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Around '94 or so I was browsing at "Just Drums" in North Toronto, and made one of those impulse purchases - a metal dumbek (also known as a darabuka). One of the nice, light brass drums with the embossed pattern on the shell. I even bought a book called the "Soul of Hand Drumming", by Doug Sole (who also happened to be one of the employees.) Doug is a great proponent of hand drumming, and now has his own store in Toronto called Soul Drums. I brought the drum home to Ottawa, where I played it a bit, but it otherwise sat there looking pretty. I didn't quite know what to do with it, and was still rather caught up in the big noise of drumsticks and drumkits. Then a while later I decided to go djembe shopping. I guess I needed a drum with more thunder in it to help myself feel at home while trying to use my bare hands. But I was torn between getting a "real" (wooden) one made in here or in Africa, or a synthetic one. The problem with the wooden drums is keeping them in tune, esp. in a on-stage situation with hot lights and dry air. Another factor is that I'm concerned about the origin of these drums. What trees are being cut down? Where are the skins coming from? Is the fellow who made them only getting $50.00 on a $400.00 drum, etc. The synthetic ones obviously have their own set of problems with the chemicals used in their manufacturing, but I did some research on Remo, the company that makes them. They have a state of the art recovery system at their factory, and are apparently very good at following California's tough anti-pollution standards. Shortly thereafter, I found out that most of the professional djembe players (even the ones from the countries of Africa where these drums originate), use the synthetic ones, just to avoid the at times lengthy tuning ritual. They save their good wood drums for special occasions, and from the wear and tear of touring. Consistency is an important thing when one is trying to perform. If one has to use plastic, then a drumhead that lasts a very long time is a good use of the technology. I eventually decided on a 12" Remo djembe, and have been quite pleased with it. I bought it at Steve's Music here in Ottawa, and they had a good selection. There was one Remo drum that was 18 inches across! What a huge sound - THE drum for controlling the beat at drum circles! (But, it was also $500 and quite heavy...) I played my drum a bit a home, but it's pretty powerful, so I definitely had to find a local drum circle. I joined the Earth Tones drum circle when it started up at Arts Court back in '99, and still attend those Sunday night sessions whenever I can. This particular circle is a jam session (actually, it's a Drum and Dance jam, so some folks just come to bop around to the rhythms), in that there is no Master Drummer showing everyone what to do. Ours is just vaguely controlled anarchy! Someone starts a beat, and the others either follow it, or just add their own thing. Click on the thumbnail pics below to see the larger images.  The Remo djembe. Modelled after the quintessential African instrument, and the finish is a coated cloth wrapped around the drum. Remo makes a whole range of World percussion instruments.  Aluminum darabuka (say *that* quickly 5 times...). This is modelled after the clay instruments of the Middle East, and is the type pro players in Egypt use. Weatherproof, and almost indestructible. A nice, light drum to put in your knapsack.  Brass dumbek. This particular drum comes from Pakistan. The head design was done by my two young nieces, who were having fun with the henna kit they got for Xmas. (Hmm, this drum could use a polishing...)  Wood-skin drum. My friend Jack built this in exchange for me building him a bike trailer.  Close-up of wooden "skin". This drum has a sheet of very thin high-grade birch plywood in place of a skin, with strips of leather glued to the edges for hand comfort whilst playing. This drum has a beaufitul, mellow sound, with a nice slap tone - perfect for lower volume situations and recording. 'Tis my humble opinion that everyone should have a drum they can call their own, and enjoy the connected-ness with natural rhythms that can happen when you open yourself up to them. From what the music stores tell me, many people ARE buying hand drums. But it seems that while many have drums at home, they perhaps aren't confident enough to attend a drum circle or otherwise play in "public". But, you can always start slow, if you wish, and hand drums can be used anywhere. Just put your drum in your knapsack (small dumbeks are great for this), go to the park or woods, and serenade the wildlife. Do you have a friend who plays a melodic instrument such as flute or sax? Offer to jam with them; maybe at their place, or on a sunny day the two of you can go somewhere outside and make music. When you are feeling more confident, perhaps you can bring your drum to your next social gathering. If a friend has one, get them to come along, and you can BE the entertainment, instead of the usual background music from tapes or CDs. Of course, you can always find some dancers, as they love dancing to drums, and a djembe is great accompaniment for them! And there is probably a drum circle somewhere in your town or city, so head on down, don't feel intimidated, and just have fun! The one here I attend here in Ottawa, called Earth Tones Drum and Dance Jam, takes place at Arts Court, 2nd floor, every Sunday night at 7:30. In the summertime we move outdoors, and either play in the north end of Major's Hill Park, or (when it's raining) in the newly re-opened passage under the Confederation Square Bridge. Here are some websites to check out: Africanmusic.org - This site has info on all the different musical cultures of Africa, incl. links to artists within the different countries. Worldmusic.org - "World Music, a non-profit organization established in 1990, presents music and dance from the far and near corners of the globe." Djembe WebRing - This site connects the various hand drumming websites and email lists. Jas's Drum Page - A good site from a dumbek player, with many good links. Check out his "rhythm" page, as it has extensive notated Middle Eastern dumbek rhythms. African Drum Rhythms - Transcriptions of selected African drum rhythms. Djembe and Mande Music - "This page is devoted primarily to the drumming, culture and other musical traditions of the Mande peoples of West Africa." They also have a very thorough listing of books on drumming. Rhythmweb - "We love it ALL! Drums, drummers, drumming, percussionists, lovers & students of percussion music!" Djembe Performance Page - "This page offers introductory knowledge for playing the djembe." Mary's Djembe Links - Wanna whole lotta links? You can find more drum and percussion related links at the bottom of my Music page as well. |
