Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! We'd love to play at your event if we can. We have an exciting and dynamic set of rhythms that can last from 20 minutes to an hour, which will get people smiling and dancing. We can play our set several times throughout the duration of your event if required. Because we are a community music group many of our members work during the week so if your event is running during the day on a weekday then we may not have enough people available to play. Events in the evening or at the weekend are normally fine as long as you can give us at least two weeks notice that you would like us to play. Charges are negotiable but if the event is outside Newcastle upon Tyne city centre we may need to charge additional travelling expenses. Ring us on 07530 175549 for more information.

Drummed Up is on a Thursday night and starts at 6.30pm. The WEA courses run from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. After 8.30pm Drummed Up often continues as a 'drop in' session where we have performance rehearsals, sometimes until 9.30pm. From 8.30pm onwards Mark might continue leading the session, while other nights Alec may lead the group. Because this extra session from 8.30pm onwards is run on a totally voluntary basis it doesn't always happen - but more often than not it does, as both Mark and Alec are very generous with their time. This is why we can't officially say that Drummed Up is on until 9.30pm, even though it often is. If the group does continue on after the WEA session officially finishes at 8.30pm then those who are enrolled on the WEA course do not have to pay any extra to attend the 'drop in' session, although donations to Drummed Up to help us pay for the hire of our room are always welcome.

Fom its inception in 2002 Drummed Up was an entirely 'drop in' session taught on a mainly voluntary basis. By 2008 it became clear that it would be difficult to continue on this basis and, in order to ensure the future of the group, Mark approached the WEA (Workers Educational Association) to find out if he could run Drummed Up as a WEA course. They said yes and we now have three 10 week drumming courses a year under the name of Drummed Up - starting in September, January and April. We need at least 12 people to sign up for each course, otherwise Drummed Up may not continue. However, if you really can't commit to a 10 week course due to existing work or childcare commitments etc then you can still 'drop in' to a session for a subscription of £4 (waged) or £2 (unwaged) per session because we want to keep Drummed Up as open and inclusive as possible. Outside the 10 week WEA courses, Drummed Up reverts back to a totally 'drop in' session from 6.30pm onwards.

The WEA courses run for 2 hours a week over 10 weeks and there are three courses per year. For 2011/12 the standard course fee is £40 per course. Fee remission is available: for people on certain means-tested benefits the course is free. However, if you are attending the course for free we ask that you contribute £2 per session to Drummed Up to help us cover our costs. We think that the WEA courses are brilliant value - even if you are paying the standard course fee you are still only paying £2 per hour for fantastically high quality tuition in West African drumming. More information is available on the WEA website.

Drummed Up is a not-for-profit community organisation, which means that every penny we earn is invested in the group. Firstly, and most importantly, we need to pay for the hire of the room that we use every Thursday evening, which costs £100 a month. Drummed Up has a stock of drums that regularly need maintenance such as re-skinning, which costs at least £60 for a djembé and quite a lot more for a bass drum. We try to add to our stock of drums as often as we can, which costs at least £100 for a djembé and £500 for a set of three bass drums. In addition, Drummed Up aims to run at least one session per year with a guest master drummer. In 2010 we ran two three-hour sessions with djembé-master Nansady Keita and in 2011 we ran an all-day workshop with Nansady on Saturday 22nd October.

Yes we can, or someone might even be able to tune it up for you. However, if it is a djembé with an old drum skin on it then there is a strong chance that the drum skin might 'pop' when it's tightened. Djembés cost at least £60 to re-skin and we can't take any financial responsibility if this happens to yours.

Unfortunately we can't, but both Nansady Keita and Iya Sako are experts in professional re-skinning and drum repair. It costs at least £60 to re-skin a djembé plus you will need to get it to them and collect it: when they are in the UK, Nansady lives in the Scottish borders and Iya lives in Hebden Bridge. Alternatively, you could wait until we send some of our drums to re-skin and put yours in with ours. You can borrow one of our djembés in the meantime.

At Drummed Up we play both djembés and bass drums, but if you are just starting out with West African drumming you will probably want to buy a djembé first. Like anything, it depends on how much you want (or are able) to spend. Avoid fiberglass djembés made by manufacturers such as Bucara, Meinl, Remo, Stagg and Toca. This type of drum is lightweight and weather resistant, but often sounds 'twangy' and doesn't have much differentiation between the tones and slaps, which is essential for West African drumming. A wooden bodied drum is always the best. If you are on a budget we'd recommend a Kambala Bassam djembé. These are manufactured in Africa, are reasonably priced and good quality. If you're not on a budget and you want the best drum that money can buy (without having to travel to West Africa for it!) then we'd recommend either a djembé from the pro-djembé range at African Drum Services in Bristol or a djembé made by the djembé-master Nansady Keita. Several members of Drummed Up play these djembés and they are all superb drums.