Kpanlogo

The kpanlogo is a type of drum that is associated with kpanlogo music, which uses three types of instruments: nono (metal bell), fao (gourd rattle), and kpanlogo drums. Nono plays the key pattern, or timeline, of the music, supported by the fao. It is common to have three kpanlogo drums in an ensemble, in the roles of “male voice,” “female voice” and “master drum.” The drum originates from the Ga people of the greater Accra region in Ghana, West Africa.

Kpanlogo drums are a part of the membranophone family of musical instruments, a shell covered by a drumhead made of one of many products, usually rawhide. The drum has a tapered body carved from a single piece of wood similar in shape to a conga. The drumhead is typically made from goat, antelope, or cow skin that is stretched over one end of the drum and is tightened through the use of six wooden pegs. The skin can be tightened by tapping the pegs into the drum. Kpanlogo may be played with sticks, bare hands, or a combination of the two.

As with other African drums, the kpanlogo was a form of communication that could be heard clearly over large distances.