Aidan Productions

The defining moment of African music comes in the form of percussion instruments. It is the common theme in all special events in an African community . During the old times, African music was used to bring African people together, they often held social gathering, social meetings and ritual events. Since participation is important in the community, the Africans would play percussion instruments, the most rhythmic musical instruments they had. Some of the widely used African percussion instruments are described below.

The Djembe

If you find a drum that makes use of an animal skin covered head, then you have just come across the djembe drum. The djembe drum has a thicker top half partnered with a thinner lower half resembling a goblet. The body is usually made from an echoing log to create various acoustics. The head is secured over the body using ropes although, in today's world, some makers use steel hoops, nylon core ropes, and rubbers in tightening and tuning the drum. Djembe is used as the centrepiece of the percussion section. It has varying tones and tunes depending upon the size of the instrument. A drummer would usually strike the head with his fingers or hands to create different tones.

Udu

Loosely translated, "udu" means vessel in the African language and it is usually made of clay. This former drinking vessel produces sound courtesy of its extra hole located in its body. The sound it creates is similar to that produced by a glass bottle. In order to play the udu, your one hand has to cover the top hole while your other hand partially covers the other hole. This will then create a wide range of different tones.

Slit Drums

Another widely used percussion instrument in Africa is the Slit drum. This kind of drum is usually made from hollowed wood or carved wood which allows it to produce a sound. These drums can be made of logs or bamboo. Drums and mallets are, oftentimes, used to strike the drum in order to produce a sound. Just like udu, it also produces a rainbow of tones.

Double Bells

Double bells are actually made up of two metallic bells forged together to look like a horseshoe. In order to produce a sound, mallets are used. In the African percussion instruments, double bells are used to mark measures and keep time for the percussion players.

Other African percussion instruments include hand-shakers, wooden xylophones, and lamellophones (finger pianos).