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, <[email protected]> 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.