Djembe Construction

Traditionally, only artists should be entrusted with the building of a djembe. The construction of the drum prizes spiritual entanglement between builder and product, and every element needs to be chosen carefully to create a better sound.

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. A typical drum is 24 inches tall and 12 inches wide.

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. Soft wood bodies have a less expressive sound than hard wood bodied drums. 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. Commercial djembes are made of inferior products, like plastic, metal and resin, rather than animal hide, rope and wood. 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. Drums with larger drum heads also have larger bodies in order to conserve the sound needed. Though all drum pitches can be adjusted by tuning, wider drum heads have lower pitches.

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.