The Talking Drum is an hour glass shaped drum from Western Africa, mainly the Yoruba people of Ghana. It exists in a multitude of variation but similar in construction. Its pith can be regulated to mimic the tone of human speech. It has two drum heads connected by leather tension chords, which allows the player to control the pitch by squeezing the cords between his arm and body. A skilled player is able to play whole phrases.

This drum was used primarily for communication between villages. It is said that detailed messages could be sent from one village to the next(up to 5 miles) faster than a messenger riding a horse. Phrases and tones were communicated, (just not vowels and consonants). It was used to warn neighboring villages of possible attacks or invite them to celebrations.