Drums and Other Musical Instruments

For ages, drums have occupied a very important position in the cultural life of the people of Ghana, from the north to the southern part of the country.

In the past, drums were used extensively as a means of communication. In times of invasion, when an ethnic group was attacked by another, the fighting men (known as the Asafo) were quickly summoned through the medium of the talking drum.

If someone went missing in the bush or drowned, a search party was put together by sounding the talking drums. If the chief or important person in the community died, the talking drum was used to convey this information to the people. In addition, it was used during social gatherings, such as annual festivals, and during the installation of a chief.

In present day Ghana, with the advent of the telephone, radio and television, drums no longer serve as the main means of communicating. They do, however, still occupy an important position in the cultural lives of the Ghanaian people.

There are many types of drums in Ghana. One of the more well-known drums is the donno (bell-shaped or hour glass drum) kpanlogo (ceremonial drum). It is a popular instrument; it is used in many styles of music and can be found around the world in African dance bands.

The gome (West African drum) is another well-known drum. Most gome songs are sung in pidgin English due to the influence of British colonization. The drum is a box on which the musician sits, playing the head with his hands while his feet control the tone of the drum.

Talking drums are still used during annual festivals and funeral ceremonies of important people in the community. They are also used to broadcast the praises of chiefs, send messages of condolence and to entertain.

Drum language is taught both in the primary and junior secondary schools throughout the country. Children are taught how to sound the talking drum to convey messages. Not too long ago in Ghanaian primary schools, and even tertiary institutions, the hand bell was the main instrument used to summon students. These days, the talking drum is used interchangeably with the hand bell.

In urban areas and cities, because of the influence of radio, television and other sophisticated musical equipment, the talking drum is not as common. In rural communities however, it still plays a very important role in the life of the rural child.

The drums of Ghana are usually carved from whole sections of tree trunk using local woods such as cedar, sese, nyamedua and other locally named hardwoods. Skins are mounted and tensioned by ropes or pegs. In many parts of the world, and not least in Africa, drums are decorated with carvings depicting stories, adorned with colourful skins, painted, studded or decorated for show and pageantry.

Other common Akan drums are apentema and agyegyeho. Ghana boasts a family of drums in the Fontomfrom orchestra. This includes Apentemma, Adukurogya, Donno, From, Atumpan, and Aro Brenko. Some drums in these ranges are labeled like a family: father, mother, son etc., depending on the pitch the drum is played at.

The Atumpan, is used as talking voices. The male is pitched low, the female high (achieved by more or less drum skin tension) Playing is directly linked to syllables and meanings. For example, "Wo ho te sen?" (How are you?) has four syllables. The first and third are spoken with a low, male drum and the second and fourth with a high female drum. The phonetic link between speech and drumming is of great importance, thus the ability also to communicate and record history and events. In these situations, drums can therefore summon, warn, greet, praise, blame and recite both history and poetry.

On the Donno hourglass drum - the 'talking' drum that is now becoming familiar in the West - the double membranes or 'heads' are joined by lacings, which obviously have space behind them where the centre of the drum narrows. By squeezing with the arm when playing, the pitch is altered. Hit with a stick, the pitch change echoes the rise and fall of the voice, but in one drum instead of several.

Akan have various music ensembles: kete, asafo, adowa, fontomfrom, mpintsin, wompe, etc. Drum ensembles play for recreation, ceremonies, weddings, funerals, parties, and religious meetings. Other instruments often join the drums to accompany singing and dancing. Drumming, singing, and dancing are often performed in a circular or semi-circular formation. Drum ensemble instruments usually include drums in a variety of sizes and types as well as bells and rattles. Drums and rattles play complementary overlapping patterns, forming a fabric of sound.

Drum ensembles are often led by a master drummer who plays solos against the overlapping patterns. The master drummer also leads the ensemble by playing signals that tell the other players to switch to a different section, change drum patterns, change the tempo, or end the piece. Drums within an ensemble may be called into a dialog with the master drummer in a call-and-response pattern. The master drummer also works with dancers to coordinate the dances and tempos.

A variation on the theme of hollowed out tree trunks is the Ewe's Atsimewu drum from Ghana. This uses strips of wood held together by iron hoops, rather like the common European storage barrel. The skin is held on in the traditional way by pegs, but the skill involved in this type of drum manufacture is far more sophisticated, and suggests outside influences - perhaps copied from barrel making. It is also used in the more modern Latin Conga production, where laminated strips of wood are shaped and glued together. These, too, must be difficult to stop splitting in heat, and any holes would alter the sound drastically. Often these are colorfully painted, perhaps to help with sealing.

Ensemble drumming is practiced throughout West Africa. Drum ensembles play for recreation, ceremonies, weddings, funerals, parties, and religious meetings. Other instruments often join the drums to accompany singing and dancing. Drumming, singing, and dancing are often performed in a circular formation.

Drum ensemble instruments usually include drums in a variety of sizes and types as well as bells and rattles. West African drumming frequently begins with a time line played by one or more bells (single or double). The time line is a rhythm that may remain constant throughout the piece, or it may change to a different pattern. The time line anchors the entire ensemble and all drums and rattles play in relation to it. Drums and rattles play complementary overlapping patterns, forming a fabric of sound.

Drum ensembles are often led by a master drummer who plays solos against the overlapping patterns. The master drummer also leads the ensemble by playing signals that tell the other players to switch to a different section, change drum patterns, change the tempo, or end the piece. Drums within an ensemble may be called into a dialog with the master drummer in a call-and-response pattern. The master drummer also works with dancers to coordinate the dances and tempos.

Ghana Drum Ensemble Instruments

Drums are made from either a hollowed-out log or are fashioned from wooden staves to make barrel drums. The Ga people of Ghana’s capital city of Accra make drums by hollowing out a single tree trunk. Then they soak an antelope skin or a goat skin to soften it and stretch the skin over the top of the hollow drum. The skin is secured with a ring around the edge of the drum and tied down to wooden pegs driven into the sides of the drum. While the skin is still wet, the hair is shaved off to make the drumhead smooth. As the skin dries, it stretches tight over the drum shell. The drumhead can then be tuned by adjusting the wooden pegs. In Ghana, the Ewe people make barrel drums in many sizes from a small, high-pitched, single-headed drum played with sticks to the master drum, a low-pitched, five- or six-foot drum played with hands and sticks on a slanted rack. Drums are often decorated with symbols that have deep cultural meaning.


Bells come in all shapes and sizes, and in West Africa they are often played with sticks. Most bells are made from hand-forged iron. Drummers in Ghana use single and double bells. The small single bells each look like a leaf curled up around the edges. They are played with a metal stick. The double bells look like large nuts hanging from a tree branch and are played with a wooden stick.

Atenteben is a flute
Atenteben

Mpenprensiwa or ahyewa is in shape of a box
Ahyewa or Mpenprensiwa

Seprewa is a lute/harp
Seprewa

Berekete

Mbira

Tamborine

Rattles also come in all shapes and sizes and are made from gourds, woven baskets, and other materials. A large calabash gourd has a natural handle. In Ghana, one kind of rattle is made by attaching shells to netting that is wrapped around a gourd. When this type of rattle is hit or shaken, it makes a powerful sound.

DRUM TEXTS
Drum texts are utilized as

invocation to spirits

eulogy - to recall ancestry history

greetings, warnings, congratulations, emergency calls, and acknowledgements

proverbs