the West one person often sits on all three at once.
- Djembe-L, the FAQ
- Djembe-L, the mailing list
- Drum Suppliers
- Drum Rhythms
- Drum Instruction
- Madou Dembele
- Books
- How to Play Djembe
- Videos
- Drum Jams