DJEMBE DRUM

Large traditional African Djembe drum. This is a natural goat skin drum with a beautiful, hard wood, hand carved base. 

A djembe is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa.

The djembe traditionally has a body (or shell) carved of hardwood and a drumhead made of untreated (not limed) rawhide, most commonly made from goatskin.

The djembe can produce a wide variety of sounds, making it a most versatile drum. The drum is very loud, allowing it to be heard clearly as a solo instrument over a large percussion ensemble.


Decoration

Instead of trimming the skin off above the crown ring, African drum makers fold the skin over so it covers the crown ring. This is done for aesthetic purposes; the fold-over does not serve to hold the skin in place.

Ropes of different color can be wrapped around the bowl of the drum as decoration. (To tune the drum, the rope wrap must be removed.)