"Professional" Djembes

[e2c]

i agree completely with you re. misinformation, but how can it be stopped? it doesn't exactly fall into the category of false advertising, and there aren't any laws against being misinformed.

other than that, it's a free-market economy, so i suppose, ultimately, that it's really about whatever the market will bear.

(fwiw, i've spent time working in music stores and sometimes, there's nothing you can say or do that will persuade someone to spend a bit more and thereby get a better instrument - they more or less have to learn about that on their own...)

[michi]

i agree completely with you re. misinformation, but how can it be stopped? it doesn't exactly fall into the category of false advertising, and there aren't any laws against being misinformed.

It can't be stopped, and shouldn't be. Just think about it: the seller may in all innocence believe that djembes originally came from Benin. Should he/she be fined for saying something in good faith that turns out to be inaccurate? If we had laws like that, man, I wouldn't open my mouth at all anymore for fear of making a mistake.

If someone cares, they can send an email to the seller pointing out that the information they provide is inaccurate, and point out the same thing in forums such as this, but that's about it.

I'm sure that some sellers spread misinformation knowing full well that what they say is wrong. It all comes down to business ethics then. In my experience, companies that stick to good products, good ethics, and good service always win out in the long run. It's very hard to acquire a good reputation but, once acquired, it goes a long way. And, fortunately, it's easy to acquire a bad reputation, and people have long memories for sellers who've done them a disservice.

(fwiw, i've spent time working in music stores and sometimes, there's nothing you can say or do that will persuade someone to spend a bit more and thereby get a better instrument - they more or less have to learn about that on their own...)

My very first djembe was a half-size version, turned on a lathe, made of Eucalypt. (Not an ideal wood for djembes, by any stretch.) It was poorly made, with too few loops and cheap rope. I paid $220 for it at the time. That's an outragous price for what it was, but that was only about a third of the cost of the real thing. (I wouldn't have bought any drum, no matter how good, for $650 at the time.) That $220 drum is the one that started me drumming. When I think of how much drumming has changed my life, and how much I have benefited because of it, those were probably the best $220 I ever spent.

A few months after I bought that drum, its skin popped. I went to a drum maker here who did workshops on how to build drums, and rebuilt that drum from scratch, reshaping the rim, redoing the rings and rope, and fitting a new skin of course. After I had rebuilt the drum, it didn't sound any better. But because I rebuilt it, I found out that I really like the process of building drums. Without this drum, I may not ever have started building my own.

Then I went to my first beginners class with this drum, and quickly realized that I really like drumming, and that there was a huge difference between my drum and the full-size African ones around me. So, not long after that, I bought a proper Mali shell and built that one myself too. I've never looked back since...

So, in many ways, that poor-quality overpriced drum I bought initially is a drum I have a lot to thank for. And I still have it, and it still gets used: it's an ideal size for children around 8-10 years of age, so I have that drum available for my classes when a parent shows up with their child. My original cheap and poor-quality drum continues to do good in the world... More than one child has started drumming on it and since moved on to something of better quality.

As you mentioned, nothing you say will convince some people to spend a bit more on a better instrument. (Nothing would have convinced me at the time I bought my $220 djembe either.) And, like so many other people, I had to learn on my own too, and I did. And I will never forget the moment when I first played my Mali drum when it was finished. That was a moment of poor joy: I was ecstatic at the sounds I could make that had previously eluded me on my half-size drum.

So, I guess all this means is that there is a place for the second- and third-tier djembes after all, and that there is value in walking the path from low quality to high quality

Cheers,

Michi.

[e2c]

michi, i've had my own encounters with 3d rate (and poorer) instruments, though not percussion. So everything you're saying makes complete sense to me!

Where I did see the "it's not worth it" factor come into play quite a bit - with band instruments (or other rentals/purchases) for schoolchildren. it's an entirely crazy proposition, and not something i ever want to do again, at least not during peak season!

Though i did get the occasional person who really understood, like a single mom who saved up for a good childrens' drumset for her 10-year-old daughter (who was totally enthralled by percussion and was just crazy about playing). being able to help her out made up for a *lot* of the more frustrating conversations i had with parents who had difficulty understanding why cheap, almost unplayable instruments weren't really a bargain for their kids.

[michi]

Though i did get the occasional person who really understood, like a single mom who saved up for a good childrens' drumset for her 10-year-old daughter (who was totally enthralled by percussion and was just crazy about both playing). being able to help her out made up for a *lot* of the more frustrating conversations i had with parents who had difficulty understanding why cheap, almost unplayable instruments weren't really a bargain for their kids.

Some children are blessed with enlightened parents. I had parents like that, who were willing to accommodate my passions. My parents are no longer alive. But my gratitude for their understanding and compassion will never wane.

Cheers,

Michi.

[dleufer]

I think we've lost focus a bit here. Here's a few more to get us back on track:

This one is called "Tropical Sunset Vibrations". Novica provide a typically postmodernist blurb which closes with a sentence which makes as much sense as the most abstract of Zen Koans "Aboagye [the carver] zealously guards details such as drying periods, depth of carving, and skin tensional, for he considers them trade secrets that can be appreciated by the melodious beat of the djembe". It seems that the grammatical and syntactical abilities of Novica's PR department are only matched by the artistic prowess of their carvers.

Now, the "MEXICAN HANDCRAFTED PROFESSIONAL AYACAHUITE DJEMBE DRUM". It seems to combine all the most revolutionary and untested techniques of traditonal Mexican dejmbe construction in one drum which could only sound as good as it looks. Notice the complex rope pattern interspersed with massive bolts (undoubtedly made from some rare metal) and the fact the base of the drum is just two pieces glued together.

Beautiful.

Unofrtunately I haven't been able to upload any large pictures of the final piece but here's a link to it's Ebay page: http://cgi.ebay.com/Ceramic-Djembe-Drum ... dZViewItem
The carver (or spinner?) has this to say: "I've been making these drums for a few years now and feel confident in their performance and esthetic. The ceramic body resinates the roar of the drum, more so than their wooden brothers". Wooden brothers beware.

[michi]

Unofrtunately I haven't been able to upload any large pictures of the final piece

Here it is in its full glory for posterity:

Ceramic Djembe

CeramicDjembe.jpg (68.62 KiB) Viewed 493 times

Cheers,

Michi.

[e2c]

Well, actually... in Iran, large ceramic drums of pretty much that shape are played at traditional gymnasiums and for certain festivals. See this link (which is a PDF): http://www.isdy.net/pdf/eng/2008_19.pdf

So there you go. The object of one person's joke is another's treasured tradition.

[michi]

Well, actually... in Iran, large ceramic drums of pretty much that shape are played at traditional gymnasiums and for certain festivals. See this link (which is a PDF): http://www.isdy.net/pdf/eng/2008_19.pdf

Interesting! I hadn't heard of a Zarb before. I found a YouTube video about it. And here is a sound clip for the Zarb.

Both sound and playing technique are very different from a djembe.

So there you go. The object of one person's joke is another's treasured tradition.

Well, calling the drum in the original picture a "djembe" is a joke, in my opinion, because djembes aren't made out of ceramics.

If it is a Zarb (although the shape is quite different from the Zarbs in the links), why not call it a "Zarb" then? It certainly isn't a djembe

Cheers,

Michi.

[e2c]

michi, the djembe is part of a family/category of what ethnomus and musicology types call "goblet drums." (i.e., goblet-shaped - check an encyclopedia of musical instruments for more info.). The tombak (aka zarb) is one of them - but only one. the smaller version used in classical music is made of mulberry wood; the large one (ceramic) is used exclusively at traditional gymnasiums. (The word for those literally translates as "houses of strength.")

Here in the US, there have been people experimenting with various goblet drum forms for at least the past 20 years. I think some of this is coming from instrument makers who are trying to push the envelope, while in other cases, it's happening because younger people from immigrant communities (Iranian, Arabic, etc.) are working to try and create instruments that combine the qualities of several different types of goblet drums. (which are also played in the Arab world, though those drums - which have a variety of names - are different in both shape and sound than the zarb, and usually made of either clay or - now - cast aluminum.) Whether any of these drums actually sound good - that I don't know, because I've had limited opportunities to try any of them. But I'm willing to bet that some of them *are* pretty nifty in their own way, while others are likely not.

I'm trying to make a point about the fact that the shape of the djembe is not unique, as well as ... well, you can guess. (and my other axes are... from the Middle East and North Africa. )

and you know, I'm (personally) kind of tired of the way some of the thread participants are writing snarky and negative posts.

cheers,
e.

edited to add: a shot of an Iraqi-American instrument-maker's workshop. (i buy from this fellow; his Arabic goblet drums are cast from a clay that he mixes - as you can probably tell from the color, it has a high iron content.)



More here: http://arts.state.wi.us/static/folkdir/alwan1.htm

[e2c]

My concern is that people who might just have drums like ones that are pictured here - but who'd like to learn more about the djembe - could see some of the posts here and end up feeling pretty intimidated by those "djembe snobs." (And yeah, I'm a djembe snob for sure! )

Just sayin'...

[michi]

michi, the djembe is part of a family/category of what ethnomus and musicology types call "goblet drums." (i.e., goblet-shaped - check an encyclopedia of musical instruments for more info.).

Yes, the djembe is only one of many types of goblet drum.

I'm trying to make a point about the fact that the shape of the djembe is not unique, as well as ... well, you can guess. (and my other axes are... from the Middle East and North Africa. )

Definitely not unique, I agree. But I have to say, something that labels itself "djembe" means the West African version to me; West African djembes are definitely not made out of ceramics

That's not to say that other goblet drums (whether made of ceramics or something else) don't have a right to exist, or are somehow a "lesser" drum--I definitely didn't mean to imply anything like that!

Cheers,

Michi.

[e2c]

I think we cross-posted - check my last.

And I do see where you're coming from - no worries there!

[michi]

Here is a new find from eBay, described as "African Drum Djembe Tabla 100% Olive Wood/Music Darbuka"

I quite like the aesthetics of this drum. It certainly looks pretty.

BTW, can anyone recommend good recordings by renowned Djembe Tabla players? I would like to delve deeper into that instrument...

Cheers,

Michi.

Djembe Tabla

djembe-1.jpg (33.52 KiB) Viewed 405 times

[rachelnguyen]

I'll have to hook you up with Moussa Batish Singh. He's a great djembe tabla master from Boise.

[michi]

I'll have to hook you up with Moussa Batish Singh. He's a great djembe tabla master from Boise.

At the risk of making a fool of myself... I thought there was no such thing as a "djembe tabla" and, therefore, no such thing as a "djembe table master". By the looks of things, you are telling me otherwise?

Or am I just not getting the joke? "Moussa Batish Singh" sounds like an unusual cultural combination of names...

Cheers,

Michi.