Instruments

Africa posses a wealth of musical instruments. The drum has become the symbol of the African continent, however a wide range of other instruments are used. Below is a selection of instruments used by Baala Baajo.

	Talking Drum - In many African cultures the craftsman who makes an instrument “teaches it to speak” his own language, adapting the instrument to African tonal languages. The so-called “talking drums” are bimembranophone hourglass drums, played with a stick. A system of cords under tension acts on the tension of the head, varying its intonation. This drum is held under the arm and the arm is used to create and release the tension on the cords, thus producing a variety of sounds. These drums imitate spontaneous spoken language, evidencing a close relation between the phonetic curve of speech and the melodic curve of sounds.
Djembé (jem-bay) - The djembé is undoubtedly, one of the most powerful drums in existence. It dates back to the 12th century and the great Mali Empire of West Africa. It has an incredible tonal range, from thunderclap, to whisper soft, setting it apart from other drums.
	Kpanlogo (pahn-lo-go) – traditional peg drums from the Ga Tribe of Ghana. It is smaller than the conga but of similar shape and sound. Antelope skin is used for its head producing a soft and resonant tone, played with the hands.
Gome (go-may) – The Gome drum was originally created of lumber and skin by Africans in Jamaica who went there as slaves. Freed slaves carried the Gome tradition to Sierra Leone when returning to the continent in the 1800's. Carpenters from Sierra Leone shared the Gome tradition with carpenters from other West African colonies, including the Ga from Ghana. To make the Gome drum a goatskin is stretched over a wooden box frame. The drummer sits atop the box and plays this drum with both his hands and the heels of the feet, which press against the skin to change the pitch.
	Gongo (gong-oh) – This traditional bell is held in one hand and played by striking it with a straight stick. Occasionally the mouth of a bell is pressed to one's thigh to mute the sound.
Shekere (she-ke-ray) - They are made from a hollowed dry gourd, with seeds hanging on a string net on the outside. The seeds are knocked against the gourd to get the sound.
	Balafon - The wooden keys are set on a frame which has gourds underneath them to give the sound a most unique resonance. There is a combination of small and large gourds to accomplish this amazing texture of sound.
Asalato (ah-sa-lah-toh) - Hand-held percussion toy.  They are made of two small gourds filled with beans and connected by a string.  One gourd is held in the hand and the other is swung from side-to-side around the hand.
	Doun Doun (duhn-duhn) - These are double ended bass drums, with cow skins, found all around West Africa . These are normally played with sticks.
Dodonpo - This traditional bell is played like a castanet, one in each hand. The bell hangs from the 1st finger with the other fingers behind and the little finger supporting the point. The iron ring striker fits snugly on the 1st thumb joint. Touching the bell with the middle fingers mutes the sound.
	Brekete - two headed cylindrical bass drum played with stick and hand.
Basket Rattle - This rattle is made from woven reeds. It has pebbles inside and the bottom is made from a circle of gourd (calabash).