The goatskin head is attached by stringing it to pegs that are attached to the body, or by directly attaching it to the pegs. Tuning is accomplished by driving the pegs further into the body, which pulls on the skin. The Sabar drum has been used to communicate from village to village over considerable distances. The rhythms can imitate spoken phrases which could then be heard for over 15 kilometers. Like most African hand drums, the sabar is not a solo instrument.
It's part of an ensemble and contributor to community events such as births, baby naming ceremonies, weddings and other holidays. Sabars are even played for wrestling matches, and each wrestler will have his own special rhythm.
The bougarabou is unique because it's a solo instrument. Like the conga, however, it comes in sets of distinctly tuned members, so it's not a case where a lone instrument takes center stage. Rather, it's a lone musician playing a set of drums. This was not always the case; until fairly recently the bougarabou was played as a single drum. Often, the drummer also wears a series of metal bracelets that contribute to the sound. The bougarabou has a longer history than its cousin, the djembe, and tends to be larger.
Another difference is that it's almost always skinned with cow skin, so it tends to have a deeper, richer sound than the djembe. This is especially true if the hair is not shaved off the skin, as is the tradition.
Notice that in the following video these African drums are not rope-tuned, as are most bougarabous these days. They are also quite large, as bougarabous now go, and at least one of them is shaped strikingly like a conga.
It's common for the audience and dancers to clap with wooden chunks of palm peduncles and sing. The talking drum is an hour-glass shaped African drum that enables villages separated by vast distances to communicate with each other.
Like the sabar, it is played with a striker and an empty hand. Unlike the sabar, the talking drum has two heads that are attached to each other by leather thongs that run the length of the shell. By regulating the tension of these thongs, the pitch can be manipulated so as to mimic the rhythm, stress, and intonation of speech. Sometime a bonfire is used as people gather around for a whole night as they dance and express joy. African drums were also used to accompany wrestling matches, warriors and dance competitions.
African drums have played an important role in in traditional African communities for communication purposes like emergency meetings, announcing war, the beginning and finish of harvest seasons and the death of important people in their respective societies like kings and chiefs. One of the most used drum for communication is the West African talking drum. Drums have also been used to accompany traditional African religious activities like prayers, droughts, and removing evil spirits in the communities.
African drums hold and bond communal socio-political events like weddings, burials, marriages, naming ceremonies, sadness and joy. African drum rhythms have found their way into a whole host of popular African music which today have empower music and performance in Africa and a lesson to learn from.
The importance of African drums cannot be discuss in a single conversation but taking the time to live it, learn it, have passion for this art will make you understand the importance of the African drums in a spiritual way. Toggle navigation. Jan 24, Tijan Art African drums have special, deeper symbolic and historic meaning when compared with the western music.
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