            
|
||
|
Preview the new CD
This is an amazing audio and notation encyclopedia of every djembe and dun dun part for 50 Rhythms! |
 In all my years playing, studying and teaching West African rhythms and percussion I have always come across an interesting and challenging situation. It is really hard to find people, that is to say djembe players, other fellow percussionists or drum students who want to learn the dunun patterns, individual traditional dunun parts and or ballet arrangements on 2 or 3 dununs or more. dununs are also known as djun djuns, doun douns or [...]  Let’s face the facts. Until Mamady Keita arrived in the USA we were playing djembe ass backwards. For example, Mandiani was more often then not being played backwards as Soli, (Donba in Senegal) or visa versa. We were doing the best we could at the time as there was very limited resources available in the late 70′s and very few instructors as well. It was prior to the internet and consumer cmcorders were still [...]  Maybe you are a beginer or perhaps you have been drumming a while. A challenge or problem that we all face at one time or another in our drumming life is “where do I fit”? What is the type of music I really want to play and who are the people that I want to play with or learn from? Do I want to freestyle or play traditional music? [...]  After field testing and working closely with the Drum Factory and Ed Balma in Ubud, Bali for over a year we now have two new beautiful prototype MP Eco Pro wood djembe models ready for the market, a 12 ” and a 13″ (6ocm and 65cm) ! They will be distributed in the USA by X8. It’s been a long and windy road bringing these drums to fruition but here they are. [...] “The courage to meet and talk with people is absolutely crucial. Choosing dialogue is itself the triumph of peace and humanity.” (Daisaku Ikeda) [...]  “Good poetry makes the universe admit a secret: ‘I am really just a tambourine. Grab hold, play me against your warm thigh.” [...]  Drumming to me, especially drumming from the African diaspora is about learning and always playing basics, or “fundamentals”. If you have ever read any of my articles, you may have noticed me saying, “with out the framework the house will fall down”. Like any other musical instrument you have to practice regularly. No matter what stage you are in in your drumming career or hobby, be it pro or amateur it is always important [...]  “No matter where you are in life there is always more journey ahead” Nelson Mandela [...]  Before coming to a drum circle, drum lesson or class please leave your personal baggage at home. The music scene or drum jam is not the place to bring your personal issues. Please resolve your issues or complaints outside and away from the drums or drum scene. Many beginners unaware of how beginning they are feel it is their unalienable right to discuss their needs or feelings in the middle of a music session [...]  If you are walking into an unkonwn situation be it a drum circle, drum jam, party or a dance class here are some general guidelines of etiquette to follow. They may seem pretty simple and you may or may not agree with them. But if you follow them you will have a much more harmonius experience then if you don’t, and you will also make it a lot easier on other drummers or players [...]  One of the many problems of playing in drum jams, especially on outside or without microphones, is hurting your hands and playing too loud. Just to hear yourself play is often a struggle. The problem is that each person, in his or her own struggle to be heard usually plays as loud as he can. By the time the lead player comes in and plays, the volume is often at ear-rattling levels. It does [...]  On a recent trip to Ubud, Bali Indonesia to visit the Bali Treasures company, also known as the Drum Factory I was able to get my hands on the new Toca Stage Series Pro wood djembe for a long term test. This is the factory that makes them for the Toca in USA. Not only that, I was able to pick which drum I wanted to get! [...]  It’s not the drum it’s the drummer! What makes a drum have that special sound? Is it the wood? The place or country it is from? The goat skin or what the goat ate? Just what is it? About 10 years ago I was at a Mamady Keita workshop trying to pick out a djembe from a local seller there who was displaying his goods outside the workshop. I asked Mamady, what do you [...] 
MIckey Hart of the Grateful Dead consigned me to make him the “ultimate” Sekere (aka Shekere). This one took me about two minths and 4,000 or so beads more or less. I also made one for Airto as well. These days I am not making too many Sekere’s as it takes up so much time to make one. This one travels in Micky Hart’s traveling African Museum. To learn how to play the [...] “Some People see things as they are and ask Why … I Dream things that never were and ask Why Not ” Robert F.Kennedy “ -Fear less, hope more. Whine less, breathe more. Talk less, say more. Hate less, love more. Trip less, dance more…… The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.~Albert Einstein http://www.myspace.com/rhythmsofbarab… This is the shekere I was hired to create (make) for Mickey Hart formerly of the Grateful Dead. It took me hundreds of hours to complete this one and only! It now travels with Micky Harts traveling percussion museum.  Bali Djembe drums vs West African djembe drums The prices of professional djembe drums are going through the roof on line (you can pay well over $650!). That said, under certain circumstances, one of the best buys going right now is a Bali djembe drum. They are just about always light weight, have nice skins and a great drum can cost you about $100 US or even less! Bali is still a wonderful place [...]  Here are some tips on and about buying a used conga drum. [...] There are many different ways to learn drums. Some people prefer an intellectual approach, to understand the breakdown or math of the part or pattern on the drum. The beats and dividing the beats. This is a western approach that really works for some people.
how we learn to play These type of learners can not learn unless they first understand how the pattern is set up with numbers. This is not my [...] Space, the final frontier. Soloing concepts Most young soloists and even experienced players play too many notes. My suggestion is to approach drumming as a musical composition. In music, soloing is more about what you don’t play, then what you do play. I am talking about space. Phrasing and space. Space and phrasing. As Lao Tsu the legendary philosopher once said, ” it is not the walls that are important but the space with [...] We all go through changes in life. Learning to play drums and learning to dance can be a humbling experience. We have to surrender, we have to be open up. Often we are in awe of our teachers and we are vulnerable. Maybe we feel culturaley responsible for another cultures hardships. Maybe there is a deep seated sense of guilt. It happens and it is natural. Please do not let yourself be taken [...] How do you find the drum or dance teacher who is right for you? Why do you even need a teacher? With out help, Djembe playing or conga playing can become repetitive and frustrating. Some of us try to learn on our own, from books, on line videos, DVD’s of Mamady Keita and playing to CD’s or I Tunes. Drum instructor Michael P on congas @Barabajaba show Maybe we have a friend who plays [...] |
|
|
Copyright © 2012 Michael Pluznick - All Rights Reserved |
||
sending...
Popular Posts