Play your Djembe with your hands, no sticks or mallets. This will ensure optimal head life. There is a secondary benefit to using your hands, the oils from your hands replenish the oils in the head. So, play often! It’s a good idea to use Shea Butter or a small amount of olive oil on your hands before playing. This helps protect your hands and the drum head from drying out. Don’t use hand creams before playing your drum as the petrolium base of most hand creams will damage the head.
Use a high quality Djembe drum bag. The very best Djembe bags can be purchased for just $45.00 (for a small drum). This is a small investment when you consider the cost to replace a head. Having a head replaced usually costs around $100.00. for a quality skin and restringing.
Don’t expose your Djembe drum to rapid changing temperatures. This is where a good drum bag does its job. Buy a bag with an ample amount of padding. The padding acts as insulation. When moving the drum between extreme temperatures, such as from inside storage to an outdoor gig, unzip the drum bag and leave the drum in the bag until the drum comes to temperature. You want to slow down the rate at which your drum acclimates to the new temperature.
Don’t attempt to use cleaners to clean your goat skin drum head, just play it. Any discoloration is just the natural state of the skin and should not be tampered with. Doing so will damage the surface of the drum head and shorten its life.
Be careful not to damage your Djembe drum head on door frames, tables or counter top edges. A direct hit from a solid obect to the bearing edge or drum head will cause severe damage and may even cut the drum head. We have repaired many drums that had damage to the bearing edge. The bearing edge is where the drum head stretches over the edge of the drum. A smooth, even bearing edge is important to obtain an open tone. If this edge is damaged, a new edge must be put on the drum, usually along with a new head.
Don’t expose a goat skin drum head to the rain. The head will turn to a soft rag like state and the drum will lose all its tension. If this happens, don’t play the drum in this condition. You will need to unseat the head from the rings (remove all tension). Let the drum head dry naturally. Don’t use hair dryers, heat guns or fans. You want the goat skin to dry evenly.
Depending on the finish of your drum, there are two methods of cleaning the exterior wood shell. If your drum has a varnish or lacquer finish, there is little care required. In this case you can simply use a spray furniture wax and a soft cloth. Avoid getting wax on the lacing and drum head. For unfinished or natural wood drums, a light coat of teak oil every few months will help prevent cracking. Remember, wood moves, and sometimes cracking is unavoidable, but regular oiling along with cool dry storage will keep your drum in pristine condition for many years to come.
For all solid wood drums, you want to replenish the oils in the wood to help prevent the drum from splitting. Teak oil works well but you can also use linseed oil. Apply to the interior of the drum by placing a few tablespoons of oil on a fist sized ball of cloth. Rub the cloth on the interior of the drum being careful not to get oil on the drum head. A light rub down every 4-6 months is sufficient.
Learn all you can and play your drum often with as much heart and emotion as you can summon from within. The very nature of the Djembe is a celebration of life and spirit, so let there be nothing between you and your muse.
