Two drums: Djembe and talking

by Jamie Rhein   Feb 20th 2008 @ 3:30PM

Two of my favorite possessions are drums. One is a talking drum that used to belong to a friend of mine, a renowned griot in The Gambia. I made a trade to get it. What I offered: a bed, a thermos, and a new drum form. What I got: the drum and memories of Ebou playing it at naming ceremonies and other village gatherings. The other is similar to the djembe drum, although smaller. I acquired this one from a dance group in Nigeria. This first video shows how the djembe drum is made. The second one is of the talking drum being played. The pitch of the drum changes depending on how tightly the player is squeezing the strings between his side and inside arm.



Filed under: Learning, Stories, Gambia, Video

Recent Posts

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.

Featured Galleries

Cockpit Chronicles: LAX 'View from the office'
Soulard Mardi Gras: St. Louis, Missouri
A drive down Peru's coast
A Chinese tiger farm
Galley Gossip: Positano, Italy
Cockpit Chronicles: Night Bike Tour
Galley Gossip: Venice (Cannaregio)
GALLEY GOSSIP: Prepare for takeoff
Cockpit Chronicles: The Tuileries, Seine and Latin Quarter

 

Sponsored Links

Most Commented On (7 days)

Recent Comments

Weblogs, Inc. Network