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World Percussion Instruments Glossary
Abakua Cuba		The Abakuá orchestra of four drums is called biankomeko. The tall drum is the bonkó enchemiyá; the three smaller drums are enkomos. In descending order of size, they are the biapá, arobapá, and kuchiyeremá. The orchestra is often accompanied by men playing shakers, called (maruga). An additional musician hits the back end of the bonkó enchemiyá with two sticks.
Alfaia Brazil		Alfaias are bass drums from Pernambuco, where they are used in maracatu, mangue, and related music forms. They are also known as surdos de cordas (rope surdos), and are included in the class of bass drums called bombos. The two cow- or goathide heads are clamped to the wooden body with thick wooden hoops threaded with rope which is used for tensioning the heads. Alfaias are played with distinctly-shaped fat wooden drumsticks.
Atabaque Brazil		The Atabaque is a traditional drum used to play rhythms for "Capoeira" (Brazilian dance / martial arts). This drum has a barrel-like stave shell construction, is rope tuned, and headed with cowhide. The atabaque may also use a wooden base for additional sound reinforecement. Together the atabaque and berimbau make the capoeira "roda" sound.
Balaphone West Africa		The Balaphone is both a percussive and a melodic instrument originating from several African countries. The balaphone is constructed from "17"-"21" rectangular wooden slats, arranged in an array from low to high notes which are generally made from béné wood. Two rows of calabashes, fixed below the slats in arrays from small to large , provide natural amplifiers for the balaphone.
Bata Drums Cuba		This tapered drum is a traditional ceremonial drum used in the "Santeria Religion". It is a 2 headed drum which tapers in diameter on one end. Bata drums come in three sizes. The lya (large), Omele or Itotole (medium), and Oncocolo (small). It is played with both hands on each side of the drum.
Berimbau Brazil		The berimbau is composed of a bow-like body, however rather than shooting arrows the performer strikes the cord with a stick. This produces a deep resonance - the trademark 'Wah-Wah' sound - that is controlled by the movement of the cabaça against the musician's body. A coin or stone pressed against the string provide further control and a small caxixi shaker completes the instrument. The African slaves brought the Berimbau to Brazil where it is now closely associated with Capoeira.
Boba Ghana (Ewe)		The Boba is the lead bass drum in a family of drums from the Ewe people of Ghana. It is played standing up with two sticks. Often one stick plays the head while the other stick hits the side of the drum. It is used to play lead patterns as well as to control the other drummers using call and response patterns. This is a large deep sounding drum made using barrel stave construction with an antelope skin.
Bodhran Ireland		The Bodhran is a frame drum of Irish origin, made with a traditional goat skin head, hardwood cross braces, laminated hardwood shell and played with a wooden beater.
Bongos Cuba		Bongo drums are of Cuban origin and are played by hand. In Latin music they are typically played sitting down, held between the knees, but can also sometimes be seen played on a stand. Traditionally they are made of wood but can also be found in fiberglass.
Bougarabou West Africa		The Bougarabou hails from West Africa is traditionally played in sets of 3 or 4. The unique shape that defines the Bougarabou is it’s conical shape that “skirts” around the bottom of the the shell. This drum may be found headed with goat, cow, horse or antelope hide depending on the country it is made in. It is played by hand in a fashion similar to a djembe.
Brekete Ghana		The Brekete is commonly found in the Northern region in Ghana. Covered in a colorful hand dyed cloth, the drum is a wooden, double headed goatskin drum laced with strong nylon. The nylon is strung across the heads creating a unique sonic texture. It is played strapped over the shoulder, using one stick and one hand.
Cabasa (Latin)		The Cabasa (afuche) is made of endless loops of plated steel ball chain. These loops surround a textured stainless steel cylinder joined with a handle. The cylinder is placed in the palm of the hand while the hand on the handle twists back and forth causing the steel ball chain to rub against the textured cylinder, giving a rhythmic scraping effect.
Cajon Peru		The Cajon originates from the Andean mountain region of South America. It is basically a wooden box, and is played by sitting on top and rocking the bottom edge on & off the ground while hand drumming on the front. When the center is hit, it produces a broad deep tone which is projected from a hole in the back.
Castanets Spain		Spanish Castanets resemble wooden sea shells and are bound together by a cord put through the holes in each half. Spanish castanet makers experimented with materials for better sonority and the needs of dancers and musicians. Eventually the characteristic addition of castanet "ears" allowed attachment to the thumb and with it the development of a skilled finger technique to play them.
Clave Cuba		Clave are usually a pair of two sticks made from hardwood. Struck together they provide the timekeeper for Afro-Cuban music, replacing the bells commonly used in African rhythms. Two popular clave rhythms are the son clave and rhumba, both patterns of 3 and 2 (or 2 and 3).
Conga Drum Cuba		With its origin in African & Cuban tradition, Conga drums are probably the most popular hand drums in music performance today. They come in a variety of woods as well as fiberglass, are wrench tunable, and are available in different sizes and contours. The three main sizes are the Quinto (small), Conga (medium) and Tumba (large).
Cuica Brazil		The Cuica is a small, cylindrical, metal friction drum. It is a staple of Brazilian Samba schools. It is played by rubbing a wet cloth to a thin bamboo stick that is tied under a goatskin head, and applying pressure to the head for pitch variation. This produces an almost vocal like sound.
Damaru Tibet Nepal		A Tibetan drum played by Buddhists, they are usually made of halved human skulls. Both halves of the skulls are attached, then covered with animal skin on each side. The drum is held in one hand between the thumb and fingers and rhythmically rotated back and forth allowing the two strapped beaters attached to each side of the drum to strike the skin and produce sound.
Datangu China		The size of a Datangu, or Lion Drum, is very big, and is widely used for Lion dance. It is a single headed drum, with a thick durable goat skin head, and a wooden body, normally with hand painted decorations. If its size and the colour doesn't draw a crowd, then the glorious booming sound is sure to get lots of attention.
Dholak North India		Dholak is a very popular folk drum of northern India. It is barrel shaped with a simple membrane on the right hand side. The left hand is also a single membrane with a special application on the inner surface. This application is a mixture of tar, clay and sand (dholak masala) which lowers the pitch and provides a well defined tone. It is said that this instrument once used to occupy a position of considerable prestige.
Djembe West Africa		The Djembe (jembe) is a goblet shaped, single headed drum of West African origin very popular in todays drum circles. It is traditionally rope tuned with a method know as the "Mali weave" but can also be found with mechanical tuning. The head is made of thin goatskin and played with the hands only. The djembe's shape produces sharp highs and deep bass tones.
Djun Djun West Africa		Djun Djun (dunun, dun dun) are double head bass drums from West Africa are traditionally played alongside djembes, often with a bell tied onto the drum. One hand plays the bass part with a stick while the other plays the bell part. Traditionally they may be carved from a log but are also constructed out of wood staves. The skin is typically cow but may also use deer or moose instead. Three sizes found are Dununba (large), Sangban (medium) and Kenkeni (small). Another popular drum to be found in a drum circle setting.
Doumbek Turkey		The Doumbek (dumbek, doumbeck, darbuka) is a small goblet shaped Turkish drum with a base made of metal or ceramic and a goatskin head. It is played with the fingers and hand in middle eastern style rhythms. One hand can be placed inside the base to vary the pitch.
Frame Drum Middle East		Frame Drums (tar, bendir, daf, deff, ghaval) come in various flavours which originate from North Africa and Middle Eastern regions such as Iran. A frame drum with jingles generally falls into the category of tambourine. They are played using various techniques but generally are played by hands and fingertips while being supported by the arms and hands. The Native American version is described below.
Frame Drum North America		The Native American frame drum (hand drum) is a ritual drum held in the back webbing in one hand and played with a beater in the other hand. The shell may be made from a circular hoop of bent wood, or constructed from wood staves. The heads may be made from deer, elk or buffalo skins as well as other animals, and may be painted. Playing is typically done in a monotone beat and is often accompanied by the sound of rattles.
Hudak India		The Hudak is the Indian version of a talking drum. The drum heads are held in place by cords, and are played by holding the hudak under the arm and squeezing the cords. When you squeeze these cords under your arm, the drum heads tighten, changing the instrument's pitch. Talking drums are so-named because of their ability to closely imitate the rhythms and intonations of spoken language.
Gankogui West Africa		Gankogui is the name of this double toned bell from Ghana, constructed from iron. In Ewe and Ga music in general, gankogui keeps the time. Gankogui is vital to any performance as it serves as a common reference point for everyone in the group - drummers as well as dancers and singers. The person playing gankogui must have excellent time and not be distracted easily.
Ghatam South India		The Ghatam is an earthenware pot played in South Indian classical music. The pots are tuned to the tonic of the musician, so a ghatam player can have up to 50 different ghatams to perfectly suit the pitch of the vocalist. The percussionist uses the flat, the knuckles and the sides of both hands to hit the walls of the ghatam but he also uses his belly to cover the mouth of the pot, generating controlled tuning and even notes in the lower octave.
Guiro Cuba		Traditional style guiros are made of oblong shaped hollow gourds with carved ridges in the front and 2 finger holes in the back. They are traditionally used in Latin music and are played with a wood or plastic stick to create a percussive scrape-like effect.
Khomok India (Bengal)		The Khomok (khamak, anandalahari, and gubgubi) of the Baul people of Bengal is a small drum with a wooden body and a skin head. The khomok is played by placing the drum body under the arm and pulling on the handle thus pulling the string and placing tension on the drum skin. The string is plucked while the tension on the string is varied, producing a surprising vocal-like sound.
Kpanlogo West Africa		The Kpanlogo drum originates from the Ga people of Ghana, West Africa. It bears the same name as a popular rhythm played on this drum, accompanied by gankogui and axatse. Crafted of tchweneboa wood, this drum is tuned using its 6-8 wooden pegs, and is headed with an antelope skin. It may be played by hands, or using sticks.
Maracas Puerto Rico		Maracas are made from the fruit of the higuera tree so common throughout Puerto Rico. After taking out the pulp of the fruit, small pebbles are introduced into it. Then a handle is fitted to the dry fruit shell. Unequal amount of pebbles are used in a pair that make up the maracas, to produce their distinctive sound.
Mridangam South India		The Mridangam is a south Indian version of the Pakhawaj and is an indispensable component of the south Indian classical performance. In these performances, the artist plays very intricate patterns to accompany south Indian vocalists, vina, violin, or gottuvadyam players. It is a very demanding art and requires many years to master.
Muzhar Egypt		Muzhars are a frame drum from Egypt. They consist of a frame approximately 5" deep and 11" diameter with four sets of large brass zils, or cymbals that pass through the frame (like a tambourine) and a drumhead. Though similar to other frame drums, the muzhar is most closely related to the riq (Arabic tambourine). The muzhar is held in a large cut-out area at the bottom of the frame with the left hand and the right hand reaches in front of the head to play in a fashion similar to the tar.
Naghareh Iran		Naghareh (naghghareh, nacer, desarkutan) is a small pair of bowl-like drums played in the North of Iran. The larger drum is called bam (bass) and the smaller one is called zil (treble). The two drums are covered by cow's skin and laced with cow-hide, though in the past the skin of boar was used. They are played with sticks with the thicker drumstick used to play the larger drum (bam). A version of these drums may also be found in India and may be a predecessor to the more common tabla.
Pakhawaj North India		Pakhawaj was once common throughout north India, but in the last few generations tabla has usurped its position of importance. It has a right head which is identical to tabla except somewhat larger. The left head is similar to the tabla bayan except that there is a temporary application of flour and water instead of the black permanent spot. It is laced with rawhide and has tuning blocks placed between the straps and shell.
Pandeiro Brazil		Pandeiro is the Brazilian tambourine traditionally used in samba, capoeira, and choro musics. Many playing techniques exist in various regions of Brazil that involve turning the drum with the playing hand while striking various parts of the skin. Other techniques involve lifting the drum up to get articulate jingle rhythms.
Riq Egypt		A riq is an Egyptian tambourine, usually with an inlaid wood frame around 8 to 9 inches in diameter, with 5 sets of brass jingles in two rows around the frame. The head is traditionally fish, although you can find them with goat or with synthetic heads.
Sabar Drums Senegal		In Senegal the Sabar drum was used to communicate in villages over long distances using rhythms to emulate spoken phrases. The Sabar is played with a stick in the right hand striking a high pitched accent while the left hand plays both a tenor rim beat or a center bass beat. Sabar rhythms are very fast and often emphasize upbeats giving them a very excited and even frenetic mood.
Shekere West Africa		Traditionally from Africa, Shekeres (axatses) are gourds covered with woven, beaded webbing. They may be shaken and hit against the thigh and hand to produce driving rhythms.
Slit Drum Africa Asia		Slit drums (slit gongs, krins) are among the oldest types of percussion instruments, found in Asia and Africa, and are played with sticks. The earliest slit drums, dating back 750,000 years, were made by cutting, burning or gouging a slit in the wall of a hollowed-out piece of wood. The instruments vary in size from gigantic ones, made from entire tree trunks and housed in their own roofed shelter, to small portable ones. On many of the drums the two sides of the slit are carved to different thicknesses in order to produce two tones.
Surdo Brazil		Surdos are large bass drums which derive from urban centers, and are traditionally made of leftover industrial materials, like sheetmetal, bolts, and steel rods. As the need arose, different sizes developed, each drum with its own name and role in the bateria. From one basic design came the repinique, repique de măo, and the surdo. Surdo literally means "deaf" of "deaf man" in Brazilian Portuguese, because of huge sound wave it can produce and propel down your ear canal.
Tabla North India		Tabla is a pair of drums played by hand in classical Indian music. It consists of of a small right hand drum called Dayan and a larger metal one called Bayan. The dayan (right hand drum) is almost always made of wood. The bayan (left hand drum) may be made of iron, aluminium, copper, steel, or clay; yet brass with a nickel or chrome plate is the most common material. The most striking characteristic of the tabla is the large black spot on each of the playing surfaces. Their function is to create the bell-like timbre that is characteristic of the instrument.
Tabor Europe		The word "tabor" is simply an English variant of a Latin-derived word meaning "drum". As used today, it refers to the drum used by the players of the Pipe-and-Tabor combination. The tabor has a cylindrical shell, two heads tightened by ropes, and one snare - usually doubled back so as to provide two strands. It is played by just one stick, which usually strikes the snare head.
Taiko Drum Japan		Taiko is a traditional Japanese drum and literally means "big/fat drum," although there are many shapes and sizes of taiko. The drums can be broadly divided into two catagories: Taiko with a nailed head (byou-daiko), and Taiko with heads stretched over a hoop and tensioned with ropes (shime-daiko). As a general rule, heads are made from cowhide and are struck with some sort of stick called bachi.
Talking Drum Africa		Originally from Africa, the talking drum is a 2 headed drum with an hour glass shape. Both heads are the same size and are strung by rope. They are called "talking drums" because they can produce a wide range of pitches including high female sounds and low male sounds by squeezing the drums under the arm, while striking one of the heads with the hand or curved stick.
Tambora Dominican Republic		Originating from the Dominican Republic, the Tambora is used in traditional fast paced Meringue music. It is a small, stocky looking, two headed drum, traditionally rope tuned but can be found with modern tuning lugs. It is played with the hand on one side and a wood beater or stick on the other.
Tamborim Brazil		The tamborim, the smallest drum in the bateria, produces a high, sharp, crackling sound. Measuring only 6 inches across, the tamborim is held with one hand and played with the other using a flexible plastic beater. The tamborim section plays dazzling, showy rhythmic riffs or desenhos (designs) that punctuate the melody of the samba-enredo, (samba theme song).
Tanbou Haiti		There are several varieties of Tanbous, Haitian drums, each with an African origin. The drums are made using hard wood - tronpčt, bwachen, gomyé - and goat or cow skin. They may be played like regular congas. There are different varieties of Haitian drums, and several use three cow-skin drums played by three people using 2 sticks, hand and bow (agida), and 1 hand / 1 stick.
Tanggu China		The Tanggu drum is traditionally used with other instruments like luo (gong) and bo (cymbals) in celebrations and in ensembles. It is covered with two drumheads of cowhide or pig skin and played with a pair of wooden beaters. Four lateral iron rings around the shell allow the drum to be vertically suspended in a frame.
Udu Drum Nigeria		The Udu drum is made entirely of clay, in the form of a narrow necked, vase-like vessel, with a circular hole in the side in addition to the opening at the top. Playing technique for the traditional drum can vary considerably, but the basic technique incorporates drumming on the side hole while selectively opening and closing the top hole to modulate the air chamber resonance with the other hand. It has no skin or membrane head.
Yuka Drums Cuba		Kongo-Cuban festival and religious music were driven by drums called Tambor de Yuka (ngoma, makuta) during the colonial period. Three tubular, hand-hewn drums with goatskin heads attached by nails, were called, in descending order, caja, mula, and cachimbo. The three drums were accompanied by an iron hoe blade (guataca) beaten with a metal rod (hierro), sometimes a wrench.

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