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Simone Sedda

Large Aluminium Talking Drum - with ornately finished/hammered body, sturdy white rope and carrying strap. In excellent, 100% good condition!


This talking drum is one of the oldest and still popular musical instruments from West Africa. It has an hourglass shape and two drum rims; they are attached with leather straps.

The player can modulate the pitch of the drum by pressing the cords between the arm and the shell. The talking drum is capable of reproducing the rhythm, the tone and the volume of human speech.

The talking drum was used before the eighteenth century by griots: this percussion is used in formal environments or traditional functions like rituals, story-telling and dancing.

Brief history of the talking drum.

The talking drum is rich in culture and tradition: it has three possible origins like the Ghana empire, the Hausa people and the Yoruba people.

The drum responds to its name. In the 18th century, the colonial masters (Europeans) noticed that the messages within the local population were only passed through by playing the drum. The talking was used to warn villagers or neighbouring villages for attacks or to inform them of a ceremony.

The talking drum mimics language by taking over the intonations and rhythms of a voice or spoken words with tact.

Parts of the talking drum.

The drum head is made of rawhide like goat leather; it has a wooden body and leather straps which connect the two drum heads to each other. The talking drums are popular among the Yorubas; it is one of their identities that has withstood the test of time.

Nowadays, the talking drum is used in churches and other social gatherings as well. There are different sizes of the talking drums, some are; GANGAN, Omele and lya-ilu.

One instrument, different culture

The talking drum is used in different cultures, although it has other names. For example:

The Bambaras (Mandé people of Mali) call the talking drum Odondo or Dondo, the Yorubas (Western part of Nigeria), call it Gangan or Dundun, the Hausas (Northern part of Nigeria) call it Kalangu or Dan Karb’bi, and Songhai (Central Mali) call it Doodo to name a few. The talking drum is however not limited to Africans; similar talking drums were found in Asia.

How to play the drum

Playing the instrument is nice, but learning to play the drum is also not a boring task. First of all, there are two ways to play the drum; by sitting or standing.

Secondly, you hold the curved sick or hammer in your more comfortable hand; the talking drum has no specific rule for handling the hammer.

The next step is to place the drum underneath the opposite arm, the middle of the ropes even with the biceps and ribs.

Touch the drum head with the flat surface of the stick or hammer and then change the pitch by pressing the strings at different intervals.

Practice makes perfect; practice by replicating a famous spoken sentence or favourite song.

For the high tones: after you have firmly pressed the strings, you hit the drum with the stick near the middle of the drum head, and the stick bounces off the surface.

For the lower tones: after letting the strings go, you hit the drum with the stick near the middle of the drum head, and the stick bounces off the surface.

This modern version of this instrument is made of metal and this provides a very loud and Eastern-sounding talking drum in combination with the dimensions. Can be played both by hand as well as with the stick. Very expressive sound.

Dimensions: 35 cm x 22 cm x 22 cm
Weight 1.9 kg
With carrying strap 

* No reserve price
* If your bid is the highest, then the item will be professionally packaged and shipped to you within three working days by insured mail with Track & Trace.
* Low shipping costs.

Very good - Number of items: 1 - Including: Dunun / dundun, Talking Drum - No extra's

Unknown - Handmade - Dunun / dundun, Talking Drum

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25 April

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Period

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Excellent - Including: Violin - + Extra item (see description)

Labelled August Clemens Glier - 4/4 -  - Violin  (No Reserve Price)

Good - Including: Violin - No extra's

Unlabelled -  - Violin - Germany - 1950  (No Reserve Price)

Good - Including: Violin - Original case

No brand - Labelled Enzo Bertelli -  - Violin - Italy  (No Reserve Price)

Fair - Including: Violin - + Extra item (see description), Chin rest, Gig bag, Strings

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Unknown - Handmade - Dunun / dundun, Talking Drum

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Musical Instruments

This object is no longer available, but there’s still lots to explore

Unknown - Handmade - Dunun / dundun, Talking Drum

Popular in Musical Instruments

368 objects

Related collections