WELCOME TO THE HOME PAGE
OF BETH DYER AND
TAM TAM MANDINGUE
SANTA CRUZ

Tam Tam Mandingue is the international school of traditional West African drumming founded in 1991 by Djembe Master Mamady Keita in Brussels, Belgium.

Tam Tam Mandingue USA (TTM USA) is dedicated to preserve and transmit Mandingue musical tradition as a tool to promote tolerance, understanding, equality and international peace.

THE INSTRUMENTS

DJEMBE: a goblet-shaped drum with a single skin that is played with bare hands, and which generates a wide range of rich, resonant sounds.

DUNUN:  the Dunun, or bass drums, from the highest to lowest are:  kenkeni; sangban; and dunumba.  These two-headed, barrel-shaped drums are played horizontally with a stick.  The drummer uses the other hand to play a metallic bell called kenken, which is affixed to the side of the drum. Together, these drums form the bass line of the djembe orchestra.