Often invented and used by cultures living in forested areas, drums served as an early form of long distance communication, and were used during ceremonial and religious functions. Popular movies often portray natives pounding on hollow logs, however most drums are carved from hardwoods into carefully tuned resonators, and often richly decorated as totemic animals. 

There are different communication drum types, although they are all commonly known in Central Africa as "talking drums" or "message drums" and are capable of producing different tones as well as rhythms. They are used in regions which possess tonal languages, and the tone and beat of the drum message mimics that of actual speech. However, because this does not uniquely specify particular words, the words are combined into stereotyped phrases which unambiguously communicate a particular meaning. Because of this, a drum message is usually considerably longer than the spoken equivalent. The word culture, from the Latin colo, -ere, with its root meaning to cultivate, generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance. ... FOREST, which describes itself as the voice and friend of the smoker, is a United Kingdom political pressure group that campaigns for the right of people to smoke tobacco and opposes attempts to ban or reduce tobacco consumption, as well as casting doubt on medical claims of the health risks... Communication is the process of exchanging information, usually via a common protocol. ... A ceremony is an activity, infused with ritual significance, performed on a certain occasion. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... This article is about motion pictures. ... Loggers on break, c. ... Beech is a typical temperate zone hardwood The term hardwood designates wood from angiosperm trees. ... A totem is any natural or supernatural object, being or animal which has personal symbolic meaning to an individual and to whose phenomena and energy one feels closely associated with during ones life. ... A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia. ... Tonality is a system of writing music according to certain hierarchical pitch relationships around a center or tonic. ... Rhythm (Greek ρυθμός = tempo) is the variation of the duration of sounds or other events over time. ... Tone refers to the use of pitch in language to distinguish words. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A phrase is a group of words that functions as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence. ...

Under ideal conditions, the sound can be understood at 8 km (5 miles), but interesting messages usually get relayed on by the next village. "The talking drums" or "jungle drums" is also a euphemism for gossip - similar to "the grapevine". A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer), symbol: km is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words χίλια (khilia) = thousand and μέτρο (metro) = count/measure). ... A mile is a unit of distance (or, in physics terminology, length) currently defined as 5,280 feet, 1,760 yards, or 63,360 inches. ... A euphemism is an expression intended by the speaker to be less offensive, disturbing, or troubling to the listener than the word or phrase it replaces, or in the case of doublespeak to make it less troublesome for the speaker. ... Look up Gossip in Wiktionary, the free dictionary The word gossip may refer to: the act of spreading news from person to person, especially rumors or private information: see chat the news spread through the act of gossiping While gossip forms one of the oldest and (still) the most common... Look up Grapevine in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Grapevine can refer to several things. ...

Log Drums

The oldest drums were made out of hollowed logs. The bigger the log, the louder sound would be made and thus the farther it could be heard. A long slit would be cut in one side of the tree trunk. Next, the log would be hollowed out through the slit, leaving lips (wooden ledges) on each side of the opening. A drum could be tuned to produce a lower note and a higher note. For that it would need to be hollowed out more under one lip than under the other. A log can be: a cut portion of a tree bole or large branch (see logging) a time-sequential data record (see data logging) a logarithm used in mathematical calculations a log (speed) to measure the speed of a ship a Ships log of important events in the management... A schematic representation of hearing. ... Vertical or horizontal spaces that can open and close ... Tune can refer to: a melody. ...

The drum's lips are hit with sticks, beating out rhythms of high and low notes. A wooden stick In its most basic, common form, a stick is a long, slender piece of wood, usually a branch from a tree, with no leaves attached. ... Rhythm (Greek ρυθμός = tempo) is the variation of the duration of sounds or other events over time. ...

The message-sending logs are not drums at all from the technical point of view, since they do not have a skin or membrane that would vibrate as they are beaten. Instead, the entire log vibrates like a big cylindrical gong, so musicologists call this type of instrument a slit gong. Most of the drums are carved from hardwoods. It has been suggested that Net flux be merged into this article or section. ... Oscillation is the periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure as seen, for example, in a swinging pendulum. ... The word cylinder has several meanings. ... A gong is any one of a wide variety of metal percussion instruments. ... A musicologist is someone who studies musicology. ... Slit gong is a primitive type of drum. ...

Modern Drums

Some cultures improved the log drums with animal skins and hides which were stretched over the end of a log, thus creating a device bearing more resemblance to the modern drum. The drum often has a narrow neck between the drum heads, across which stretch the sinews holding the skins; the drum will be held under one arm, which is squeezed down on the sinews to vary the tension in the drumheads and therefore the pitch of the sound. In this way several tone registers, as well as contour tones, can be replicated. Diagram of the layers of human skin In zootomy and dermatology, skin is an organ of the integumentary system composed of a layer of tissues that protect underlying muscles and organs. ... Look up hide in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Drum carried by John Unger, Company B, 40th Regiment New York Veteran Volunteer Infantry Mozart Regiment, December 20, 1863 Several American Indian-style drums for sale at the National Museum of the American Indian. ...

Among the most famous talking drums are the drums of West Africa, where they were invented. From regions known today as Nigeria and Ghana they spread across West Africa and to America and the Caribbean during the slave trade. At that time they were banned because they were being used by the slaves to communicate over long distances in a code unknown to the slave traders and masters.  Western Africa (UN subregion)  Maghreb West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. ... Motto: E pluribus unum (1789 to present) (Latin: Out of Many, One) In God We Trust (1956 to present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York, New York Official language(s) None at federal level; English de facto Government • President • Vice President Federal republic... Central America and the Caribbean (detailed pdf map) The Caribbean, (Spanish: Caribe; French: Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Dutch: Cariben or Caraïben, or more commonly Antillen) or the West Indies, is a group of islands and countries which are in or border the Caribbean Sea which lies on... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Talking drums are known by a variety of names by many West African peoples. They also differ greatly in size and playing styles, the talking drum of the Wolof of Senegal being a third of the size of the talking drum of the Dagomba of Ghana is sometimes played by hands, whereas the talking drums of the Yoruba are always played by curved stick.

Some of the variations of the talking drum among West African tribes:

Tama (Wolof of Senegal) Gan gan, Dun Dun (Yoruba of Nigeria) Dondo (Ashanti of central Ghana) Lunna (Dagomba of northern Ghana Kalangu (Hausa of northern Nigeria and Niger) The Wolofs are an ethnic group living in Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania. ... The Yoruba (native name Yorùbá) are the largest single ethno-lingusitic group or ethnic nation in Nigeria and the largest single ethnic nation in Africa. ... The Ashanti (also Asante) are a major ethnic group from Africa. ... Dagomba is a kingdom in northern Ghana. ... // Introduction The Hausa are a people chiefly located in northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger. ...

(See Tama) Yamar Thiam of the Finnish group Galaxy performing at the Imatra Big band Festival at Imatra, July 2005 A Tama (the talking drum) is a drum whose pitch can be regulated to the extent that it is said the drum talks. The player puts the tama under one shoulder and...

In the 20th century the talking drums have become a part of popular music in West Africa, especially in the music genres of Juju (Nigeria) and Mbalax (Senegal). Music is an art, entertainment, or other human activity which involves structured and audible sound, though definitions vary. ... Juju has a number of meanings: Juju, an object superstitiously believed to embody magical powers (sometimes used as a fetish, a charm, or an amulet in West Africa). ... Mbalax is a genre of popular music developed in Senegal and Gambia. ...

Drum code

Cultures using drums for sending messages usually developed a code, similar to today's Morse code. Sounds of various interval and tone conveyed different meanings, for example 'enemy is coming', 'forest is on fire' or 'river is flooding'. In communications, a code is a rule for converting a piece of information (for example, a letter, word, or phrase) into another form or representation, not necessarily of the same sort. ... 1922 Chart of the Morse Code Letters and Numerals Morse code is a method for transmitting information, using standardized sequences of short and long marks or pulses — commonly known as dots and dashes — for the letters, numerals and special characters of a message. ... The term interval is used in the following contexts: cricket mathematics music time This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Some of those codes were made to resemble real sentences. To prevent messages from being short and sounding too similar, very long descriptive sentences can be used to enhance the drum language.

See also

• Drum
• Gong
• Whistled language
• Communication

Drum carried by John Unger, Company B, 40th Regiment New York Veteran Volunteer Infantry Mozart Regiment, December 20, 1863 Several American Indian-style drums for sale at the National Museum of the American Indian. ... A gong is any one of a wide variety of metal percussion instruments. ... Whistled languages are spoken languages conveyed through the medium of whistling. ... Communication is the process of exchanging information, usually via a common protocol. ...

External links

• Schmidt-Jones, C. (2005, May 24). Message Drums. Connexions
• Talking Drum from Instrument Encyclopedia, including a sound sample
• The Talking Drums of Africa