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Author Topic: Basic hand drums for a youth choir singing "African" Christian songs?  (Read 2873 times)

SketchMan3

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Hi!!! It's been awhile. LGM should really get an IRC channel... >_>

Anyway, the youth at our church school has been singing praise and worship songs in various African languages, and I've been accompanying them on various forms of drums: first on a very small "talking" drum that their teachers bought in india (I pretty much wore it out in one sitting. I don't think it was meant to be played loudly), then on a desnared snare (lol) and then on one of those little hand drums that you get in a "percussion set" (it's about an arms length tall and is shaped like a glass of water with a hole in the bottom). So I am looking to upgrade a little bit. Plus I've always wanted a hand drum or two anyway. I'd use my android tablet, but the latency on it makes it impossible for me to keep a steady beat :( ;)

So anyway, I've been wondering, for anyone who is familiar with African percussion, I'm just wondering what is the most basic type of legitimate hand drum I can get away with for accompanying a group of young people performing various types of traditional African christian music.

So far I've been looking at afro-derived latin instrumnts: bongos, conga, and a "talking" type drum (the kind with the strings that you can squeeze to change the head tension), and even cajon, but I'd like to see what anyone who is familiar (or even unfamiliar lol) with this type of thing thinks.

Feel free to be as purist or liberal as you like (throwing a sheet over my drumkit makes it sound pretty neat) :D

Offline 3rd-Day

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Re: Basic hand drums for a youth choir singing "African" Christian songs?
« Reply #1 on: August 08, 2013, 07:58:24 AM »
I like the Cajon. Its a great instrument with great history, and it's fun to play. I learned that knowing the history about whataever African Drum you choose is very important.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caj%C3%B3n

BTW I have the Pearl Crimson Cajon. Its sounds great when its Mic'd up.

I hope this helps.
Im too tall to act small.

Offline csedwards2

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Re: Basic hand drums for a youth choir singing "African" Christian songs?
« Reply #2 on: August 08, 2013, 10:14:23 AM »
djembe has a lot of tones, even a good solid bass sound that is percussive and will cut through. Mix it with the right beat and youre set
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