The modern Djembe drum.

Although the modern style Djembe drums may not look as ornate as the traditional ones, they are much easier and quicker to tune-up. Most of the modern djembes use a screwing nut tuning method. This is useful for two reasons, firstly it means that the drum can be tuned in a matter of minutes, and secondly it means that the drum can be de-tuned easily which in turn will help to preserve the drum skin as they can have a tendency to split if they are kept tightly tuned for long periods of time.

The moral is 'Shop around', don't feal as if you have to buy the most expensive drum straight away. Perhaps start with a basic modern style small djembe like the one shown here. Then, as your experience and interest in drumming develops, you can branch out for the more expensive traditional drum.

Happy Shopping.