The Instruments

The Instruments of Mecca Bodega: Roll your cursor over the different instruments in the picture above to find out more about them.

Gonbop Drums: These are conga drums on a stand made by the company “Gonbop.” They can be played as hand drums or with mallets. The bottom trunks collapse into the drums to make them easier to transport. The conga drum evolved in Cuba and became popular in the U.S. with the Afro-Cuban jazz movement of the 1940’s.

Djembe Drum: The djembe is present in many regions of West Africa and its origins date back to the 12th century Madinka people of Mali. It is a mortar-shaped drum that has an animal skin (usually goat, cow or antelope) stretched over one opening and is beaten with bare hands. There is a broad spectrum of sounds that can be produced by the djembe which makes it ideal to be used as a solo instrument.

Djembe Drum: The djembe is present in many regions of West Africa and its origins date back to the 12th century Madinka people of Mali. It is a mortar-shaped drum that has an animal skin (usually goat, cow or antelope) stretched over one opening and is beaten with bare hands. There is a broad spectrum of sounds that can be produced by the djembe which makes it ideal to be used as a solo instrument.

Caixixi Shakers: The casing of these shakers is woven like a basket and is filled with many small, hard particles (seeds, stones, etc.). These shakers originate from regions of South America; although shakers have been used in music and ceremonies all over the world throughout the history of humans, seeds and stones.

Didjeridoo: The didjeridoo is from Northern Australia and has been played by the Aborigines for about 40,000 years. It is a tree branch hollowed out by termites, stripped of its bark, and painted with traditional dream time symbols. The length of the didjeridoo helps determine the note that is played. It is played with a special technique called circular breathing and is used for healing and during sacred ceremonies.

Sekere: The sekere is a calabash gourd surrounded by a net which has beads strung into it along its entire length. It is rhythmically shaken and hit with bare hands which causes the net to move and strike the beads against the sides of the calabash.

Goat-Hoof Shaker: Animal hoof shakers have been used by the Native Americans and by many other cultures all over the world in different forms of music and ceremonies. The goat hooves shown here are strung together in a circle and can be worn around the ankle or wrist or held in the hand to play.

Icebell, Chinese Cymbal, Cowbell Sculpture, Metal Shank: We use Peter Englehart percussion made from metal and springs. We call this piece pictured here “The Shank.” The metal cowbell is handmade by Alexandra Limpert.

Ashiko Drum: A straight, cone shaped hand drum originally from Nigeria. It has a wooden shell and animal skin stretched over one opening. This drum is also called the Shiko.

Guitar: A guitar fish is a stingray that somewhat resembles a guitar in outline when viewed from above.

Hammered Dulcimer: The hammered dulcimer is an ancient member of the zither family and is an ancestor of the psaltry. Dulcimer literally means “sweet song,” and its design and playing style helped give birth to the modern day piano. The dulcimer player uses hand-held hammers to strike the strings, while a pianist uses fingers on keys to force hammers inside to strike the strings. The hammered dulcimer has two strings per note, which creates beautifully sustained notes and harmonies.There are several versions of the hammered dulcimer that are played worldwide. Persia: Santir; Russia: Chang; India: Santoor; Thailand: Khim; Korea: Yangum; Switzerland: Hackbrett; Hungary: Cimbalom.

Jun Jun Drum: A large two-headed African drum made with a wooden or metal shell. The one shown here was skinned by Sekou Jawara. The jun-jun drum is used in djembe orchestras to accent and call changes in the music.; This instrument’s name is Boris.

More Instruments of Mecca Bodega: Roll your cursor over the different instruments in the picture above to find out more about them.

Hilo, Steel Guitar or Lap Steel: Named lap steel because it is played flat on your lap with a steel bar that is slid on the strings. The strings are very high off of the fretboard and are not fretted or pushed down. Fingerpicks are worn on the right hand and it is tuned to open chord. It was invented in Hawaii in the late 1800s and later became very important in bluegrass and country music.

Portuguese Guitar: Believed to come from the English guitar which was a small cittern and was popular in Portugal in the mid to late 1700s. It has twelve strings and is most often associated with fado music. There are two basic types – Coimbra and Lisboa, but more recently a third type has been added, the guitolão.

Saz: A long necked steel strung lute from Turkey. It has seven strings and the soundhole is on the bottom. It’s full name is baglama saz, which means tied instrument. This is because the frets are tied to the neck and are made of nylon string. They are moveable and there are quarter tones which do not exist in Western music.

Hammered Dulcimer: The hammered dulcimer is an ancient member of the zither family and is an ancestor of the psaltry. Dulcimer literally means “sweet song,” and its design and playing style helped give birth to the modern day piano. The dulcimer player uses hand-held hammers to strike the strings, while a pianist uses fingers on keys to force hammers inside to strike the strings. The hammered dulcimer has two strings per note, which creates beautifully sustained notes and harmonies.There are several versions of the hammered dulcimer that are played worldwide. Persia: Santir; Russia: Chang; India: Santoor; Thailand: Khim; Korea: Yangum; Switzerland: Hackbrett; Hungary: Cimbalom.

Shakuhachi Flute: A bamboo end blown flute from Japan. It is one of the most important instruments in traditional Japanese music, used to play folk songs, classical music, and Zen Buddhist meditation music. There are notes in the Buddhist and classical music that don’t exist in Western music and the meditation music has silences in between the phrases that are just as important as the notes themselves.

Tiple: A ten or twelve stringed instrument from Colombia, where it is the national instrument. It is in the guitar family and evolved from the Spanish vihuela which was brought to the New World in the 16th century by the Spanish conquistadors. It took its present form somewhere at the end of the 19th century.