Popular Hand Drums at Drum Circles
Djembe Drums, Conga Drums, and Percussion From Around the World
Jul 18, 2009
In many ways, hand drums like djembe drums, conga drums, bongo drums, or doumbeks are virtually the same. Their design consists of one or more membranes stretched across a resonating shell. Sound is produced when a player strikes the membrane with his hand . Around the world and over thousands of years, hand drums have remained basically unchanged.
Despite these overall similarities, variations in materials, shape, size, and construction lend each hand drum its own unique voice. Percussionists thinking of checking out drum circles have a wide variety of instruments from which to choose.
Popular Hand Drums at Drum Circles
Unless the group members of drum circles decide to focus on hand drums from one culture, musicians are bound to see instruments from every corner of the world.
Hand drums, or drums played with the hand rather than a mallet are the most common percussion found at drum circles. Musicians also bring along small percussion instruments such as shakers, guiros, or bells for variety.
Djembe Drums and African Hand Drums
The most popular hand drums at many drum circles are djembe drums from West Africa. These goblet-shaped hand drums are easily recognized by their goatskin heads and rope tuning.
Two other popular African hand drums are the ashiko and the bass Djun-djun. These are also strung with tuning ropes. The Ashiko is shaped like a truncated cone and the djun-djun like a large cylinder.
Conga Drums and Cuban Hand Drums
Conga drums and bongo drums with their Latin flavor also tend to be well represented in drum circles.
Bongo drums are two single-headed hand drums joined side by side. One drum is larger than the other allowing for two different tones.
Conga drums are also Cuban hand drums with African influence. Conga drums are tall, single-headed, and shaped like a narrow barrel. Two congas of different sizes are often played together on a stand.
Doumbeks and Middle-Eastern Hand Drums
Many hand drums from the Middle East are goblet shaped. These ancient instruments go by many names including doumbek, tarabuka, and tablah. Their distinct sound forms the rhythm for the music of a wide range of countries including Turkey, Greece, Israel, the Balkans, and Arabic countries. Goblet drums are held either under the arm or on the lap.
Another family of percussion coming from this area of the world are frame drums. These include any drum which has a head whose diameter is greater than its depth. Several popular versions of the frame drum are the bendir from North Africa, the bodhran from Ireland, and the tambourine.
Native American Hand Drums
Tom-tom drums are cylindrical shells with two drum heads. They trace their design to Native American and Asian origins and were once used as a means of communication.
These are just a few examples of the wide variety of hand drums and percussion typically heard at drum circles. Once musicians have found their instrument, they may also be interested to look into what exactly a drum circle is, drum circle etiquette, and how to find drum circles.
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