African Drums In Africa

The sun is out, the weather is hot, and there is a grand celebration taking place, like any other celebration in the world there is food, dance, and music. But this is not an ordinary celebration this is a celebration on the great plains of Africa where the beats of both high and low pitch drums stomp thru the air. The speed of the drums races against the speed of one’s dancing heart accelerating then reverting back to a deep steady thump. In Africa, drumming is a widely use instrument and form of music. Drums are usually the primary instrument used at celebrations in musical selections in Africa. African drums vary in different shapes, sounds, and pitches each with its own particular sound. Unlike here in the United States, where drums are

The simple structure and easily to produce sound makes it so that anyone can produce its sound. However, drums are more associated with Africa due to the fact that it comes in various forms and fulfills various functions. Due to the many animals that inhabit Africa Africans are able to make different styles of drums from the various animal skins and materials within the land. The most popular drum of Africa is known to be the Djembe. The Djembe is a large goblet shaped drum made from goat-skin. This instrument like most African percussion instruments is played by the hand using the tips of the fingers, flat hand, or the palm of the hand in order to produce a specific sound and volume. In the early 1950’s, African drumming began to introduce itself to the rest of the world when a popular African drumming group went on tour. Ten years later after going on tour, member of the famous African drumming group Ladji Camara, came to the United States to teach Americans how to properly play the African drum. One popular element of African drumming is known as “talking drum” this technique mimic that sound of African language. Drums in Africa have been used for celebrations, to announce the arrival of the special guest and even to send messages back and forth. In African culture, drums are used for symbolic purposes. There, drums are used at weddings, births, and even deaths the loudness that the drums gives off allows the African people to inform their village that some sort of celebration is taking place. The African people also use drumming for religious purposes, in the different parts of Africa there are different beliefs in gods. In some tribes, there is a belief that there are many gods each serving a different purpose, in this case, the African people will use drums in order to reach out to the gods believing the drums are loud