Its a piece of cake.

All you need is a drum key. Loosen and remove each tension rod on one head. The RIM will easily come off at that point. Remove the Rim and head. Do every thing in reverse order...... done.

When you put the tension rods back on the drum, get them all on loose, then tighten each one finger tight around the drum, just to snug it up to the rim. Once that is done, take the key, and give 3/4 of a turn on each rod around the drum. And that will tighten the head, and might even be close to a decent sound.

Tuning isn't that easy, but the general idea is what you are after.

I assume your djembe had a goat skin or other hide head... those do not do well with sun. The heat tightens up the head to unbelievable proportions. Mylar drumheads will not do that. Straight up sun is not good for the drum covering though. Stacking the drums until you make a decision on a sale probably wont hurt anything.

With your explanation I'm sure I can do this myself. I'll get a drum key at a local music store and follow your instructions.

And yes my Djembe is traditional hand made in Africa with goat skin incl goat fur with a steel-rebar drum head retainer held in tension by nylon rope in a complex knot configuration I could never figure out. I love the sound of my drum though being 13.5 inches across and made from African wood. The Djembes with a drum key seem the way to go for me since I can't figure out the ropes. But I don't know if these drum key, Westernized Djembes sound like my traditional drum, which is glorious.

I got a CRAZY idea! You got a free drum kit. And it comes with the perk of being played by someone important. Learn how to play them!! This is a perfect opportunity if your physically able and willing! Inheriting a drum kit from a lost loved one has got to be tough. And finding a person to buy them that won't turn around and separate them or just sell them for more is tough. LOTS of so called collectors are just hacks. I have 7 kits myself, that i play in my band with. Four of which I'll never sever sell for various reasons. The others I will eventually because I know one day I'll inherit my fathers kits. And those WILL be passed down. One of those kits he learned on. I learned on it when I was a kid. These are all tough decisions, and you have to figure out what best serves his memory I guess. Good Luck with whichever direction You go!

Yes it's a crazy idea. I did learn to play the djembe pretty well but I am not devoted to it like you must be to become really good. It would take me a long time to learn to play his traps and I am old now too and devote my time to photography. There too you must practice often to be really good. Henri Cartier-Bresson, one of my favorite photogs, said the first 10,000 pictures are your worst.

Thats a fantastic quote!! I guess I could say, my first 10,000 jams were my worst!lol. But hey, your never too old and the journey in learning and enjoying memories is whats important. And making new ones on the journey. I can't tell you how many times older gentlemen say "I used to play", or "I always wanted to try". My reply is always "what are you waiting for"?. Love for music is a crazy thing. And it goes beyond the musician, which is weird to think about. And God willing I'll continue till I die. I say learn to play. Your already a percussionist!

My brother had my photography posted all over his front-room. It was an honor to me.

I love your photography. I'm a real photo buff. Let us know where we can see more.

Just discovered Life Magazine old photos on the web yesterday. Saw a stunning one of Laura Nyro on a fire escape in NYC. She's one of my all-time favorites.

Second photo for the win. 6 different beings (including the truck in the background) intersecting in time. Thats a good shot. If you decide to gift them to somebody, I have a friend that plays. He's not a collector like I am, but appreciates vintage kits. He had a pdp kit he sold for a few hundred bucks because he wanted a Rogers kit like mine. A deal never surfaced so he settled on an 80s slingerland kit that someone painted flat black. He took it apart and started cleaning them and stripping the black paint, but it's a bit overwhelming and I think he really had his heart set on a rogers kit. So it's still not finished. At any rate, I think he would be the person your looking for. I'd love them, but I already have a Rogers kit of that era. And even though you can never have too many drums, he could use them more. If you decide to go that route, let me know and I'll give you his number. You can talk to him in person and decide for yourself. He's an extremely nice guy and I consider him my brother. I won't even tell him. I'm not even sure he could afford to ship them, but who knows? He lives in Riverside. And coincidently, he's a photographer.lol. A real good one. Whenever I play a show, he takes pics and they're always top notch.

Thanks LarryZ -

All the Magnum photogs are favorites of mine. The old Leica black and white shooters like Capa, Elliott Erwitt, HCB of course, Werner Bishoff, and then there is Robert Frank and "The Americans." Nobody has ever before or since imaged America like Robert Frank.

Recently a completely unknown street photog: Vivian Maier has been discovered. She was a nanny for rich people's kids in Chicago (I think). She shot a Rollieflex and was never published or exhibited. Some guy bought a box of her prints at a swap meet and was blown away with what he found. Just like some drummers, she lived her life and followed her art and was never known by anyone. Then she dies and is discovered and now she is being shown in museums. She followed her art regardless of recognition because she had to. An old poetry teacher of mine at San Francisco State said some artists have no choice. They HAVE to paint, or photograph, or drum. If they didn't they would go crazy.

Thanks Emminent. That pic is in front of the oldest house of ill-repute in San Francisco. It is now a bar and blues club on Upper Grant Avenue called The Saloon. Players just arrive and are invited to sit in. To walk by you would never think this saloon has some of the best blues in the city. This old harp player is warming up before the bar opens. I love the wrinkled suit which is just a bit too large for him. He is my "Mr. Tambourine Man", that mythical god of music who inspires all who hear him and who travels light.