This dundun drum collection spans a range of sizes and builds for individual players, educators, ensembles and performances.
It includes compact, lightweight duns suited to younger players, home practice, and group programs, alongside larger hardwood duns made in West Africa for experienced and professional use. The range covers single duns, including kenkeni, dununba, and sangban, as well as complete dundun sets, allowing flexibility in how the drums are used and combined.
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Absolutely! We love helping people find the right match, whether it’s an instrument, a class, or materials for drum making.You’re welcome to email or call for personalised recommendations, or chat with our friendly team through the website during office hours.
If you’re after a djembe, we offer a popular service where we send you video options based on your preferences, so you can see and hear each one before deciding.
We want you to love what you receive. If there’s an issue with your order, we’ll do our best to make it right. To request a return, please contact us within 7 days of receiving your order.
Items must be unused and in original condition.You can find the full details of our policy here, and you’re always welcome to reach out to our team with any questions.
We ship across Australia and internationally. Most orders are dispatched on the same day, so you can expect a quick turnaround.
Delivery to metro areas in Australia usually takes 2–5 business days, with regional areas taking a little longer. We also offer express shipping options if you need your order sooner.
For international orders, delivery times depend on your location and the shipping option you choose at checkout.You’ll receive tracking details once your order is on its way. You can find more information on shipping timeframes and options here, or feel free to contact us for help estimating delivery to your area.
Dunun drums, also spelled dundun or doundoun, are the bass drums of the West African drum ensemble, developed by the Mande people of Guinea and Mali alongside the djembe.
African Drumming has sourced dununs directly from Guinea, Mali, Ghana and Burkina Faso since 1998.
The dunun is struck with wooden beaters and holds the bass pattern the djembe parts play over.
Each drum is a double-headed cylinder, most often with a cowhide skin at each end.
A full dunun set has three drums of different sizes and pitches.
The kenkeni is the smallest, with the highest pitch, keeping a steady pulse that holds the rhythm together.
The sangban is the middle drum in size and usually carries the signature phrase that names a rhythm, the part a player would hum to tell one rhythm from another.
The dununba is the largest and deepest, and often plays the fewest notes of the three, heavy accents rather than a constant pulse. Together they make up the full bass line that a djembe part is built on.
The right choice depends on how you’ll play.
For an ensemble, teaching, or performance, a full set of three gives you the complete bass part, since kenkeni, sangban, and dununba interlock as three separate parts.
For learning, playing on your own, or adding low end to a djembe group, a single drum is enough to start, and most players begin with the sangban because it carries the main pattern of a rhythm.
You can add the other two later, so starting with one doesn’t stop you from building a full set.
Dunun can be played on their side or upright.
The dunun is played on its side with a wooden stick striking the cowhide head, either mounted on a stand or laid across the lap or floor. A player often mounts a bell on the shell, and holds a bell pattern with one hand while striking the head with the other, so a single drummer keeps two interlocking parts. In a full ensemble, three players take a drum each, and the kenkeni, sangban, and dununba parts combine into the bass line that the djembes play over.
In ballet style, the dunun is set upright and a single player plays composite rhythms, often with two sticks or a stick and bell.
The dununs range covers three dunun types:
Hardwood dununs are made in West Africa from timbers including lenke, khadi, djala, guele (ironwood) and melina, and suit experienced and professional players who want full-sized drums.
Stumpy dununs stand about two thirds the height of a full dunun with the same diameter, built from mahogany with a medium cowhide head, which keeps the deep bass while making them light enough for younger players, roving shows, and easy storage.
Mini dununs are the shortest, three drums level with each other on the ground so children can reach and play them, durable for classroom use while keeping the bass thump that dununs are known for.
A dunun bell mounts on the shell and is played with the beater hand, so one drummer can hold a stick pattern on the head and a bell pattern at the same time. The bell marks the timeline the rest of the ensemble locks to.
If you’re playing a single dunun on your own, a bell lets you carry two parts at once and fills out the sound, so it’s a useful addition.
If three players are each taking one drum of the set, the three parts already interlock and the bell isn’t needed.
Dunun are tuned by weaving knots into the vertical ropes, which increases the tension on the thick cowhide head and raises the pitch. A new dunun needs gentle tuning at first.
Over its first year, the hide loosens and settles as you play, so add only a few knots at a time, since over-tuning early is the most common cause of a skin breaking.
Every dunun set comes with a free care and tuning guide, along with tuning videos, and our team can tune the dunun for you at our St Kilda studio for free.
Keep the drum out of direct heat and damp, and re-tension the ropes if the pitch drops after a change in conditions.
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