Tag: djembe
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The Philosophy Of Djembe Accompaniment
The Role of Djembe Players in West African Drumming At the heart of this exploration is the mastery of accompaniment parts. These form the backbone of traditional rhythms, consisting of short grooves and repetitive phrases tailored to position the drummer within the rhythmic arrangement. Playing these parts with intention, commitment, and a high level of… Read More »
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Why Play And Practice Traditional Hand Drumming Styles?
Why Practice Repetitive Parts, Patterns, and Traditional Drumming Styles? Have you ever wondered why it’s essential to dive into repetitive parts, patterns, and traditional drumming styles? Many people overlook the profound benefits of embracing these foundational elements. Learning traditional drumming forms is not just about sticking to rigid structures; it’s about digging deeper into our… Read More »
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The Djembe Drum And Conga Drum is a real musical instrument and not a toy!
Did you know that in Europe in many places when the percussion masters perform thousands of people pay to come and see them play. Thousands. They are not “sitting in” or playing for free. They are respected. You can see video after video on Youtube. It is amazing. Why not in the USA? Try to… Read More »
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Let’s Drop Discouragement!
Lets drop discouragement When I was at the last Wula Drum And Dance Retreat several people mentioned to me that they felt discouraged after seeing great players blazing at lightening speed. A friend said to me, “I’ll never play that fast”. I said, why do you need to play that fast? For me it’s not… Read More »
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The Root System
The Root System. When learning and playing hand drums such as djembe and conga drums, It’s great and very important to specialize and focus. To learn the tradition, technique and skills necessary to play the style and drum type you are learning on. One thing at a time. Step by step. There are always specific… Read More »
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Drumming Is A Shared Experience
When you are drumming there are ways to play besides holding parts. But in a jam, dance class and even a performance when you are indeed holding a part, you are holding the space for others. It’s a shared experience. We have to leave space for each other. We support each other. There is more… Read More »
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Sometimes it takes a long time to learn how to play like yourself”
“Sometimes it takes a long time to learn how to play like yourself” Quote by Miles Davis. The drum like any other instrument is a life long study. We don’t reach a point and suddenly say “I am there” and stop studying and learning. Technique and your personal sound is something that is always being… Read More »
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It’s all about love and respect
I have been involved with traditional West African drumming, Afro Cuban, Haitian and other forms of hand drumming and percussion for my entire adult life. In the last 6 years I have added drum circles as well. This post is NOT about traditional vs. drum circles. It is about unity and respect. We need to… Read More »
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The Djembe Drum-A Short History From Various Sources
The Djembe Drum- Here is an overview and a little bit of information I have gathered from others about the djembe drum we know and love. There is a lot of different data and opinions. This is simply to give you a short overview and not meant as the last or final word. As you… Read More »
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The hands of Chief James Hawthorne Bey
Did you know that the system for pulling the drum, the “no hole” roping system using the two rim system was created by and came directly out of the hands of Chief James Hawthorne Bey? He got the idea from conga drums, and first used it on Ashiko drums. 494 Macon Street in Brooklyn New… Read More »
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How to learn the djembe drum, where to start and what to do. My recommendations for beginners to advanced players.
Overwhelmed trying to learn to play west african drums? Is there too much info and you don’t know where to start? We live in a day in age where we have so much information available to us via internet, youtube, facebook, books, cds, etc. that it is easy to get overwhelmed and not learn anything. For… Read More »
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66 Djembe Hand Patterns-FREE- Reference video by Michael Pluznick
Featuring 66 different djembe hand patterns that I find very useful for a wide variety of situations. I have included mostly traditional, some modern or “ballet” and even a few practical drum circle and or fun jam patterns. These are not intended to be the final or definitive word on the rhythm arrangements they come… Read More »