Document 6509357

How To Tie Djembe Knots – from AfricanMusicSafari.com
Step By Step Instructions
Are you trying to figure out how to tie djembe knots? Just watch how Kingy Mensah does it, the
friendly drum builder in Ghana. He'll show you step by step:
Step 1
Thightly wrap the bottom
iron ring with a strip of
cotton cloth to protect the
rope from rust and cuts.
Step 2
Use white glue to finish.
Step 4
Step 5
Measure the rope by
wrapping it around your arm
about 7 times. Don't cut it
from the spool yet, just mark
it with a knot.
Start with the crown ring.
Hold the mark and place the
measured rope over the ring
into the middle. Pull it out from
under the ring and over the
rope.
Step 3
Repeat the same thing with the
crown ring.
Step 6
Now, place the rope under the
ring into the middle.
Step 7
Pull it out over the ring
and through the loop.
Step 10
Place the rope under the ring
and pull it through
the loop.
Step 8
Tighten the rope.
The first knot is finished. Let's
try that again...
Step 11
Step 9
Place the rope over
the ring and pull it
through the loop.
Step 12
Voilà! Continue like this all
Count your knots. Place the
around the ring, leaving no
drum upside down and tie the
more than 1 inch of space
exact same number of knots
between the knots. Now, you
onto the bottom ring. Leave less
can cut the rope and tie the
space between the knots than
ends together or fuse them with
you did on the crown ring.
a lighter.
That's it! It's really simple once you get the hang of it.
The Mali Weave: Step by Step
Tying Knots on Djembe, djun djun and ashiko
Thanks to Djembe-L member, Walter Alter, <limejello@earthlink.net>
for submitting these pictures 09-08-02
Picture #1
1. Mattioli's double loop
end knot.
2. Bowline knot vertical
start loop.
3. Hitch in last vertical pull tight
4. S weave - over 2, S,
under 2. This
diamond locks better
than under 2,
S, over 2
Picture #2
Continue pulling diamonds in a
downwards
direction to keep them tight and
even.
Tune drum as necessary until
row is
completed and double vertical is
reached.
Picture #3
When the double vertical
is reached, treat
it like a single vertical
and pull it into
the last diamond of the
row.
Picture #5
Picture #4
Take the rope back over the
Run the rope under the
double vertical
knot of the last
making an S around its partner
diamond. You may need single
a screwdriver to
vertical and under the double
lift the knot off the drum again. The
body in order
rope should now be going in the
to fit the rope end
opposite
underneath.
direction.
Picture #6
Pull the first diamond of
the new row and
continue as needed.
When the 2nd row is
finished, do the mirror of
this procedure
to start the 3rd row.
There will be more
rope than shown here,
hopefully enough for
at least 5 rows.