It’s common for drumset players to be curious about hand drumming, and to eventually decide to buy their first set of bongos…or would congas be better…or perhaps a djembe? You may check out good meinl aluminum hand-hammered darbuka at guitar center too.
Modern Drummer’s sister publication, Drum Business, recently ran an article hipping retailers to the current hand-drum trends, and much of what was covered in that piece would also be helpful to kit players looking to expand their skills. DB originally enlisted the help of Victor Filonovich at Toca Percussion, Glen Caruba at Pearl, Quincy Yu at Tycoon, Sue Kincade at Remo, and Chris Brewer at Meinl, and we’ll examine some of what these experts said in the original article and apply it to the needs of the novice player.
First, here’s a basic list of the primary hand drums of various regions and countries.
Africa: djembe (large goblet shape)
Brazil: pandeiro (frame drum with metal jingles, similar to a tambourine)
Cuba: conga (tall and narrow) and bongos (set of two small drums)
India: tabla (set comprising one small wood drum and one larger metal drum)
Ireland: bodhran (circular frame drum)
Japan: taiko (many variations of large-shell drums)
Middle East: doumbek (small goblet shape)
North America: hoop drum (circular frame drum)
Peru: cajon (wooden box)
Thailand: klong yao (long goblet shape)
That’s a lot of drums to choose from, and it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Pearl’s Glenn Caruba suggests that the cajon could be the ideal entry point for set players looking to expand their percussive palette. “The cajon has multiple frequencies that emulate the sound of a drumset,” he explains, “and it’s very easy to play and mike.”
Chris Brewer at Meinl agrees. “Cajons are our top-selling hand drum because they’re such versatile instruments and are just plain fun to play,” he says. “The cajon can be used in so many different musical styles and settings, and it’s easy to play for beginners and novices.”
Toca’s top-selling hand drum is the djembe. “We have lightweight djembes as well as traditional-style models,” Victor Filonovich says, “and our djembes’ prices fit every budget, from inexpensive to premium models.”
“Remo’s key-tuned djembe has had great success,” Sue Kincade concurs. “With features like portability, tunability, durability, and playability, it’s [a good] choice for professionals, educators, and recreational drummers for all drumming activities.”
Tycoon has had a lot of success with its cajons and djembes as well. “Right now, our best-selling hand drum would be our Supremo series cajon,” Quincy Yu says. “Part of the reason is that cajons in general are one of the faster-growing markets in the percussion world. The other part is that cajons are affordable and durable instruments that can be used in so many different ways. Djembes have a similar ability, in that they can find their way to fit into music from around the world. Naturally, the wider the range of any instrument, the more styles it might find a way to be a part of.”
Congas might not produce low-end frequencies as well as djembes do, but they cross musical genres fairly easy. Bongos can work well in many settings too. “Congas, bongos, and djembes could be played in any genre of music,” Brewer says. “But some of this depends on how experimental the user is within the style that he or she is playing.”
