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When people talk about African drums today, they often mean the Djembe and Fontomfrom. Djembe originated from traditional home in West African countries like Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Gambia.

Fontomfrom or Bomaa is the most complex of all musical types of the Akan of Ghana. It is a series of drumming associated with warrior dancing that are performed mostly in religious ceremonies, social gatherings and at the traditional chiefs courts.
This two drumming are closely alike and are now spreading all over the world more rapidly than any other African hand drum.

Oheneba Kwabena Afriyie the founder and the C.E.O of GFNY/Afriyie Fontomfrom Cultural Troupe and AFFCT of Ghana was influence by lack of African culture among our brothers and sisters, African Americans.

Oheneba decided to introduce Ghanaian cultural drumming into New York by enlightening the rich values of Akan drumming, "Fontomfrom or Bomaa"

"Ghana , like many other African countries, has many divertive cultures. Almost every tribe has their own cultural practices and very difficult for one to make generalizations. What is practice in one part of

Ghana

might be improper in another part. Yet in general, one cannot distinguish their cultural drumming practices.

African-Americans are African, we officially need a day for African Political Parade in New York City. in other for us to communicate with our brothers and sisters"

(Oheneba Kwabena Afriyie, Drumming As Tool of Communication, Minisink Town Hall, New York City, Speech, 7/3/2004)

Born in July 11, 1959, Afriyie have very good interest in the Arts and Culture of African drumming, singing and playing of talking flute. As an descendant of Akan chiefly clan of Akuampem he easily got the moral support from other traditional leaders to official inaugurated an non-profit society Ghanaian Friends of New York/Afriyie Fomtofrom Cultural Troupe.

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Percussion is apparent in every form of music, whether the percussive effect is the plucking of a string or the stabs on a piano; it is a musical force that drives the performance. In Africa the act of striking an instrument is named ngale as in Kpelle means literally "...to break as a millet stalk breaks." (Martin and O'Meara). The other classification of instruments in Kpelle, Vai or the Dan of the Guinea Coast are simply blown instruments such as brass or woodwind.

It is widely recognized that Africa has a rich variety of instruments and in the case of drums there is the goblet, conical, barrel, cylindrical, and frame (obviously they would be named within the certain dialect).

The drums of Africa are also represented in an entirely dissimilar way to the Western culture's point of view. Drums span various tonal frequencies to imitate voices and some are actually tuned, like timpani and to play pieces with vocals, solo, but not tuned like a xylophone with measured hollow chunks of wood.

Africa is not a country. It is a continent like Europe or America so it must be realised that in it will lie as many various styles as in our Western continents too. Hence drums in Africa belong to particular regions of the continent:

"The entenga tuned drum ensembles of the kings in Uganda, the processional drums carried on horseback in northern Nigeria, the ritual drums laid horizontally on platforms in coastal West Africa, and the hourglass drum of West Africa that plays, glides, and slides off pitch as the player presses the thongs connecting the heads and tightening the skins with lightning velocity, all these are examples of African drums." (Martin and O'Meara, 1995: 268)

Music, as it has no meaning in any African language, was not going to be the only use for such developed drums, or any other instrument for that matter. Music is not merely about entertainment as it is in our culture.

"African peoples make and listen to music that is intimately bound to the visual and dramatic arts as well as the larger fabric of life music is integrated into life, and though diversity throughout Africa is apparent, some common elements penetrate the myriad of details." (Martin and O'Meara, 1995: 257)

The use of talking drums is a fine example of music throughout Africa being employed to further the use of instruments and to aid their existence through integration with traditional apparatus. Dearling affirms that:

"African languages operate on two levels: rhythmic speech and tonal inflexion. Combined, these may be interpreted by differently- pitched drums or single log drums capable of producing more than one pitch, any ambiguities becoming clear by intelligent appreciation of the context." (Dearling, 1996: 215)

The music and drums are almost always an accompaniment for any manner of ceremony - births, deaths, marriages - together with a ritual dance.

The vicious sound of many drums pounding together is also a necessary instalment to stir up emotions in a battle or war to inspire excitement and passion.

But with the music and the beating of drums meaning so much to the African people, it must be realised that there is an essential feeling to the music. On a spiritual level it is vital to everyday life, but with the addition of stirring rhythms, provokes a need to take part and listen so the combination of vastly developed music, far from the influence of commercialism. The need to survive by way of music suggests exactly what it really means to these people, hence:

"Describing the emotions stirred by music is a task because words fall short. We are just beginning to learn about the affective aspect, which for some people is even more important than are the mechanics of music, the mere nuts and bolts. For many Africans, singing and playing moves them to do unusual things, calms them if they are overwrought with grief, and stirs them to dance if they are apathetic. These special qualities, which go beyond the ordinary, the Kpelle say, characterize a performance after the ensemble is playing smoothly and things are going well." (Martin and O'Meara, 1995: 269)

Western tradition dictates that music is normally recorded, whether it be physically or in a literary form. This is so the music can be re-performed and experienced without a live encounter or without already knowing the music.

Therefore, some European music is so complicated and technical because of these methods, that it cannot be repeated exactly. Not even Mozart could repeat one of his concerti by performing each individual part. In Africa this is the case. Just as British folk music establishes itself on self-tuition and traditional folk tunes without sheet music, so do the Africans.