AOS: RotW - African instruments

Question 1

Djembe

Answer 1

• Single head and has a goblet shape
• Played with hands, not sticks
• Size affects pitch
• Using different part of the hand creates different sounds

Question 2

Dundun

Answer 2

• Cylinder shape with a head at each end
• Three types at different pitches- Kenkeni, Sangban and Dundunba (highest to lowest)
• Usually played with sticks

Question 3

Dunno/Talking drum

Answer 3

• Hourglass shape
• Held under the arm
• Played with a curved stick
• Player squeezes the strings to change the pitch

Question 4

Kagan, Kidi and Sogo

Answer 4

• All barrel shaped drums
• Held in the players knees
• Played with sticks

Question 5

Sabar

Answer 5

• Usually played with one bare hand and a stick
• Comes in a vary of sizes
• Traditionally used to communicate between villages it could be heard from 15km away

Question 6

Balafon

Answer 6

• Wooden xylophone

* Dried gourds (hard fruit/seed pods) hanging underneath to create warm, mellow sound

Question 7

Kora

Answer 7

• Specific to the Mandingon people
• Has 21 strings
• Played by plucking

Question 8

Mbira/Thumb piano

Answer 8

• Very small

* Makes twangy sound