Udu Drums
UDU DRUMS
My name is Annie and I create these udu drums out of gourds. These drums are musical art. Each of these one-of-a-kind instruments are made from organically grown gourds: hand selected, hand cleaned and hand painted. Because each gourd is different, the designs and colors vary. No two are ever the same...just like us! I personally sign each drum when I have completed the art.
The creativity that is upon these drums springs forth from my innermost heart. I love the earth and that which comes forth from her bounty. In my work as an expressive arts practitioner, my hands are a vital connection to healing, the music is flowing prayer. Because of this, I wanted to create a beautiful and lightweight instrument from the gourd, a sacred plant that grows in this land. I began to create gourd udu drums in 2006. What a lovely thing it is to find your rhythm voice on the side of a gourd.
These udu drums enjoy being played with other instruments. We play them with our Native flutes and didgeridoos; another friend plays his udu in a jazz band instead of a drum set. These udu drums call to be used in meditation: they are the sound of water, the sound of rain, the call of earth and all that which is good. When folks first pick them up they are delighted at how nice it is to hold this musical art and begin to play...usually softly at first, letting their hands find the voice of each drum.
Try slapping your flattened palm over the hole in the top and/or at the base. By experimenting just a bit, you will discover amazing tones. The tones vary from very deep base tones to even the sound of water. Often the other hand beats a rhythm of the side of the drum as well. Listen for the nuisances and the subtle tones of these udu drums. I make small udu drums and very large ones. You’ll find these udu drums in the leaves of my garden and in the heart of your music.
