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67-482: A drum is a musical instrument. Drum , drums or The Drum may also refer to: Drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments . In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone . Drums consist of at least one membrane , called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with
134-405: A drum kit or a set of drums (with some cymbals , or in the case of harder rock music genres, many cymbals), and " drummer " to the person who plays them. Drums acquired even divine status in places such as Burundi, where the karyenda was a symbol of the power of the king. The shell almost always has a circular opening over which the drumhead is stretched, but the shape of the remainder of
201-436: A percussion mallet , to produce sound. There is usually a resonant head on the underside of the drum. Other techniques have been used to cause drums to make sound, such as the thumb roll . Drums are the world's oldest and most ubiquitous musical instruments, and the basic design has remained virtually unchanged for thousands of years. Drums may be played individually, with the player using a single drum, and some drums such as
268-452: A height of 58–63 cm (23–25 in). The majority have a diameter in the 13 to 14 inch range. The weight of a djembe ranges from 5 kg to 13 kg (11–29 lb) and depends on size and shell material. A medium-size djembe carved from one of the traditional woods (including skin, rings, and rope) weighs around 9 kg (20 lb). The djembe can produce a wide variety of sounds, making it an extremely versatile drum. The drum
335-400: A metal barrel. Drums with two heads can also have a set of wires, called snares, held across the bottom head, top head, or both heads, hence the name snare drum . On some drums with two heads, a hole or bass reflex port may be cut or installed onto one head, as with some 2010s era bass drums in rock music. On modern band and orchestral drums, the drumhead is placed over the opening of
402-438: A purposeful expression of emotion for entertainment, spiritualism and communication. Many cultures practice drumming as a spiritual or religious passage and interpret drummed rhythm similarly to spoken language or prayer. Drumming has developed over millennia to be a powerful art form. Drumming is commonly viewed as the root of music and is sometimes performed as a kinesthetic dance. As a discipline, drumming concentrates on training
469-491: A single performance, which suited the aim of Touré's demystification program of "doing away with 'fetishist' ritual practices". Touré generously supported the ballets (to the point of building a special rehearsal and performance space in his palace for Ballet Djoliba) and, until his death in 1984, financed extensive world-wide performance tours, which brought the djembe to the attention of Western audiences. Other countries followed Touré's example and founded national ballets in
536-711: A sizeable population of expatriate performers and teachers in many Western countries. The 1991 documentary Djembefola by Laurent Chevallier depicts Mamady Keïta's return to the village of his birth after a 26-year absence. Upon release, the movie won the Wisselzak Trophy and Special Jury Award at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam , and the Audience Award at the Marseille Festival of Documentary Film , and brought
603-533: A skin stretched over an enclosed space, or over one of the ends of a hollow vessel. Drums with two heads covering both ends of a cylindrical shell often have a small hole somewhat halfway between the two heads; the shell forms a resonating chamber for the resulting sound. Exceptions include the African slit drum , also known as a log drum as it is made from a hollowed-out tree trunk, and the Caribbean steel drum , made from
670-445: A solo performance ( djembe kan , literally, "the sound of the djembe"). A skilled player can use the sounds to create very complex rhythmic patterns; the combination of rhythm and the differently pitched sounds often leads an inexpert listener to believe that more than one drum is being played. The bass sound is produced by striking the drum with the palm and flat fingers near the center of the skin. Tone and slap are produced by striking
737-417: A white, textured coating on them muffle the overtones of the drum head slightly, producing a less diverse pitch . Drum heads with central silver or black dots tend to muffle the overtones even more, while drum heads with perimeter sound rings mostly eliminate overtones. Some jazz drummers avoid using thick drum heads, preferring single ply drum heads or drum heads with no muffling. Rock drummers often prefer
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#1732855218863804-431: Is available, he supplements the ensemble with a khassonka dunun , which is a bass drum similar in build to a konkoni, but larger. In Guinea, a typical ensemble uses three djembes and three dunun, called sangban (medium pitch), dundunba (bass pitch), and kenkeni (high pitch, also called kensedeni ). If an ensemble includes more than one djembe, the highest pitched (and therefore loudest) djembe plays solo phrases and
871-555: Is inappropriate in a traditional context. A rhythm is rarely played as a performance, but is participatory: musicians, dancers, singers, and onlookers are all part of the ensemble and frequently change roles while the music is in progress. Musicians and participants often form a circle, with the centre of the circle reserved for dancers. Depending on the particular rhythm being played, dances may be performed by groups of men and/or women with choreographed steps, or single dancers may take turns at performing short solos. The lead djembe's role
938-405: Is preferred. Most djembe ropes have a polyester core with a 16‑ or 32‑plait mantle and around 5% stretch. Very low-stretch (<1%) rope materials, such as Vectran and Spectra , are used only rarely due to their much higher cost. The mounting system for the skin has undergone a number of changes over time. Originally, the skin was attached by wooden pegs that were driven through holes in
1005-624: Is roughly translated as huehuetl . The Rig Veda , one of the oldest religious scriptures in the world, contains several references to the use of the Dundhubi (war drum). Arya tribes charged into battle to the beating of the war drum and chanting of a hymn that appears in Book VI of the Rig Veda and also the Atharva Veda. The dundhuhi was considered sacred and to capture one in battle would signal defeat of
1072-410: Is to play solo phrases that accentuate the movements of the dancers. Often, the aim is to "mark the dancers' feet", that is, to play rhythmic patterns that are synchronized with the dancers' steps. Individual solo dances are not choreographed, with the dancer freely moving in whatever way feels appropriate at that moment. Marking a solo dancer's feet requires the lead djembefola to have strong rapport with
1139-438: Is tuned by hammering a disc held in place around the drum by ropes stretching from the top to bottom head. Orchestral timpani can be quickly tuned to precise pitches by using a foot pedal. Several factors determine the sound a drum produces, including the type, shape and construction of the drum shell, the type of drum heads it has, and the tension of these drumheads. Different drum sounds have different uses in music. For example,
1206-551: Is very loud, allowing it to be heard clearly as a solo instrument over a large percussion ensemble. The Malinké people say that a skilled drummer is one who "can make the djembe talk", meaning that the player can tell an emotional story (the Malinké never used the djembe as a signaling drum ). Traditionally, the djembe is played only by men, as are the dunun that always accompany the djembe. Conversely, other percussion instruments that are commonly played as part of an ensemble, such as
1273-526: The griot caste, such as the balafon , kora , and ngoni . (The djembe is not a griot instrument.) Anyone who plays djembe is a djembefola—the term does not imply a particular level of skill. Geographically, the traditional distribution of the djembe is associated with the Mali Empire , which dates back to 1230 AD and included parts of the modern-day countries of Guinea , Mali , Burkina Faso , Ivory Coast , Gambia , and Senegal . However, due to
1340-454: The shekere (a hollowed-out gourd covered with a net of beads), karignan (a tubular bell), and kese kese (a woven basket rattle), are usually played by women. Even today, it is rare to see women play djembe or dunun in West Africa, and African women express astonishment when they do see a female djembe player. There is general agreement that the origin of the djembe is associated with
1407-610: The Bambara people in Mali , the name of the djembe comes from the saying "Anke djé, anke bé" which translates to "everyone gather together in peace" and defines the drum's purpose. In the Bambara language , "djé" is the verb for "gather" and "bé" translates as "peace." The djembe has a body (or shell) carved of hardwood and a drumhead made of untreated (not limed ) rawhide , most commonly made from goatskin . Excluding rings, djembes have an exterior diameter of 30–38 cm (12–15 in) and
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#17328552188631474-513: The Mandinka caste of blacksmiths, known as Numu . The wide dispersion of the djembe drum throughout West Africa may be due to Numu migrations during the first millennium AD. Despite the association of the djembe with the Numu, there are no hereditary restrictions on who may become a djembefola (literally, "one who plays the djembe"). This is in contrast to instruments whose use is reserved for members of
1541-485: The djembe are almost always played in this way. Others are normally played in a set of two or more, all played by one player, such as bongo drums and timpani . A number of different drums together with cymbals form the basic modern drum kit . Drums are usually played by striking with the hand, a beater attached to a pedal, or with one or two sticks with or without padding. A wide variety of sticks are used, including wooden sticks and sticks with soft beaters of felt on
1608-626: The (2,1), (0,2), (3,1), (1,2), and (0,3) modes (as well as higher-order modes) while suppressing the Helmholtz resonance and the (0,1) and (1,1) modes. Skilled players can also produce a medium-pitched sound (between a tone and slap) that is variously called third slap , tonpalo , or lé ; this sound emphasizes the (1,1) mode while suppressing all other modes as much as possible. By slightly varying striking and finger position, skilled players can selectively emphasize different slap harmonics and create melodies of differently pitched slaps. Traditionally,
1675-605: The 1950s and the decolonization of West Africa , due to the very limited travel of native Africans outside their own ethnic group, the djembe was known only in its original area. The djembe first came to the attention of audiences outside West Africa with the efforts of Fodéba Keïta , who, in 1952, founded Les Ballets Africains . The ballet toured extensively in Europe and was declared Guinea's first national ballet by Guinea's first president, Sékou Touré , after Guinea gained independence in 1958, to be followed by two more national ballets,
1742-486: The 1960s, including Ivory Coast (Ballet Koteba), Mali ( Les Ballets Malien ), and Senegal (Le Ballet National du Senegal), each with its own attached political agenda. In the United States, Ladji Camara, a member of Ballets Africains in the 1950s, started teaching djembe in the 1960s and continued to teach into the 1990s. Camara performed extensively with Babatunde Olatunji during the 1970s, greatly raising awareness of
1809-486: The 1980s, a number of Guinean djembefolas (Epizo Bangoura, Famoudou Konaté, Mamady Keïta) started hosting study tours to Guinea, allowing djembe students to experience Guinean culture first-hand. Many other djembefolas followed suit; as of 2014, a potential visitor can select from tens of djembe tours each year. Djembe tourism created a market for djembefolas in Guinea that previously did not exist. Young djembefolas try to emulate
1876-616: The Ballet d'Armee in 1961 and Ballet Djoliba in 1964. Touré's policies alienated Guinea from the West and he followed the Eastern Bloc model of using the country's culture and music for promotional means. He and Fodéba Keïta, who had become a close friend of Touré, saw the ballets as a way to secularize traditional customs and rites of different ethnic groups in Guinea. The ballets combined rhythms and dances from widely different spiritual backgrounds in
1943-426: The Malinké believe that its spiritual qualities are superior. (Malinké traditional wisdom states that a spiritual energy, or nyama , runs through all things, living or dead. ) Besides lenke, traditional woods include djalla ( Khaya senegalensis ), dugura ( Cordyla africana ), gueni ( Pterocarpus erinaceus ), gele ( Prosopis africana ), and iroko ( Milicia excelsa ). Shells are carved soon after
2010-449: The background rhythm ( groove ) that is created by the other instruments. Traditionally crafted djembes are carved from a single log of hardwood. A number of different wood species are used, all of which are hard and dense. Hardness and density are important factors for the sound and projection of the djembe. The most prized djembe wood is lenke ( Afzelia africana ), not because it necessarily sounds better than other woods, but because
2077-479: The body to punctuate, convey and interpret musical rhythmic intention to an audience and to the performer. Chinese troops used tàigǔ drums to motivate troops, to help set a marching pace, and to call out orders or announcements. For example, during a war between Qi and Lu in 684 BC, the effect of drum on soldiers' morale is employed to change the result of a major battle. Fife-and-drum corps of Swiss mercenary foot soldiers also used drums. They used an early version of
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2144-498: The dancer, and it takes many years of experience for a djembefola to acquire the necessary rhythmic repertoire. The lead djembefola also improvises to a rhythm at times when no-one is dancing. While there is considerable freedom in such improvisation, the solo phrases are not random. Instead, individual rhythms have specific key patterns (signature phrases) that the soloist is expected to know and integrate into his improvisation. A skilled soloist will also play phrases that harmonize with
2211-458: The djembe forms an ensemble with a number of other djembes and one or more dunun. Except for the lead (or solo ) djembe, all instruments play a recurring rhythmic figure that is known as an accompaniment pattern or accompaniment part . The figure repeats after a certain number of beats, known as a cycle . The most common cycle length is four beats, but cycles often have other lengths, such as two, three, six, eight or more beats. (Some rhythms in
2278-513: The djembe to the attention of a wide audience. A 1998 follow-up documentary, Mögöbalu (also by Chevallier), contains concert footage uniting four master drummers ( Soungalo Coulibaly , Mamady Keita, Famoudou Konaté, and Doudou N'Diaye Rose ) on stage. The Oscar-nominated 2007 drama The Visitor ensured that the djembe was noticed internationally by mainstream viewers. The djembe has been used by many western artists, including Paul Simon , Cirque du Soleil , and Tool , raising awareness of
2345-409: The drum closer to the edge; the contact area of the fingers determines whether the sound is a tone or a slap. For a tone, most of the area of the fingers and the edge of the palm contact the skin whereas, for a slap, the contact area is limited to the edge of the palm and the fingertips. The basic sounds are played "open", meaning that the hands rebound immediately after a strike, so the contact time with
2412-570: The drum, which in turn is held onto the shell by a "counterhoop" (or "rim"), which is then held by means of a number of tuning screws called "tension rods" that screw into lugs placed evenly around the circumference. The head's tension can be adjusted by loosening or tightening the rods. Many such drums have six to ten tension rods. The sound of a drum depends on many variables—including shape, shell size and thickness, shell materials, counterhoop material, drumhead material, drumhead tension, drum position, location, and striking velocity and angle. Prior to
2479-622: The dundunba family from the Hamana region in Guinea have cycle lengths of 16, 24, 28, or 32 beats, among others.) Cycles longer than eight beats are rare for djembe accompaniments—longer cycles are normally played only by the dununba or sangban . Each instrument plays a different rhythmic figure, and the cycle lengths of the different instruments need not necessarily be the same. This interplay results in complex rhythmic patterns ( polyrhythms ). The different accompaniment parts are played on djembes that are tuned to different pitches; this emphasizes
2546-516: The earliest educational resources available to a student of the djembe were an educational VHS tape by Babatunde Olatunji released in 1993, as well as books by Serge Blanc, Famoudou Konaté, and Mamady Keïta. In 1998, these were supplemented by a three-volume VHS set by Keïta and, in 2000, by a VHS tape by Epizo Bangoura. Since then, the market for educational materials has grown significantly. As of 2014, dozens of educational books, CDs, and videos are available to an aspiring player. Starting in
2613-485: The end. In jazz, some drummers use brushes for a smoother, quieter sound. In many traditional cultures, drums have a symbolic function and are used in religious ceremonies. Drums are often used in music therapy , especially hand drums, because of their tactile nature and easy use by a wide variety of people. In the 2000s, drums have also been used as a way to engage in aerobic exercise and is called cardio drumming . In popular music and jazz , "drums" usually refers to
2680-402: The enemy. Djembe Bolokada Conde , Soungalo Coulibaly , Mamady Keïta , Famoudou Konaté , Drissa Kone Douguitigui Kone , Dramane Kone A djembe or jembe ( / ˈ dʒ ɛ m b eɪ / JEM -bay ; from Malinke jembe [dʲẽbe] , N'Ko : ߖߋ߲߰ߓߋ ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa . According to
2747-416: The fat content; they tend to sound dull and lifeless in comparison. Even though the fat content of male goats is lower than that of female goats, many players prefer female skins because they do not smell as strongly and are reputed to be softer. The skin is mounted with the spine running through the centre of the drum head, with the line of the spine pointing at the player, so the hands strike either side of
Drum (disambiguation) - Misplaced Pages Continue
2814-409: The ground. Drums are used not only for their musical qualities, but also as a means of communication over great distances. The talking drums of Africa are used to imitate the tone patterns of spoken language. Throughout Sri Lankan history drums have been used for communication between the state and the community, and Sri Lankan drums have a history stretching back over 2500 years. Drumming may be
2881-602: The instrument in the US. After the death of Sekou Touré in 1984, funding for the ballets dried up and a number of djembefolas (who were never paid well by the ballets ) emigrated and made regular teaching and performance appearances in the west, including Mamady Keïta (Belgium, US), Famoudou Konaté (Germany), and Epizo Bangoura (France, US, and Australia). A number of other djembefolas—M'bemba Bangoura, Abdoulaye Diakité , Bolokada Conde , Mohamed "Bangouraké" Bangoura, and Babara Bangoura, among others—followed their example, establishing
2948-425: The instrument with western audiences. Recordings of the djembe far surpass the number of recordings of any other African drum. Beginning in the late 1980s, a slew of djembe-centric recordings was released, a trend that, as of 2014, shows no sign of abating. This is significant because these recordings are driven by the demand of western audiences; there are almost no djembe recordings within African markets. Among
3015-447: The invention of tension rods, drum skins were attached and tuned by rope systems—as on the Djembe —or pegs and ropes such as on Ewe drums . These methods are rarely used today, though sometimes appear on regimental marching band snare drums. The head of a talking drum, for example, can be temporarily tightened by squeezing the ropes that connect the top and bottom heads. Similarly, the tabla
3082-547: The lack of written records in West African countries, it is unclear whether the djembe predates or postdates the Mali Empire. It seems likely that the history of the djembe reaches back for at least several centuries and possibly more than a millennium. The goblet shape of the djembe suggests that it originally may have been created from a mortar . (Mortars are widely used throughout West Africa for food preparation.) Prior to
3149-453: The modern Tom-tom drum . A jazz drummer may want drums that are high pitched, resonant and quiet whereas a rock drummer may prefer drums that are loud, dry and low-pitched. The drum head has the most effect on how a drum sounds. Each type of drum head serves its own musical purpose and has its own unique sound. Double-ply drumheads dampen high frequency harmonics because they are heavier and they are suited to heavy playing. Drum heads with
3216-433: The other djembes and dunun play accompaniment. An ensemble may have only two dunun, depending on whether a village has enough dunun players and is wealthy enough to afford three dunun. A djembe and dunun ensemble traditionally does not play music for people to simply sit back and listen to. Instead, the ensemble creates rhythm for people to dance, sing, clap, or work to. The western distinction between musicians and audience
3283-407: The polyrhythm and creates a composite overall melody. The number of instruments in the ensemble varies with the region and occasion. In Mali, a traditional ensemble often consists of one dunun (called konkoni ) and one djembe. The konkoni and djembe are in a rhythmic dialog, with each drum taking turns playing accompaniment while the other instrument plays improvised solos. If a second dunun player
3350-509: The same speed. When choosing a set of shells, a jazz drummer may want smaller maple shells, while a rock drummer may want larger birch shells. Drums made with alligator skins have been found in Neolithic cultures located in China, dating to a period of 5500–2350 BC. In literary records, drums manifested shamanistic characteristics and were often used in ritual ceremonies. The bronze Dong Son drum
3417-406: The same volume as a jackhammer. Djembe players use three basic sounds: bass , tone , and slap , which have low, medium, and high pitch, respectively. These sounds are achieved by varying the striking technique and position. Other sounds are possible (masters achieve as many as twenty-five distinctly different sounds), but these additional sounds are used rarely, mainly for special effects during
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#17328552188633484-563: The shell varies widely. In the Western musical tradition, the most usual shape is a cylinder , although timpani , for example, use bowl -shaped shells. Other shapes include a frame design ( tar , Bodhrán ), truncated cones ( bongo drums , Ashiko ), goblet shaped ( djembe ), and joined truncated cones ( talking drum ). A drum contains cylindrical shells can be open at one end (as is the case with timbales ), or can have two drum heads, one head on each end. Single-headed drums typically consist of
3551-484: The shoulder of the drummer and typically played with two drum sticks. Different regiments and companies would have distinctive and unique drum beats only they recognized. In the mid-19th century, the Scottish military started incorporating pipe bands into their Highland regiments. During pre-Columbian warfare, Aztec nations were known to have used drums to send signals to the battling warriors. The Nahuatl word for drum
3618-669: The shoulders of the goat. With thicker skins, such as from a cow or horse, the skin round is usually taken from the side of the hide so it does not include the spine, which is too thick for use on a djembe. Skins may be shaved prior to mounting or afterwards, or may be de-haired by liming . Liming weakens skins; some djembefolas also claim that limed skins are harder on their hands and do not sound as good as untreated skins. Factory-made djembes often use skins made from synthetic materials, such as FiberSkyn . Modern djembes exclusively use synthetic rope, most commonly of kernmantle construction, 4–5 mm in diameter. Low-stretch (static) rope
3685-498: The skin and the shell near the playing edge. Four to five people would stretch the wet skin over the drum to apply tension while the pegs were driven into the bowl. The shrinkage of the skin while it dried then applied sufficient additional tension for the skin to resonate. A similar mounting technique is still used by the Landouma (a subgroup of the Baga people ) for a djembe-like drum known as
3752-410: The skin is as short as possible. Acoustically, a djembe is a Helmholtz resonator : the frequency of the bass is determined by the size and shape of the shell and independent of the amount of tension on the skin. In contrast, the pitch of tones and slaps rises as the tension of the skin is increased. The bass has a frequency of 65–80 Hz. Depending on the size of the drum and the amount of tension on
3819-475: The skin, tone frequency varies from 300 Hz to 420 Hz and slap frequency from 700 Hz to 1000 Hz, with audible overtones reaching beyond 4 kHz. The difference in pitch of the sounds arises because the different striking techniques selectively emphasize specific vibrational modes of the drum head. A tone emphasizes the (0,1) mode while suppressing the bass (Helmholtz resonance) and higher-order modes as much as possible. A slap emphasizes
3886-573: The slaps; thinner skins have a sharper sound with fewer overtones in the slaps and are louder. Thick skins make it easier to play full tones but more difficult to play sharp slaps; for thin skins, the opposite applies. Thin skins are louder than thick ones. Thick skins, such as cow, are particularly hard on the hands of the player and cause more callousing than goatskins. Skins from dry and hot-climate areas and poorly fed goats are preferred for djembes because of their low fat content. Skins from cold-climate goats with high-value nutrition have more than double
3953-514: The snare drum carried over the player's right shoulder, suspended by a strap (typically played with one hand using traditional grip ). It is to this instrument that the English word "drum" was first used. Similarly, during the English Civil War rope-tension drums would be carried by junior officers as a means to relay commands from senior officers over the noise of battle. These were also hung over
4020-460: The sound of a drum. Because the vibrations resonate in the shell of the drum, the shell can be used to increase the volume and to manipulate the type of sound produced. The larger the diameter of the shell, the lower the pitch. The larger the depth of the drum, the louder the volume. Shell thickness also determines the volume of drums. Thicker shells produce louder drums. Mahogany raises the frequency of low pitches and keeps higher frequencies at about
4087-417: The sound of the instrument. (Djembes with smooth interiors have tones and slaps with too much sustain.) Often, interior grooves form a spiral pattern, which indicates a carver taking pride in his work. The djembe is headed with a rawhide skin, most commonly goatskin. Other skins, such as antelope, cow, kangaroo, or horse can be used as well. Thicker skins, such as cow, have a warmer sound with more overtones in
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#17328552188634154-409: The spine. Animal skins are thicker at the spine than the sides; mounting the skin with the spine centered ensures that the left and right hand play symmetric areas of equal size and thickness. In turn, this helps to minimize differences in pitch of the notes played by the left and right hand. Normally, the head end of the spine points at the player, so the hands strike the area of the skin that used to be
4221-704: The success of their predecessors and cater to the needs of the tourists, leading to change and commodification of the original djembe culture. Most djembes from Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Senegal are still hand carved from traditional species of wood, using traditional tools and methods. In the 1990s, djembes started being produced elsewhere, such as in Ghana , Nigeria , South Africa , and Indonesia , often using modern machinery and substitute species of wood, such as tweneboa ( Cordia platythyrsa ) or mahogany ( Swietenia mahagoni or Toona sureni ). However, these woods, being softer and less dense, are not as suitable as
4288-438: The thicker or coated drum heads. The second biggest factor that affects drum sound is head tension against the shell. When the hoop is placed around the drum head and shell and tightened down with tension rods, the tension of the head can be adjusted. When the tension is increased, the amplitude of the sound is reduced and the frequency is increased, making the pitch higher and the volume lower. The type of shell also affects
4355-505: The traditional woods. A number of western percussion instrument manufacturers also produce djembe-like instruments, often with fibreglass bodies, synthetic skins, and a key tuning system. The traditional barriers against women djembe and dunun players have come down over time. For its size, the djembe is an unusually loud drum. The volume of the drum rises with increasing skin tension. On a djembe tuned to solo pitch, skilled players can achieve sound pressure of more than 105 dB, about
4422-421: The tree is felled while the wood still retains some moisture and is softer. This makes the wood easier to carve and avoids radial splits that tend to develop in logs that are allowed to dry naturally. Carvers use simple hand tools, such as axes , adzes , spoke shaves , and rasps to shape the shell. A well-carved djembe does not have a smooth interior but a texture of scallops or shallow grooves that influence
4489-601: Was fabricated by the Bronze Age Dong Son culture of northern Vietnam. They include the ornate Ngoc Lu drum . Macaque monkeys drum objects in a rhythmic way to show social dominance and this has been shown to be processed in a similar way in their brains to vocalizations, suggesting an evolutionary origin to drumming as part of social communication. Other primates including gorillas make drumming sounds by chest beating or hand clapping, and rodents such as kangaroo rats also make similar sounds using their paws on
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