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How the Djembe is Built

By Caitlin McGuire

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 24Sep2009
Word count: 499
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Making a traditionally crafted djembe is a difficult undertaking. The construction is rife with spiritual significance, and the materials used have huge effects on the tonal effects of the music produced by the drum.

The shape of the djembe is of huge importance. All djembes are carved to look like a goblet or a mortar. This allows for the deep resonance needed for bass notes, as well as for the echo needed in crisp slaps. The average djembe is two feet tall, and approximately a foot in diameter.

A djembe made in the traditional style will be carved from a piece of a hardwood tree. The artist hollows out the wood, using a single piece for the entire drum body. A djembe made in West Africa will typically be made from dimba, lenge, hare, bois rouge or acajou wood. When hollowing out the drum, the drum maker will leave a spiral ridge through the interior, which helps intensify the sound. Otherwise, the interior should be free of splinters.

However, there are some artists in West Africa that make lower quality djembes from soft wood. The bodies are thicker and produce a duller sound than their hard wood cousins. These djembes are produced quickly, and are exported to America, where they are sold at commercial retailers like Target for less than $100. Because djembes were exported to Europe earlier than they were to America, and have a better sense of what constitutes a quality drum, Europeans are more likely to be sold hard wood djembes.

Because of the increasing popularity of the djembe in America, many drum manufacturers are cashing in, making synthetic djembes available at low prices. These djembes are made of plastic or resin, use metallic tuning instead of robes, and use plastic drum heads instead of animal skin. They tend to be lightweight and sturdy. Meinl, Pearl and Toca all feature these types of products. However, because the materials used in these drums are firmer, artists who are willing to sacrifice a little bit of quality for longevity would be well served to pick an American made djembe. Furthermore, these plastic and resin djembes can be played outdoors, which helps out performance musicians.

African drum heads are usually made from goatskin, although there are several other hides that can be used as well. In general, drum heads from Africa are stronger than those from America, because goats in Africa have a rougher life than those in America. Consequently, their skin is tougher, and is much more difficult to break.

The size of the drum head will also affect the pitch of your djembe. The wider drum heads tend to be larger than normal drum heads. Wider drum heads maker for lower tones, although this can be adjusted by tuning the hand drum.

In order to tune your djembe, use the ropes or metal tuning device that attaches the drum head to the drum body. Tightened ropes make for higher pitched sounds, while loosened ropes will decrease the pitch.

X8 Drums & Percussion, Inc. maintains offices in New Jersey and is on the Internet at http://www.X8Drums.com. X8 Drums attracts customers from around the world seeking personal expert advice when purchasing percussion instruments including the cajon drum, djembe, congas and bongo drums. With the added benefit of the X8 Drum Circle, site users have access to festival schedules, how to guides, and an artist directory.

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