What were talking drums used for?
In its earliest form, the talking drum served as an aid to ancient Griot or storytellers. These traveling poets and musicians would use the talking drums to carry on the oral traditions of their cultures. Later, talking drums were used as a means of inter-village communication themselves rather than accompaniment.
What is the talking drum also known as?
The talking drum is an instrument in the percussion family that originates from West Africa. This hourglass shaped drum can be traced back to antiquity and is known by a variety of names including the gangan in Yoruba and doodo in Songhai.
When were drums used in communication?
1000- 500 BC – Sri Lanka and African people used drums as a means of communication over large distances.
What is the history of drumming?
When Were Drums Invented? Artifacts from China suggest that percussionists played drums made from alligator skins as far back as 5500 B.C, and iconography from ancient Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman cultures show the use of drums in religious ceremonies and cultural gatherings.
Where did the drums originate from?
They were originally made in ancient Turkey or China, but were also used in Israel and Egypt. Drums have been used to set a marching beat for soldiers, as well as to motivate soldiers, for thousands of years.
What are the 3 different strokes in West African drumming called?
How to Play the Djembe: 3 Fundamental Tones. There are three ways to strike the head in djembe drumming: slap, bass, and tone.
Which instrument changes pitch by squeezing strings on the side?
East African hourglass drums are single-skinned. In West Africa double-skinned hourglass drums are held under one arm, their pitch rapidly and continually changed by as much as an octave by squeezing the lacing that joins the two heads.
What is an African drum called?
A djembe or jembe (/ˈdʒɛmbeɪ/ JEM-bay; from Malinke jembe [dʲẽbe], N’Ko: ߖߋ߲߰ߓߋ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. …