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Djembe
tuning
Djembe tuning isn't difficult. Below
are pictures and explanations on how to do the ropes from
scratch.
Right-click on any picture and select "Save image as..." to save the
pictures and print them out for a more detailed reference.
The verticals
The top and bottom rings and the verticals combined
will keep everything in place, simply by tension and friction. If
you are careful here, it will save you from having to redo later
steps.
Knotting the top
and bottom rings
Knot the top
and bottom rings as shown in picture 1. Tie off the knotting with
a simple flat knot as shown at points a and b. Contrary to what
you might expect, there will be little stress on these knots - the
rope between the rings is clamped by the rings, so the knot is only
there to prevent some slippage, and it won't take the full stress
of the verticals. Cut the ends short, and use a lighter to fuse
the ends to the knot itself, or use some glue to prevent the knot
from loosening.
Threading the verticals
Put the verticals in as shown in picture 1. At
point c, tie a loop so that it looks like point e in picture 2.
The end of the rope coming up from the bottom (point d in picture
1) goes through the loop, back down, underneath the loops on the
bottom ring (point f), and then underneath the next verticals (point
g). Pull the rope down so it is fairly tight under the
verticals.
Tightening the
verticals
Tighten the verticals
as much as you can by hand, or
using a stick. Put your
feet against the djembe and use plain muscle power. Try and keep
both the top and bottom rings level. Make sure the verticals are
evenly stretched. Pluck them like a string, and if one sounds higher
than the other, pull the high one to even out the tension. Also,
gently tap the skin all the way round the edge, to hear whether
the tone is the same throughout (1). If one part of the skin sounds
lower, pull the verticals there, then continue pulling the verticals,
without adding much extra pull, until you come to point g again.
Any extra time and attention you spend at this point, will
saveyou having to undo the Mali Weave later and starting here again!
(1): To get the skin to sit properly, and
take extra slack out of the verticals, even out any tension induced
by friction etc: pound the skin with your fist all over! This will
lower the tone considerably. Tension the verticals again.
Tip:
You
can use the lock stitch (see below) to take out all the slack from
the verticals, and undo the lock stitch again if you like. Takes
more time but less muscle power.
The lock stitch
The lock stitch is the first round of Mali Weave.
This weave will "lock" the verticals in place. Any unevenlypulled verticals will no longer be able to even out their tension.
The rope goes under the next two verticals at point m. Then go over
the right-hand vertical (as shown at point h), under the left-handvertical(k) and to the right.
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Rope burn
If you pull a long piece of rope under another
in one place, whilst the rope is being clamped against the djembe,
the rope will scar the djembe there like sandpaper. This is called
rope burn. Try to avoid this by pulling the rope sideways, or liftingthe
rope it is being pulled under.
Pulling the cross
Pull the rope down below the imaginary horizontal
line of the lock stitches. Point h is shown pulled down already.
Do the same with point k. Once you pull the cross into the rope,
you won't be able to pull the horizontal rope downwards anymore(upwards is
still possible).
Wind the rope end about three timesaround a short stick or your
rope pulling device.
Put your two feet on the djembe which is lying on the floor, and
pull the rope in a 45 degree angle to the right and downwards, pulling
the left vertical over the right vertical. Use pulling tension to
position the horizontal rope neatly, and to position the cross neatly
centered over the loop below. Check that the whole row of lock stitching
stays neatly horizontal. The closer you stay to the bottom ring,
the more slack you are taking out of the verticals!
Finishing the lock
stitch
You probably won't get
the djembe up to playing pitch with less than a full round of lock
stitch. To finish this round, go underneath the two verticals to
the left of point p in figure 4. Then use some rope to lift the
two verticals away from the djembe a bit, and go underneath thehorizontal rope at point p. This way you finish the round neatly.
The Mali Weave
If the crossed verticals spring back,
you are probably tuned high enough. If you want to go higher, to
prevent them from springing back, put your foot on the rope cross,
stick the rope under the next two verticals, pull the rope down
below the horizontal line, and pull it tight horizontally (like
point r, but without doing s yet). This will keep the previous crossinplace.
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Finishing a round
of Mali Weave
I've found that
if your verticals are tightened properly, then one round of lock
stitch, and about half a round of Mali Weave, is sufficient to bring
the djembe up to a fairly high pitch after putting a new skin on.
In time however the skin may stretch, and you may want to tune itsome more.
To finish a round of Mali Weave, stick the rope underneath
the cross at point q. Lift the cross away from the djembe using
the rope, and stick the rope underneath the horizontal rope. This
is similar to finishing the round of lock stitch, illustrated at point p.
Round and round
Some people say that you should only do complete rounds of Mali
weave, to prevent the skin from being stretched unevenly and the
djembe sounding "out of tune" with itself. There are various
different ways of doing the Mali weave that will tighten the skin
more, or less. Putting a round of Mali weave in close to the previous
round, will tighten the skin a lot. Putting the round in higher
up on the djembe will tighten the skin less. Using fancy patterns
such as pulling the 1st and 4th ropes together will tighten the
skin more. And so on. So select the type of Mali weave for the amountof
tightening you want to do, if you want to complete a whole round.
Tuning your djembe only
If you only need to do a bit of tuning, here
is what to do. Put the rope underneath the next two verticals (see
figure 4, point r). Then up and back over the rightmost vertical,
under the left vertical, and up over it to the right again (point
s). Pull the rope as far down as you can, underneath the imaginary
horizontal line coming from point q. In the picture, point r is
already below that line. Do the same for s. Be careful not to makerope burns (see above) on the djembe shell.
Next, wind the ropethree times around a short stick or your
rope pulling device,
put your feet against the djembe, and pull the rope down at a 45
degree angle to your right, so you pull the left hand vertical over
the right hand one. Then make the next diamond.
Evening out tensions
To even out tension introduced by friction etc.
which is pulling the skin unevenly, pound the skin with your fist,
simulating prolonged play. This will help pull the skin over thewood edge
of the djembe and stretch it evenly.
Tying off excess
rope
After the last cross, go
under the next two verticals and pull the rope tight, so the last
cross will not become undone. Now go straight down, wind the excess
(1 to 2 yards extra is fine, more is just baggage) round the foot
of the djembe, and use the last 5 inches to go up again and stickit under
some rope to fasten it.
Making a handle
You can also use a piece of excess rope to make
a handle. Make a loop on the top ring to make the handle (horizontally
or vertically). Wind the excess rope tightly around the handle itself
to give the handle thickness. When the handle is completely covered,tie
down the last piece of rope. Or use any fancy knotwork you like...
Rope
pulling device
A handy rope
pulling device that will be sufficient for both doing verticals
and Mali Weave, can be made as follows. Take about 25 cms (10 inches)
of very sturdy broom handle. In the middle, drill a hole through
the handle (across the length of the wood), and insert a heavy duty
hook into it. Bolt the hook down. It looks a bit like a corkscrew
now. Cover any excess thread on the hook with tape to prevent theropes from fraying.
You can use the hook to pull verticals,
as well as diamonds. When pulling verticals, use both hands to pull,
with both feet against the djembe. You only need one hand to keep
the rope tight whilst you pick up the next vertical - friction will
do the rest. When pulling diamonds (and when you have enough slack
in the verticals), wind the rope a few times round the wood handle,and again pull with both hands, and both feet against the djembe.
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Enjoy, and Happy Drumming!