Buying the right drum

At Wooden Roots we believe that buying the right drum is like buying a pair of shoes. Quite simply if the djembe doesn’t correctly fit you and your purpose for purchasing in the first place, you will probably not play it and the djembe will end up in the corner of a room collecting dust or being used as a coffee table.

So how do you know which drum is right for you? When customers come to Wooden Roots for a new djembe we typically need to know the following information;

1. What is your height and body type? Small hands, large hands?

Djembe’s come in many shapes and sizes and so do people. We believe that it’s so important to fit people into drums that match height and body type. This will give you the most comfort when playing the drum.

2. What you will be using the djembe for?

Have you just started your drumming journey? Have you always wanted a djembe but not quite made the push to learn how to play one? Have you signed up for local classes either in person or on Zoom and feel having your own djembe will enhance your experience? Are you a professional djembe player, playing at gigs and want a pro sound? Maybe you just want a drum to take to the beach or on camping trips so that you can enjoying playing it fireside? Djembe’s can be played for all sorts of reasons and the reason why we all play djembe is so we can experience the pure joy it brings.

3. What is your playing level?

In the world of Djembe’s and djembe playing you will typically hear three or four levels of playing mentioned in the Western World - they are;

Beginner - Improver

Intermediate

Advanced

Master Drummer

Unfortunately, unlike a classical instrument like the piano or cello there is not an official certification process taking you through the ranks of learning the djembe. Of course everyone starts out as a beginner but after that it’s typically down to self-certification of your own drumming skills and how far you have managed to get.

Here is an example of the playing level in our classes at Wooden Roots which we would say is Beginner-Improver. Here you will see the final week of a four week course where we bring together the rhythm without much aid from the teacher.

Advanced & Master Drummer level playing would look more like this;

Here you see Bassidi Kone and Solo Soro - both Master Drummers playing at Wooden Roots when we were in the USA. Bissidi is a FAST and very precise advanced player from Mali, West Africa who is a well respected djembefola around the world. Solo Soro is an exceptionally accomplished djembe, dundun & balafon player, also considered Djembefola and lives in Los Angeles.

Djembefola? What is that?

(African term) Directly translated a djembefola is "one who gives the djembe voice". A djembefola is a djembe player. Generally someone would be fairly competent with a djembe before they are referred to as a djembefola.

So how do I pick the perfect drum for me?

Let Wooden Roots help you. With many years experience and a passion to get the right drum to the right person. Based on your responses to some of the questions we have listed above we can ascertain quite specifically the right drum for you. Then it comes down quite literally to aesthetics, the rope colour, embelishments i.e tack work or getting a rubber shoe fitted to the stem base of the drum. Do you prefer spotted skin? plain skin? hair over? skin over? skin cut? What about knot work or cradles as we prefer to call them. There’s the cradle rope and the vertical rope which can be the same colour of contrast depending on your colour scheme. Don’t be daunted by all these decisions, we help people make them every day and as a result you get to purchase the perfect drum for YOU.

So what’s next?
If you are in the market for a new djembe or a replacement drum, pick up the phone and call us or send us an email or a direct message through one of our social’s - we are on them all!

Pop over to our shop, we have lots of choices on there but we also have a lot more physical stock in house if you don’t see what you are looking for.

We can have you into your new djembe and playing in no time at all. Don’t take our word for it, check out what one of our students had to say featured in this months BLOG - Djembe helps student heal.

We look forward to speaking to you soon. Wooden Roots is based in Suffolk, which is in the East of England. We are 90 minutes from London on the train and our nearest train station is Melton, Woodbridge.

Marcus & Gemma