DJEMBE-L FAQ Dunun Making, V8e (Last revised 03/21/2004)

The following information is compiled from various postings to Djembe-L Community mail list.  Any additions or corrections are to be sent to HappyShel, FAQ WebMaster.  Thank you.

From: "R Clark" <clark@acceleration.net>

Greetings Beverly, Diane, Jeff and ALL,

Beverly Nadelman <prismconcept@yahoo.com> wrote:
>Ages ago R. Clark posted a description of how he made
>one from an old floor tom. I found such a drum on the
<snip>

Diane Gardner and Wayne Gardner <wgardner@snet.net> wrote:
<snip>
>> he wants to make a
>> djundjun, which I think would be wonderful!  Any one
>> know where I can
>> find info on making this drum...
<snip>

Jeff Highland <jkhigh@rivernet.com.au> wrote:
>A good dunun to start with, authentic to current African practice of using
materials at hand, with a strong sound and >light weight is made using a 55
litre oil drum with ends removed and then laced up using 4 rings, thick goat
skin (or >thin cow hide) just like a djembe but double ended and at a lower
tension. Other options are stave contruction or >starting from a whole log
and carving. An important consideration is sizing and this depends on
whether you wish to >use the drum in the pitch range for kenkeni, sangban or
dununba (high to low) I have made quite a few stave drums >and am about to
make an oil drum dunun for a friend. <snip>

I was held in check due to the general nature of Diane's request... like
where do I begin? Some how the subject for me is larger than djembe even. I
suppose I could assume that you wish to make a doumdoumba, the largest of
the three dunun (doumdoumba, songban, and kenkeni ~ Moustapha Bangoura
recently repeatedly encouraged that I say say them this way), tho I think a
songban might be a better choice for a first effort as it is easier to
wrassle in and out of vehicles, easier and less expensive to make, and most
versitile IMO, if you are going to have only one of the three. The
dimensions of what constitutes each of these seems to be in question within
a certain range (kenkeni ~ 8", songban ~ 12", doumdoumba > 16"). This
complication of sizing is due to the relation of one of the set to the
others. The bottom drums often carry the melody and to do so it is best that
they be compatible with one another. This compatibility is difficult for me
to describe. It is some regular spacing like "Do....Re....Mi" tho it sounds
more like DOOM Boom boop.
; ^ )>

Which one you make may very well be dictated by what found or raw materials
are available for the shell and the size and type of head as well. I have
made these cylinder drums from PVC plastic water/sewer pipe, a 16" x 16"
Gretcsh floor tom and staved construction. I attempted carving one a couple
of months ago and the log did not cooperate (it was a palm tree and it went
to a mush of coarse fibers).  Generally I have followed Serge Blanc in his
book "African Percussion: The Djembe" available from our own Michael Wall,
still, I think <drum@aloha.net>, or from some   behemothbooksellerdotcom. I
have both sewed the heads on and used the standard four ring system and the
six ring system, next I might use our own Denis Robinson's five ring method
: ^ )> (see Djemble-L Archive Tuesday, May 18, 1999 7:19 AM). I have made
both single and double headed cylinder drums and rebuilt hand carved dunun
from Africa, as well. The best are the solid hand carved in Africa by
Africans for sure and yet just as with the djembes some sound sooo much
better than others.  In the found shell variety just about any large metal
can or other stout material that can stand getting wet and the pressures
involved has probably already been made into a drum somewhere. I have even
seen drywall joint compound buckets made into drums from Kenya! Currently, I
am experimenting with the relationship between length and width of the
cylinder used to make the drum in alignment to the Golden Section as may be
read about at length on
<http://www.mcs.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/R.Knott/Fibonacci/fib.html>.

From: "Chaz" <terry@harborhomes.org>
March 6, 2000

Re: Sizing djun djun rings:

Add 3 - 5 inches to the circumference of the drum shell and divide by pi
(3.14159265358979).  3- 5 depends on 1) the thickness of the hide you are using,
2) whether hair on or hair off, & 3) size of rope you are using.