Choosing a Djembe

Are you a traditionalist or do you prefer high-tech and low maintenance? Historically, the African drum has been carved out of a log and the animal skin head has been held against the hollow body with ropes. Modern wood djembes are pieced together for a more uniform shape and better quality control. Traditional djembe tuning means loosening and tightening the ropes holding the drum skin to the body.

For the traditional look and construction, we offer several djembes constructed from mango or rosewood. These djembes, some of them engraved quite elaborately and some hewn roughly, use cord-and-ring tuning, which is easier that the more primitive rope-only drums. These mango and rosewood djembes are topped with natural skins, some still bearing fur around the rim of the drum. This is not functional. It merely mimics primitive construction, where the fur would be skinned after it was tied to the drum and the fur on the loose edges was not so easily removed.

For modern tastes, we have a wide selection of Remo djembes. These are all made of an engineered wood named Acousticon^® which is skinned with a decorative graphic. Tuning of Remo djembes is accomplished by turning a key. We also have Tycoon djembes, which are tuned using a wrench on a bolt.

The djembe (pronounced jem-bay, the "d" is silent) is from West Africa and is of the goblet drum type; that is, it's body shape is that of a bowl on top of a sounding tube. The odd spelling is actually French. "Dj" in French has the English "j" sound. As with many drums, this percussion instrument has uses in dance, entertainment, healing, and ceremony. A djembe master is called a djembefola.

This drum usually sits on the floor where a player seated in a chair plays it. Stands are available to position it higher and angled or simply keep it from getting knocked over on the floor. More adventurous types can stand or even move around on stage with it sandwiched between their legs.

The djembe is played primarily with the whole hand and three main positions, mainly differentiated by their proximity from the middle. A slap in the middle with the dominant hand produces a bass tone and a strike on the rim produces a much higher tone. As with most drums, the djembe is easy to play, but skill and experience (or lack thereof) will be evident.

Please have a look at our entire selection of djembes, cases, stands, and replacement heads.

What's for Sale | Payment Info | Shipping Info | Returns | View Cart | Checkout | Contact Us | Newsletter

Drum Info | Percussion Info | Learn How to Play | Find Other Musical Instruments | Site Map