How to build a kora-like using a 16' snare drum as « calabash »

Recently returning from three weeks in Senegal, Africa (where I taught a workshop about
building a variety of musical instruments using a lot of parts scrounged from discarded
items) has greatly stimulated my latent high interest in the west African Kora. If I'd have
only stuck with the Kora when I first became interested in it decades ago, perhaps I'd now
be a good player instead of the beginner that I am! Moral: if you're interested in playing an
instrument, JUST DO IT ! Life's only so long.

In Dakar, I was given a beautiful traditional Kora, which survived the 4,500 mile jet flight
back to northern Michigan perfectly. With this Gambian-built Kora in hand,I was able to
determine exact dimensions and layouts that I previously had only guessed at or carefully
interpolated from photos (lots of ratio & proportion) , so I proceeded to build another Kora
(which will be detailed on my webpage - hopefully shortly*). Being on a roll, and armed
with much new information (measurements etc), I also set about to build still another one
Described here), this one using a snare-drum in place of a calabash (gourd) which works
just fine.

I have made a number of instruments based around snare-drums. Seems I can always
find a "not expensive"such drum at Goodwill or Salvation Army. Or try shopgoodwill.com.
My favorite clawhammer banjo I madefrom a cut-down 10 inch "First Act" (ie cheapie)
Salvation Army snare drum. Wouldn't trade it for my most expensive banjo!

A Kora may well look like a super-complicated collections of strings, tuning devices and
what-not but because to make one, no frets, no curves or wood bending is involved and
even the string length isn't very critical, building a nice, workable Kora is an easy,
straightforward,few days of spare time type project. No fancy tools are needed.

The illustrations in this article should cover most points & dimensions of building.
The neck is a single piece of any type of hardwood fitted with 21 inexpensive guitar type
tuning gears. Cheap ones are actually better than pricey ones because they're far lighter in
weight -- I must have used at least 500 inexpensive such tuners over the years and have
never had a single failure. The strings leaving the tuning gears are routed through tiny
screw-eyes and on their way to the bridge.

Most cabinet-making shop can supply you with the neck you need. Also try High School
shop Teacherswho often have tons of scrap pieces from kid's projects that usually end up
as firewood. They're boundto be most curious & helpful about you building such an oddball
instrument.

Monofilament fishline & weed-whip line is used for all strings.

To mount the neck to the drum body, lay masking tape over the area on both sides of the
outside of the drum in the area where the neck will pass through. Draw a rectangle the
same dimensions as the cross-section of the neck, beneath the top of the drumhead
tensioning ring (the top surface of the neck should be just a quarter inch OR SO beneath
the top of the drum's tensioning ring when tightened --- because of several "variables"
here, it's nearly impossible to indicate this exact measurement, so approach the cutting of
these two rectangular holes in the side of the drum very carefully,taking into account
everything mentioned in the information below. Strive for a fairly tight fit. Keep things
square. The neck does not have to be fastened to the drum -- the string pressure keeps it
in place.
Drumhead modification: Four holes must be melted into the 16 inch mylar drum head to
accept the handle and brace sticks, the elongated holes in the mylar drumhead are made
by first plotting their position and then carefully melting each hole using a small soldering
iron (don't breathe the nasty fumes!). This worked verynicely on other Koras and the
resultant holes never show any sign at all of tearing once the two handles and the brace
are inserted. Nonetheless, it's cheap insurance to put small patches of heavy-duty duct-
tape (better yet, Gorilla tape) on the underside of the skin where the wood bears on it.

Because the commercially made drum-heads are not as pliable as wet cowhide, I
purposely looked for BOWED (not straight) 5/8" dowels. Our local Home Depot store had
quite a selection of bowed dowel rods to choose from. With this bowed dowel rod inserted
through the holes in the head and underneath of the two handles, it is not hard to draw
down the head/handle/brace assembly fairly tightly and evenly. If you can't find a
sufficiently bowed 5/8 inch diameter dowel, it's easy to make one. Soak the piece for a few
hours and then (wearing heavy leather gloves) evenly heat it over a kitchen stove - on high
- until you can bend it to what you want. It's best to over-bend a bit as things usually
spring-back a little. Once you have the bend you're after, quickly immerse it in cold running
water for a few seconds to cool it offand set the bow.

Another possibility: I haven't yet had to, but if the cross-brace fits too tightly, there's no
reason you couldn't shave down the spots a small bit where the handle braces touch the
cross brace a bit.

The tensioned drum head, with the dowels inserted, can not be expected to lay perfectly
flat & unwrinkled when properly tensioned. Wrinkly is OK - take a look at the many photos
of African Koras on the internet to confirm this.

The bottom of the snare drum is removed and replaced with a disk of about 5mm (3/16
inch thick) (or thereabouts) solid or ply wood. This is an easily done procedure.

The two hand grips provide a very practical & satisfying way to hold the instrument &
position the thumbs and index fingers properly for playing.
The bridge is simple and is made as shown. Strings can either pass through a slot or go
through a hole. I somewhat prefer holes, as they're less troublesome in the long run. Note
that the bridge is made taller than necessary - due to a number of variables, it is unwise for
me to specify bridge height dimensions. It's best if you fit your bridge to suit your particular
situation. Having said that, here's what to aim for: the shortest string goes thru the lowest
slot on the right side of the bridge. When all strings are at playing pitch, it's imperative that
this string does not hit or buzz against the corner-edge of the drum rim. This is the only
string where this is an issue. Adjust the bridge height (carefully) so that the space between
this string and the closest part of the drum edge will be about 5mm (3/16 inch) (with full
string tension). If this space is too much, it can make the lower-pitched strings hard to
reach while playing. If you goof up and cut too much off a bridge's bottom, a wood spacer
glued to bottom fixes things nicely. Remember that the bridge will sink further once all the
strings are on & tuned, so take this into account when cutting. I recommend making the
"final" bridge height cut a bit taller - then, once all string tension is on,carefully away the
bottom as needed. This isn't easy with all the strings on (loosen them first) butcan be
done - slowly & carefully.

The bridge rests on a "bridge-pad" -- a small cloth-lined chunk of wood with very rounded
corners on the bottom (so it won't harm the drum-head). I glue the cloth to the wood with
wood glue.Because of the "bulge" in the drumhead (as compared to the flat head of the
original snare drum) some thought is needed as to how the bridge sits on the bridge pad.
With this type of modified snare-drum head setup, the bridge-pad will tend to angle
towards the tuning gear end of the instrument, meaning that the foot of the bridge itself
should be cut at a corresponding angle so that it rests on the pad squarely. I put a couple
of small dabs of wood glue on the bridge bottom to hold it in place.
This illustration shows string tie-offs etc:

NOTES ABOUT OVERALL PITCH & TUNING:

In Africa, little, if any, attention is paid to "absolute" or concert" pitch. in addition, I find that
one instrument might be based in the key of F (the lowest string on each side being tuned
to "F"), while another Kora might be based in the key of C (lowest strings tuned to "C"). I
am by NO means an expert here, but I prefer the D-based approach, and have used D on
the last few Kora's (& Kora-like instruments) I have built.
 STRING GAUGES AND TUNING:

HIGH-PITCHED END

30 LB (.022 inch) fishing line C#-| |

30 LB (.022 inch) fishing line A--| |--F# 20 LB (.018 inch) fishing line
50 LB (.029 inch) fishing line F#-| |--E 25 LB (.020 inch) fishing line
50 LB (.029 inch) fishing line D--| |--D 25 LB (.020 inch) fishing line
60 LB (.031 inch) fishing line B--| |--B 40 LB (.024 inch) fishing line
60 LB (.031 inch) fishing line G--| |--G 50 LB (.029 inch) fishing line
60 LB (.031 inch) fishing line E--| |--E 50 LB (.029 inch) fishing line
.050 inch weed-whip line C#-| |--C# 60 LB (.031 inch) fishing line
.050 inch weed-whip line B--| |--A 60 LB (.031 inch) fishing line
.065 inch weed-whip line A--| |--F# 60 LB (.031 inch) fishing line
.095 inch weed-whip line D--| |--D .040 inch weed-whip line (or
100 LB fishing line)

LOW-PITCHED END

Regular monofilament fishing line is used for the higher-pitched strings. Weed-whip (aka
weed-whacker) line is used for the lower pitched strings. Use ROUND, un-serrated weed-
whip line. Lately ridged or square line is being sold - avoid it.

NOTE: IF ANYONE ABSOLUTELY CANNOT FIND A PARTICULAR GAUGE OR TWO,

LET ME KNOW AND I'D BE HAPPY TO MAIL TO YOU.

STRINGS:

In my many years of diddling with the Kora, I have found the following gauges/types of
string to work nicely on this Kora. I use a combination of various gauges of both regular
monofilament fish-line as well as off-the-shelf monofilament weed-whip line. See chart
immediately above.

Fish-line: "Strengths" (in pounds) of fish-line needed are; 20 LB, 25 LB, 30 LB, 40 LB, 50
LB, 60 LB (& 80 LB. if you can't find .040 inch diameter weedwhip line). This line is
available in a wide variety of strengths (rated in pounds). Wall-Mart & K-mart carry many
gauges. Cabela's big Sporting Goods catalog carries all of the required gauges, but I have
found that their huge retail stores do not always carry all the gauges that their catalog
does. Dunhams and other such sporting goods stores often have what K/Wal Mart doesn't.
It just takes a bit of looking around. You can always go the Cabelas mailorder route.

Weed-whip line: Diameters of the weed-whip line needed are: .040", .050", .065" and .095"
K-mart and Wal-mart do (at least sesonally) carry most of the gauges of weed-whip line
needed. Also, Tru-Value & Ace carry a wide selection of this line. Try lawn-mower specialty
shops. One caution however is to avoid buying grooved or square line. While these MAY
work, go for the regular round monofilament line. In the winter, I have been able to have
the people at our local Tru-Value hardware store go into the basement to get rolls of this
stuff for me. If you simply cannot find a particular gauge weed-whip or fish-line, just use
the next smaller size & get used to the slight "looseness" & very slightly lower volume.
Over the years I've amassed a big Rubbermade tote tub full of rolls of just about every
gauge monofilament fishing (& weed-whip) line available. I use this stuff for all sorts of
instrument (& craft) projects. Having mentioned this, it's by no means necessary to buy lots
of rolls of this stuff if you know a few fishermen.

This chart shows the diameter in inches of various strengths of monofilament fishing line
(note that different manufacturers make slightly different diameter line for a claimed
strength):
20 LB = .018"
25 LB = .019"
30 LB = .020"
40 LB = .024"
50 LB = .028"
60 LB = .030"
80 LB = .037"(will work in lieu of .040" weed-whip line)

A NOTE ABOUT STRING STRETCHING:

Monofilament nylon line stretches prodigiously at first - Not just on a Kora, but on any
instrument. This is an unavoidable but fortunately short-lived situation. It takes about two
or three weeks or so before the things completely settle down. Once thus settled, the
instrument can go for months without requiring retuning (or in the case of one Kora I made
ages ago, played for a while & then hung on the wall - over TEN years - if you can believe
that! Stayed tuned for over 10 years. I'm NOT kidding)

It's not only the strings that stretch & settle -- the drum head does so as well. Also, the
bridge settles down into the head & various other wrinkles will likely appear. This is all
normal and this all settles down in about the same amount of time that it takes for the
strings to settle.

My procedure is to tune up the instrument right after it's made. Then keep retuning it a
couple of times daily (it will drop in pitch regularly). After a day or two it's playable, so long
as you realize that strings will have to be retouched quite often, until it's completely settled
(in a few weeks).

During this settling-in process, remember to not just tune the instrument to itself, but tune it
up to pitch. Day by day the thing holds it's tune better. In aweek's time, you scarcely notice
that it's going out of tune & after a couple more weeks, it's all settled.

There's an up-side to this 2 to 3 weeks of string stretching/numerous retunings -- during

the process, you'll invariably become quite familiar with the string layout, pitch, tuning,
intervals etc.