Djembe Tuning Locked Method

[@BradLarsonMedia]

Just what I was looking for, thanks! (Lots of videos show how to do the tie, but this is the first I found that shows what a tuned and untuned sounds like, so I know what to aim for).

[@shortypalmer]

Nice to meet you. Good job on the video. Would like to have seen your transition from one row to another. Spot on with beating the crown ring down.

[@jahsurhofjudah6053]

good stuff, thanks alot.

[@yousefabushanab1360]

Thank you 🙏

[@davidmcaninch4714]

The head on my djembe has a slight tear near the crown ring. What should I do? Should I replace it? Or should I go see a professional?

[@giorgiosarpietro2914]

Hello and thank you so much for the video! I have a very old djembe already tuned many times. There are many knots in the vertical ropes and not enough free rope. How can I solve this problem? Add another rope? Redo the previous knots? Thanks so much again 🙏🏼

[@ShawPercussion]

You can add more rope and tie more diamonds. If there are more than 3 rows of diamonds, you may want to untie all the diamonds, pull the vertical rope tight and start again tying diamonds.

[@giorgiosarpietro2914]

Thank you again! I'll try it, hoping not to permanently break my djembe

[@BYANYMEANSNECESSARY-s3d]

Hi there Phil. I have a question...ive put a new head on my drum....strung etc. I even trimmed it, my bad I suspect. The head is now dry and so loose its concave...I suspect that I can tighten forever without taking up so much slack.....true? Must I buy another head and redo...lol, for the 5th time? I had no idea about the process....I know much more now..but I think I failed.. .HELP..the not so funny and ironic..I was a working drummer for thirty plus years, that was my day gig. Pretty embarrassing, a drummer struggles just changing heads...geeze

[@charliemoody7168]

I’ve been watching a bunch of tuning vids, including all of yours, and it seems to me that the three diamonds on my drum (as got it second-hand) are misapplied: in following your directions, the result twists *opposite* to the way you show…and, the verticals are not not connected by the “u” at the bottom, so I’m thinking I need to undo those diamonds & redo them. I successfully undid the one I added, but I’m concerned about undoing the others. Can you offer any advice or suggestions about such a task, or should I just skip ‘the next’ (wrong) vertical & work on the next pair of ‘u’-connected verticals? This is my first djembe and I want to do it right without screwing anything up…thanks in advance for any assistance!

[@timsummers9634]

This was very helpful, especially how to start a new row and have it look neat. Once the drum is tuned up to where I like it, I'll play slaps from different points around the head and hear slight variations in pitch, making it sound off-balance. Do you have any pointers on how to "fine tune" the drum to eliminate these pitch variations?

[@ShawPercussion]

There will always be variations in the sounds at different spots in the drum. Because it is a goat hide head and not synthetic, you can't really avoid the variations. Most of the time you want to position the head so the spine line is in the centre and you play with one hand on either side. That way the thickness of the skin is the same for both hands and the aim is to have the slap and tone sound the same with the left and right hand. Having said that, you will see people using the variations in sounds at different spots in their djembe to make their solos more interesting. Hope this helps!

[@1celestial]

great video, would you tune a bougarabou same method/ thanks

[@ShawPercussion]

Hi , Yes this method is used on any rope tuned drum that uses the Mali weave .You continue with the method that was used to initially tune the drum either the locked or unlocked method. If you are re-roping the drum you can choose either method.

[@ShawPercussion]

Hi Brad , Thanks for your comment, happy that you found the video helpful. It was excerpted from a more in depth two part video series on tuning a rope tuned drum. You might find some more useful tips and techniques there. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGfJYqd4fq-Fi9E

[@kenyattauhuru4462]

a simple way to understand a mali weave is to visualize an " S " that goes between two vertical strands of rope

[@tounsinour5907]

What if the drum has barely any bass?

[@ShawPercussion]

If the djembe doesn't have much bass it could have a hole in the shell. Even a tiny hole in the bowl can make a big difference. You need to find the hole & seal it.

[@vin17flores72]

a mountain tug cleat, does it go under a different name?

[@ShawPercussion]

Hi Marco, its just "Tug Cleat" also called a Clamcleat . Used by sailors , so should be available at marine suppliers or online search" tug cleat" . There a couple of different types, the one with the split in the middle works best for drum tuning.