Percussion Plus Honestly Made Ghanaian kenkeni - 11"

Introducing the Percussion Plus Honestly Made Ghanaian kenkeni - 11"

The kenkeni is a double ended West African drum, sometimes also referred to as the kensedeni or kensereni. As the smallest of the three drums that make up the dundun family (pronounced djundjun), it is often played by younger children and is popular with travelling musicians for its portability.

The small size also makes the kenkeni an excellent drum for music education settings; it is small enough to be manageable for primary students, and supplied with a beater to help create a strong, vibrant sound.

These quality kenkeni are hand carved in Ghana using traditional materials and methods, and are wrapped in brightly coloured, intricately patterned fabric. The two natural hide heads are rope tensioned to provide accurate pitch and create the perfect timbre to underpin djembe music and other ensembles.

This particular kenkeni can be combined with the PP6625 13” sangban and PP6626 15” dundunba to make a full dundun set.

How to play the kenkeni

The kenkeni should be played horizontally, either laid on the player’s lap or on a table in front of them. This gives good access to either drum head and allows for maximum resonance. For ensemble work, it will often be appropriate to only play one end of the drum using the provided beater, but for more complex pieces or solo performances both ends could be played together, either with the hands or an extra beater.

Within a dundun group, the kenkeni is typically used as a metronome or to play simple rhythms, as its high pitch enables it to cut through the texture of an ensemble. However, with the two drum heads strung at different strengths, the kenkeni can be adapted into different musical roles as you see fit!