Africa v indo

[johnc]

Ive read a snippet somewhere indicating controversy may ensue however ive just been perusing the local music shops (regional city in australia) djembe collection and there all indo, Toca and other. im learning on a nine inch jembe i found at school so jumping on a 13 inch indo drum sounded impressive.

Im sensative to the cultural vibe that could/does drive the experience and my potential teacher is situated in melbourne where he runs a west African drum/dance centre that sells west African djembes. In general the cost is double for the african equivalent.


I realised today the a good djembe would/could be the difference between remaning positive/developing.

Without a chance of jumping on a west african drum for a while yet to gauge (though without much experience) is there that much difference to the beginner.


cheers

[johnc]

um...i think i got my answer from reading "i am new" in the drumming and music section. Rachel.... (cant remember full avatar) put a good spin on it whilst the cultural discussions were really interesting.

Still if another has 2 cents to spend

cheers

[bubudi]

if you put them side by side there's really no comparison. still, there's some very poor quality african djembes out there. try to go for one from mali, guinea, burkina faso or ivory coast.

just a thought - if you are playing on a 9" djembe, you're not developing proper technique (you need a 12" or larger head for this - if you have large hands, go for a 14" head). so a proper sized indo drum will serve you better than your current 9".

there's an element of ethics involved with giving something back to the culture where it came from. there's also the ecological ethics of logging the little hardwood left in west africa. most indo drums are plantation mahogany so you're not supporting a non-sustainable industry. there are people who offer ways to get over the african eco-drain. some put a percentage of drum sale profits towards reforestation projects in west africa. others are starting to commission plantation timber drums from the carvers - something that will become more common as the traditional hardwoods continue to get rarer.

[johnc]

thanks bubudi...clear thoughts!

I should perhaps stick to simple hand coordination activities until i can organise a full size west African djembe.