Gangan, Talking Drum

Description

A talking drum is a beautiful instrument created by the Ashanti and Yoruba people of Ghana and Nigeria. The talking drum is also called a “waisted” drum because it has an hourglass shape with a “waist” in the middle. Skins are stretched over the ends of the drum, and held in place by many cords. The drum heads at either end of the drum’s wooden body are made from hide, fish-skin or other membranes which are wrapped around a wooden hoop. Leather cords or thongs run the length of the drum’s body and are wrapped around both of the hoops. When the cords are tightened, the skin gets pulled tighter and the pitch of the drum gets higher. When the cords are relaxed, the pitch goes lower. The player must hold the drum between his upper arm and left side and use his arm to squeeze and relax the cords while he is striking the drum with a mallet in his right hand.