The talking drum (literally in English "talking drum" or "talking drum"), or size, is a percussion instrument originating in Nigeria, and its name comes from its peculiar shape and ability to pitch allow a variety of sounds, to the point where it is said the drum "talks" and can even transmit accurate messages This instrument is shaped like an hourglass, with a patch on each end (which may be of goatskin , lizard or fish skin), and a belt around his body going from one patch to another and serve to refine it. The player puts the drum just below your armpit and hit one of your patches one a stick special curved at one end. When the performer presses his arm tensioners drum against his body, while they hit, the pitch varies and can be heard as this instrument effectively "talk." This ability to change the "tone" of the drum is similar to the shades of the languages \u200b\u200bspoken in Nigeria.
The talking drums are one of the oldest percussion instruments of the griot (also known as jeli, are tellers of stories, poems rhapsodies and tribal) of West Africa and its history can be traced to the ancient Empire of Ghana. The Hausa people (and influence, the Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria and Benin and the Dagomba of northern Ghana) have developed a highly sophisticated style of music centered griot talking drum. There talking drums of varying sizes depending on the region within the contemporary West Africa, with the exception of North West Cameroon and Chad.
The different sizes of these instruments, also correspond to ethnic diversity. For example, the size of the Wolof and Mandinka villages are characterized by is smaller than this have a higher pitch and produce sounds acute. The Yoruba peoples and Dagomba, on the contrary, are larger and more serious sound. In assemblies Yoruba talking drums, these are played with a similar but smaller drum, called gangang in your language.
The different styles of playing these drums, are linked to the tonal qualities of each language. There is a clear difference in style between speaking areas predominantly Fulani and Mande, and traditionally do not send more to the east. The predominant style of playing areas further west, such as Senegal, Gambia, Western Mali and Guinea, is characterized by fast and explosive fills, which probably relates to the different non-tonal languages \u200b\u200bof the region. This style can be heard well in the popular genre of Senegal called Mbalax. From Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana to Niger, western Chad and Nigeria (excluding Fulani-speaking places and send), the style of the talking drum HRCT is focused on producing long sustained sounds, with a texture resembling complex and heavy tones of the languages \u200b\u200bof the region. This style can be heard in popular music of the region, where the talking drum is usually the main instrument, as in the Fuji music of the Yoruba of Nigeria.
Ayan Bisi Adeleke playing a talking drum
Yoruba Talking Drum
Michael Lipsey plays "Mr. Trampoline Man" with talking drum and table
Bambay - Talking Drum session
Marcelo Garcia Improvisation and Talking Drum Garrahand
Playing the talking drum