Drum It With Brummet

Drums And Percussion In Traditional West African Music * Written by Mike Armstrong former owner of Drum Culture. Drums and percussion have featured in West African music and culture for literally thousands of years; it forms the basis of communication and social structure in that region and music has traditionally been used as a means of recording social history so that it can be passed from generation to generation. This article is a brief introduction to the nature of that music. Archaeological digs have discovered evidence of drums, drums sticks and other percussion instruments in the region. Some of the rhythms played today were formed hundreds of years ago (it's almost impossible to know exactly when) and it is quite clear that the influences for these rhythms came from nature. One ancient rhythm called 'KuKu' quite clearly imitates the sound of a bird. Percussion instruments vary from naturally occurring instruments such as seed pods, to hand percussion such as a cowb...