Ahmondylla's Instruments

shekere
Shekere is the Yoruba word for a calabash/ gourd rattle covered with a skirt of movable beads. It is a hand held idiophone, or self- sounding percussion instrument. There are a couple of seemingly conflicting stories on the traditional uses and purposes of the Shekere. Some say the instrument was used by certain male musicians to attract the women to them for the purpose of informing them of the latest gossip. Sometimes money would be solicited by these griots for bringing the “news” to the community. The women then learned how to play the Shekere because gossiping was considered woman centered. Others tell of the Shekere being the instrument used by certain women to gather other females again for the purpose of gossiping. Women would bring their Shekeres to a central location to socialize by singing and improvising songs about the latest gossip and other news of the day. This is how the Shekere became associated with women. This instrument is played around the world in many different forms and under many different names. In Hawaii it is played without beads and is sometimes called an uli ulis. In Ghana it is smaller, not hollowed and called an axatse. It is sometimes called a chekere. No matter what you call it, it is a dynamic example of nature at it’s finest.

flute
The bamboo flute is one of the oldest and simplest musical instruments in the world. Most cultures of the world have some type of transverse flute (which simply means a flute blown across, a side-blown flute.) Because bamboo grows in most tropical and temperate climates of the world, many cultures use bamboo flutes as their primary wind instrument.  Their ease and playability make them a natural choice for many looking to enter the musical arena, while their richness of tone and great flexibility make them an excellent selection for the experienced musician as well.

conga
Hand percussion that permeates life in Cuba can be traced back to the African tradition of drumming. Africans, brought to Cuba, Haiti & Brazil by the slave trade in the 18th century, performed drumming on barrels and boxes to keep up their moral. Secret societies, which still exist today, were formed to practice religious rites of worship to African gods. Drumming is in the forefront at these rituals. The percussion instruments in Cuba are centered around the CONGAS. The CONGAS (tumbadora) which originated in Africa, were first used by religious groups, but are now very common to Latin music. The body of the conga is made traditionally from ash wood but recently, the introduction of fiberglass has made it possible to produce congas that both sound great, and stand up to school music programs and regular touring by latin percussionists. The heads are always made from rawhide and are "tucked" into a collar that is tuned by tension rods. The smallest of the congas (about 11" in diameter) is called the "QUINTO", the middle one (11 3/4") is called "CONGA", "seguidor" or "tres golpes" and the largest (12 1/2") is called "TUMBADORA" or "salidor". The congas are played by the conguero. Occasionally, a very small 9 3/4" called the Requinto is used to augment the three basic sizes.

djembe
The Djembe is West Africa's most popular drum. It has a flexible range of  tones, produced by its thin goat skin, shape and tight tuning. The bass is played with an open hand in the center of the drum producing an incredibly deep and resonant note. The tone is played near the rim of the skin with a firm hand, producing a high pitched note. The slap is played by a pivoted open hand on the rim of the drum, by throwing the fingers forward to slap the skin. This produces a crisp, sharp note which can cut through the loudest music.

umuduli (berimbao)
A bow shaped instrument with a single steel string (arame de aço) running from one end to the other...A gourd (cabaça) is attached at the bottom of the shaped wood and acts like a sounding box. The taut steel string is hit by a small stick (vareta) and plucked with a coin (dobrão) or stone (pedra). The bow (pau; vara; verga) was traditionally made from strong wood (beriba; pereiro; pau-de-ferro) but nowadays the use of bamboo is also becoming very popular in Brazil. In Australia the use of bamboo is the solution to the absence of the woods used im Brazil. The traditional Capoeira orchestra uses three differently tuned berimbau to perform the music for the Jogo de Angola . They are known as: The gunga which plays as the bass berimbau, médio which plays the rhythm or harmony and viola which is the solo berimbau. Other instruments that commonly comprise the Capoeira ritual are the caxixi (a bamboo and wicker rattle which is held by the berimbau player in the same hand used to hit the string of the berimbau with the stick), palmas (hand claps), pandeiro (a tambourine), atabaque (similar to the conga drum), agogô (agogo bell) and sometimes the reco-reco (a notched bamboo scraper). Today, the most popular of the berimbau rhythms include: angola, which is the slow introductory rhythm; são bento grande, fast rhythm; são bento pequeno a variation of the angola rhythm and cavalaria , or an imitation of the horse trot.

mbira
The (also called kalimba, likembe, sansa or thumb piano) is a plucked idiophone unique to Africa and widely distributed throughout the continent. It is commonly played as an accompaniment to song, but in some areas it is used for purely instrumental music. In Zimbabwe, the mbira dzavadzimu is played during Shona ceremonies. Zimbabwean mbira music is characterized by its intense, joyful spirituality, its complex rhythms and beautifully arranged melodies.  The Mbira dzavadzimu music profoundly reflects the Shona culture. The mbira consists of a set of tuned metal or bamboo tongues of varying length fitted to a board, box or calabash resonator, their free ends being stroked by the player's thumbs and fingers. Board mounted mbiras are often played inside gourds or bowls for increased resonance.  

steel pan
The steel pan, or tuned steel drum, is one of the few acoustic instruments invented in the twentieth century. One day in the late 1930's, Winston "Spree" Simon discovered that a dented section of barrel head produced a tone. It was not long afterwards that it was discovered that a convex top of an oil barrel made a muted, bell-like tone. Further refinements were made: Sections were "seamed" with a hammer and chisel into small areas in order to isolate specific notes. To make higher pitches, one only had to groove a smaller area of the pan. As it became apparent that full sized drums were not necessary for the higher pitched instruments, hacksaws were used to remove a portion of the body of the barrel. Lower pitched instruments required deeper resonating chambers, so most of the barrel length was left. These instruments were grouped into categories as BOOM (the bass pans: as many as 6 full lengthen pans with 3 notes per pan), CELLOS (set of 3 to cover the full tonal range: usually half-length barrels with 8 notes per pan), DOUBLE SECONDS (2 pans which cover the alto range: 1/4 length barrels with 15 notes per pan) and finally, PING-PONG (the "lead pan" ).  

balafon
The balafon (xylophone) is present in almost all of black Africa, and exists in various models, depending upon the area. The wooden keys are set on a frame which has gourds underneath them to give the sound a most unique resonance. There is a combination of small and large gourds to accomplish this amazing texture of sound. The first use of the Balafon dates back to 800AD, and probably a lot earlier. The tuning of the keys is accomplished by thinning the center (underside) to lower the pitch and by thinning the ends (underside) to raise the pitch. The linear change in stave length has to do with setting the keys on the frame so that they rest on their nodal points . So the keys are cut to fit on the frame, which has a linear taper, then they are tuned to pitch by shaving off wood from either the center or ends. The gourds that are placed on the underside of the keys are attached with antelope skin, and the actual keys are made from native grown mahogony.

hindewhu
The Hindewhu (whistle) is made from a hollow branch of the paw paw tree in the Itori forrest of Central Africa. The natural membrane at the node forms the base of the whistle. It is played by the Ba-Benzele group. This tube is about three inches long. The lower lip is pressed against the outer surface and air is blown across the open, circular end. The technique of Hindewhu playing consists of alternately blowing the whistle and singig or yodeling one or more notes, thus producing an unusual synthesis.

didjiridu
The didgeridu is an Australian Aboriginal instrument used musically, in ceremony, and in ritual. Myths and legends abound about the didgeridoo and its relationship to the creation of the world in Aboriginal cultures. There is evidence it may have a history of over 40,000 years. It is an unstopped hollowed piece of bamboo or wood, usually the latter, traditionally made from a eucalyptus tree which has been hollowed out by termites, it is often today made from bamboo and other materials. It is played like a bass horn, giving off a deep, resonant drone sound, unlike any instrument you are likely to have heard.  Known as yidaki in the language of the Yolngu, one of the peoples of Northern Australia, where the instrument originated. The didjeridu/yidaki is a remarkable instrument because of the wide variety of timbres that it produces but it is only known in Eastern Kimberly and the northern third of the Northern Territory. It is usually about four or five feet long, and about two inches or even more in internal diameter, with a mouth-piece made of wax or hardened gum. The player blows into the instrument in trumpet fashion. Playing the instrument requires circular breathing. Didjeridu playing is learnt when young. A good player, or "puller" as he is called, produces two pitches, one usually a tenth above the regular one but it is always a short sharp sound.