Good wood

[bops]

What's everyone's preference for wood?

It seems like a lot of people like Khadi or Hare because it really cracks. Iroko drums from Ivory Coast are lightweight and FAST... guys like Fode Seydou Bangoura and Boka have been seen shredding those djembes to bits. So what's everyone's preference?

[Dugafola]

i voted other cause i got 3 drums up now that i rotate pretty much daily.

i got a Mali Gele wood shell. my take on the wood is that it's highly resonant like Hare but slightly warmer sound. the appearance is very similar to old and dark djalla but with a more spaced out grain in the wood.

the other one is a 13.5" guinea lenke. pig. heaviest drum i own but with a super sweet voice. backbreaker standing up.

the last one up is a 13" ish Hare. I've only had it for a year and have gone through 3 skins on it...not sure if Hare is for me.

the rest are unheaded - 2 djallas, 1 iroko.

one of the djallas will become a bass djembe very soon and the iroko will be sold.

i like heavy drums.

[rachelnguyen]

Well, I have a couple of drums, but the one I play is Lenge. I have been told it is heavy, but since I play sitting down at this point, I haven't really noticed. It is, however, beautifully balanced, so it doesn't take any effort at all to keep it in the right position.

Love the sound of it.

All Love,
Rachel

[bubudi]

my 3 drums are made of lenke, goueni (hare) and iroko. i do love the mali lenke the most. it's a beast of a drum but is just very well rounded and natural sounding. my usual choice for seated playing. the one that gets the most use is the goueni. it's medium weight and has these warm tones. it gives a different sound to the more traditional lenke and djala drums, but one that is well-liked. they make balafons out of the same wood. the iroko is more light weight, quite resonant. my preference depends on my mood any particular day

some people go for max resonance, others like the warm natural sound and therefore don't crank their drum to the hilt, others like their djembes to sound as high and crisp as possible. that preference should guide your wood choice. personally i chose the iroko and lenke by sound and not by wood. i bought the goueni shell after playing someone else's goueni drum.

[bops]

Lately I've been trying to match my drums with a skin that really fits the wood type. I've found that certain drums favor a thick, thick goatskin or calfskin, while some sound better with a medium-thick skin. Thin goatskins I save for bodhrans or for a larger accompaniment djembe.

Right now I've got a Malian Lenke and a Guinean Lenke, both headed with calf. I've got a beautiful red Acajou drum that likes a medium skin better. I would say I choose my drum based on what group I'm with and what type of playing I'll be doing.

I'm told that Lenke was the original wood used for djembes - not only for its acoustic properties but also because the lenke tree has traditionally been viewed as a spiritually charged tree. Anyone know more about this?

[leekahheng]

Even when using the same species of wood, there are still significant differences in age, density, and color of wood, all of which
would presumable make a difference in the tonal quality. one lenke djembe isn't the same as another lenke djembe if they come from difference parts of the forest and different parts of separate trees, which grew up with different levels of sunlight and varying levels of nutrients in the soil

[James]

I have a lenke with a goat and an old dialla with a cow.

Even when using the same species of wood, there are still significant differences in age, density, and color of wood, all of which
would presumable make a difference in the tonal quality. one lenke djembe isn't the same as another lenke djembe if they come from difference parts of the forest and different parts of separate trees, which grew up with different levels of sunlight and varying levels of nutrients in the soil

Welcome....good point! There's also another million factors in drum building that will alter the sound of drum too..

I'm told that Lenke was the original wood used for djembes - not only for its acoustic properties but also because the lenke tree has traditionally been viewed as a spiritually charged tree. Anyone know more about this?

Famoudou told me that for him it's lenke, lenke, lenke.

It is a spiritual tree.

If somone has a problem they go the the lenke and they make it an offering and ask it for guidance.

I believe there is usually 1 person in the villlage who's job it is to speak to the tree.

They seem to ask a series of yes and no questions and then toss an open cola nut. If the nut lands both round sides of the cola down it means yes.

One up, one down means the answer is unclear, you need talk more and ask again.

Both round sides up means no.

When I was in Sangbrala we were taken to the lenke to observe an offering (a chicken) being made and a problem being resolved. I was not crystal on what was happening and my French is decidedly dodgey so this is my understanding of what was going on and I may wrong on many counts.

I think it would have been Famoudou's job to talk to the tree but because he was away all the time it fell to a this chap.



So with all this there cetainly is a deeper meaning in the use of the lenke for a djembe. I mean there was one lenke near famoudou's village, I don't know how many have been cut down over the years, but I wouldn't say many...

In case anyone's interested, here's a photo of a lenke tree.


Apparently it was difficult to get lenke djembes in Conakry 2 years but there was loads last year, they must have had to go further into the forests...

i like heavy drums.

You've chosen the hard path

[Dugafola]

Mamady is the same as Famoudou. Lenke all the time. He says he's never owned any other type of wood.

even 2 drums carved from the same tree most likely will not sound the same because of age, sunlight etc. depending on what part of the tree it came from.

i've seen Mamady smell drums and comment as to what part of the tree it came from.

one of my other teachers, forgot which one, said that darkness of wood/grain can be indicative of age, but also how close the tree was to a groundwater source or surface water source.

[James]

One of my teachers, Akassa Cissokho in Gambia bit and chewed a djembe to see the type of wood...

[bops]

Very interesting stuff, James... were those pictures taken in Sangbrala?

There's also another million factors in drum building that will alter the sound of drum too..

... factors such as, what kind of trash did the goat eat?

[James]

Yea their both taken about 20 minutes walk from Sangbrala...

[rachelnguyen]

This is a wonderful thread. Thanks for the great photos, James! I am fascinated with the idea of using the tree as a kind of oracle... and that there is a designated person to have those conversations with the tree.

I can also relate to smelling the wood. It has a beautiful fragrance! When I showed my drum to my father, I turned it over and invited him to stick his face in the bottom and take a big whiff. It has a heady combination of the wood and the goat. Lovely.

(I might have to take a little nibble to see what it tastes like!)

All Love,
Rachel

[sfdjembeman]

Thanks for the photos ..

I get to listen to and play a lot of different djembes and I've had djembes from all the djembe countries in Africa .. I think that Ivory Coast Iroko djembes are underrated at least over here in the US.

My personal favorite drums are from Guinea and the one I play the most is a Lenke wood drum. I also have a beast of a drum, magnificent piece of Acajou and weighs a ton (photo below) ... awesome sound and I have a great sounding Khadi drum I love playing.

[Dugafola]

greetings from guinea.

i went to a percussion festival/competition last friday in Matam and noticed a lot of iroko wood drums from the ivory coast. also more and more players playing on calf and or cow skin drums. the majority were still playing goat though.

i asked the current soloists for les ballet african about their wood preferences. one brother said lenke and hare for him all the time-but hes currently ripping on an egg shaped senegal djembe with funky carvings. the other brother said hare all the time for the big sound. he said lenke is no good because the sound is small - probably depends on shell to shell.

facelly kourouma formerly of percussion des guinea also said hare all the time and that some lenke has a nice big sound and some doesnt. he said hare is the most consistent sounding wood for djembe in guinea.

interesting what those guys said about lenke.

[Bingi_chile]

It's odd that people say iroko is light--mine seems quite heavy.