How To Make The "Wooooooo" Sound 

 Home | Mark Shepard | K-12 Schools | How to Make the "Woooo" Sound 

This is really the same procedure as rubbing the rim of a wineglass with your finger to make it ring.

In order to create the proper friction it helps to wet your finger a bit. It's a good idea to always wash your hands first because the most readily available source of wetness while you are playing a drum is your own...mouth. Yes, boys and girls "saliva". Can you say "Sa-lie-vah"? You don't need a lot but you need some. 

The finger I suggest is your ring finger. Support it with your thumb. Lick it. now glide it over the surface of the drum getting maximum contact with the soft fleshy part of your finger (the part that has your finger print on it).

To make it easier to get a tone you can tap the drum first or tap it with the inside hand that is holding the drum by its frame. Got it? Now all you have to do is practice.

This doesn't work on djembe's because the heads on those drums are too tight. It works best on Frame drums, fairly loose congas or other drums where the head is not too taught. Good luck!

Check back here soon for sound samples. Or you can hear this sound on some of my CD's: "Visions & Voices",  "Breathing Underwater", "New Songs. Ancient Stories".

Permission is granted to print this out to refer to as you practice. 

Home | Mark Shepard | K-12 Schools | How to Make the "Woooo" Sound