Talking drum

The talking drum is an hourglass-shaped drum from West Africa, which can be used as a form of speech surrogacy by regulating its pitch and rhythm to mimic the tone and prosody of human speech. It has two drumheads connected by leather tension cords. It is often played while being held under the arm.

The player can change the pitch of the drum by tightening and loosening the cords between their arm and body.

Back to World Drum Traditions →

Source: Wikipedia · Image: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

HANDDRUMHUB

Find the groove — hand drums, tuning, and world percussion.

Get new guides by emailOccasional emails. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

InformationAbout Contact Privacy Policy Terms of Service Disclaimer Affiliate Disclosure Cookie Policy

Museum entries, images, and facts are drawn from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, used under public-domain and Creative Commons licenses.