Featured CD

Preview the new CD
"Rise Up" by Barabajaba.

Featured Products

Your First Djembe Rhythm

The Rhythm Reference Project

This is an amazing audio and notation encyclopedia of every djembe and dun dun part for 50 Rhythms!

Tasumakan

Djembe drum and percussion workshop with Michael Pluznick in Arambol Goa this winter

drum george

In December I will be teaching a very fun and relaxed two week workshop in West African drumming, djembe, dununs and “non competitive” drumming for all levels in the very beautifu, peaceful and exotic village of Arambol , Goa, India. All levels of drummers are welcomed and you do not have to take the entire course. [...]

Becoming a drummer, “where do I fit in” some tips on finding balance

congas and djembes room

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? [...]

Playing to the click track and other studio tips for percussionists in the recording studio

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ver the last 25 years or more I have had the great pleasure and good luck to be able to record percussion in recording studios all around the world. My first recording studio experience playing percussion instruments was with my friend and first drum teacher George Terzis. George invited me to a small recording session to play some Brazilian and Afro Cuban rhythms on top of some funk music in Boston in 1979. There were two rooms and I was impressed by all the gear and the organization of all the recording equiptment as well. It was like a top secret spy room from an 007 movie! [...]

My new DVD, How to Play Afro Cuban Congas has been released today on earthcds.com

congasFC

My latest instructional DVD, “How to Play Afro Cuban Congas” has just been relased today on earthcds.com. This DVD features almost everything I have learned in the last 25 years or more studying, learning, teaching and performing conga drums around the world. There is in depth looks at all the major rhythms with break down sections, slow motion and different vantage points as well. [...]

When and when not to play drums

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Respect yourself, respect others. Sometimes if you are new to an area and trying to break into an unfamiliar world music scene or drumming situation a subtle approach is better then an aggressive approach. [...]

Having a hard time learning hand drums or djembe?

guisti smile

f you are like any of us that have been around the ethnic or world drumming and music scene for many years, then you may have experienced some hard times trying to learn the drumming, percussion or music from another culture. Please don’t get discouraged if you are trying to learn drumming and are having a hard time. For some of us it never comes easy. And it does take time. When we first hit a drum we thought it was going to be easy! We heard a pleasing sound at once, and we played a rhythm and thought we had it all right then in there. But once you start to study you get to see it is quite involved. [...]

Dress casual

singer

A few nights ago I was invited to play congas and percussion at a nice sushi and jazz club in Legion, Bali where I am teaching drums, performing and visiting right now. The jazz club is very similar to Yoshi’s in the bay area of San Francisco and Oakland, California (in the USA). I had eaten dinner downstairs before during the day, but never been into the music section of the establishment. [...]

Dance teacher sought for world dance and music center on exotic Koh Samui Island Thailand

dancer hoop

We are looking for a talented multi disciplined dance teacher  for a new world dance , movement and world music center/studio on the beautiful and exotic Koh Samui Island in scenic Thailand. If you can teach salsa, brazilian, west african and more please contact us soon. The center is just forming now. Other dance teachers and people in the movement arts are welcomed to contact us as well. We will also be offering classes [...]

How to practice quietly at home

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Many people have written to me saying, “OK, I agree I need to practice, but where can I practice”? Maybe it is too cold to go out to the park, or you just don’t feel like dragging your drum around? Or maybe someone has complained about “noise”?

I do not know how many times I have had noise complaints from my neighbors about “strange sounds both night and day”! The drums can definitely bring out [...]

Respecting the instrument you play: lesson one

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One of the first most important lessons to learn when we first buy or get given a drum is to respect the instrument as you would any other instrument such as a violin or guitar. The drum is so much fun many of us do not even think of it as an actual musical instrument and frankly in our western culture, many people do not see drums as musical instruments. So lesson one from [...]

Kuku djembe solo techniques part one

Kuku djembe solo technique part one

This is part one of the Kuku solo techniques shown here with the small ensemble with Wade Peterson on ballet style dununs (aka “djundjun” or “dundun”) , Ben Isaacs on support djembe and MIchael Pluznick on lead or solo djembe. [...]

How to Play Afro Haitian Rhythms: Yan Valu by M. Pluznick on Toca Elite Pro Series congas

Afro Haitian drum lesson

How to Play Afro Haitian Rhythms: Yan Valu by M. Pluznick form an up and coming soon to be released “How to Play Congas” DVD! Wade Peterson (seconde) conga, Ben Issacs 6/8 long bell, boula (up beats with sticks) Ray Titus politos This is an example of how to play the Yan Valu rhythm pattern on conga drums. Also has the casse (break) and rhythm movemnets. Played on on Toca Elite Pro Series [...]

“HOT”!! African Dancers from Liberia,Cameroon, West Africa perform African Dance

Wide world of drumming

West African dancers and djembe and dunun drummers perform mixed west african drumming and african dance.  The African dancers  are from Cameroon, Liberia and  other parts of West Africa. In this performance of live world music and  world dance we are performing  at the incredible Skytop Dream Bar in downtown Bangkok, Thailand for a music festival and celebration. MIchael Pluznick (aka MIchael P), Kenji of Japan and Louis from Mexico w/ Michael K [...]

Much Fun @ Bali Treasures retail store and drum factory in Ubud Bali Indonesia

raw shells are beautiful

If you are a drummer or musician or just love percussion and you are ever in Bali  (or on line) you owe it to yourself to check out Bali Treasures. I was recently in Ubud Bali  where I had the pleasure to meet the owner  of the Bali Treasures retail store Ed  A. Balma. Ed also is owner of  what is probably the worlds largest djembe manufacturing company. We went there afterwards and [...]

A taste of honey: bembe for Oshun (Osun)

Fundumental Bembe for Oshun held at Baba PEdro De Jesus’s old house in San Jose California.Drummers Chris Walker, David Frazier and Pedro Dejesus play the fundumental bata drums  which were blessed in Mantanza’s Cuba.

CK Ladzepko Ghanain (Ewe) drum master performs in Mosswood Park, Oakland California part 1

Ewe drumming

Ewe drumming is very diverse and is played in many slightly different ways here and in West Africa as well. The example here is played by Ewe master drummer CK Ladzepko from Ghana.   An Ewe musician from Togo may play a piece or instrument slightly differently from the way an Ewe from Ghana does. The Fon people of Benin also play and perform this music. They construct their villages, towns, [...]

Mali and Guinea West Africa trip photos of musicians, dancers and drummers

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Two balaphones large and small from Guinea West Africa

Komoko Sano\’s compound in Guinea

This was taken at the late great legendary Komoko Sano\’s compound in Merveilles section of Conakry, Guinea, West Africa. Taken with Nikon D90 digital camera

Didadee drummers from the village visit Bamako for our

Didadee drummers from the village visit Bamako for our recording session and play amazing music!

Mali

Didadee drummers from the village visit Bamako for our recording session and play amazing music!

Mali Young Guns session

from the \”Young Guns\” CD field recording with Siaka Doumbia nad crew

MP in Mali

Michael Pluznick playing at wedding celebration outside of Bamako in Mali west Africa

Baby naming party

Siaka Doumbia and Young Guns crew perform live at a baby naming ceremony

drum carver

Our drum carver works hard all day in the sun and het on our new djembe drums in Bamako Mali West Africa

mali, djembe, west african, west africa, world music, ethnic music, village drumming, didadee, bobo, djembe, master drummer, djembe fola

Mali young guns djembe drumming recording session photo

Mali Wedding

MC the young master drummer plays dunun at Mali wedding party

mali wedding ceremony

more wedding photos and shots from Mali West Africa

Grand Master Djembe Fola Aruna

Grand Master Djembe Fola Aruna Sidibe listens to himself play on a recording \”Old Masters\” (available on earthcds.com) for the first time in Mali West Africa

Brulye Mali champion

Master drummer and my second teacher is named Brulye. He was Mali (Bamako city), champion of djembe drumming

Didadee

Didadee drummers from the village at a recordng session for Mali Music available on earthcds.com

Didadee village drummers

Didadee (Didadi) music from the village!

Aruna Sidibe, Grand master djembe fola

My djembe master is Aruna Sidibe 83 years old in Mali from the Music of Mali: Old Masters CD on erathcds.com

Bobo drummers in Mali

Bobo drummers in Mali play the gourd drums, bara bendre,

Bo Bo balaphone

Bobo musicians in Mali play the balaphone,

Bo Bo drummers in Mali

Bobo drummers in Mali play the gourd drums, bara bendre,

Yagbe Onilu in Mali

Bobo drummers in Mali play the gourd drums, bara bendre,

drum carver in Mali makes djembe drums for us

Drum carver outside of Bamako Mali making a beautiful djembe drum

Komoko Sano's daughter

Komoko Sano's other daughter

at Komoko Sanos compound in Guinea, West Africa

Michael P in Amsterdam fest

Amsterdam drum festival with Nick Ostis

Michael P in Amsterdam fest

Amsterdam drum festival with Nick Ostis

Amsterdam drum festival with Nick Ostis

Amsterdam drum festival with Nick Ostis

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I took these photos on my two trips to Mali and Guinea, West Africa where I studied traditional djembe, drumming, music, culture and African music and dance. Drummers photos feature my teachers Aruna, Brulye and Siaka. Guinea photos at the late great Komoko Sano’s home and compound.

Studying Afro Cuban Music in Cuba 1985

Studying drums in another culture part one Cuba 1985

If you have been playing any type of ethnic drums for any amount of time the fantasy of playing in another land or even performing has probably cross dour mind. For years I watched friends and even students of mine crossing the borders of other countries to study live and learn by immersion and non western ways.

bongos on congas

They inevitably came back full [...]

Vietnam 2:”HD” art, sculptures,temples w/ music by Michael Pluznick

This video features photgraphy shot in Hanoi, Vietnam and contans beautiful art, sculpture, and nature with world music by Michael Pluznick The people and scenes are from everday life in Hanoi, Vietnam. HD *(high definition). Shot on Canon 7D digital SLR

Thai multi percussion dance performance group

This Thai Mixed Mulit-Percussion troupe plays a little bit of everything in this live performance in Bangkok, Thailand. Filmed on Canon 7D digital camera. They play all kinds of cool percussion instruments, miscelaneous percussion, hand drums.

“How to play drums”: Afro Brasilian drum class : “Cabocolo” in Bahia

http://www.myspace.com/rhythmsofbarab…

How to play drums and percussion: Afro Braisilan, (Afro Brazilian) ethnic drum class on traditional hand drumming taught to me in Bahia, Brasil. Maestro Bira teaches Michael Pluznick and Boaz Hashimoto Martin (co founders of Barababaja) the very tricky, unusual and often misinterpreted Cobocolo rhythm piece as played in Bahia, Brazil (Brasil.

Brasil: Cabocolo drum class in Bahia

“Axe” by Barabajaba from the new CD, “Rise Up”, World Music

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/barabajaba

This world and African/Brasilian (Brazilian) influenced music, percussion and drumming video with chants is from the new CD, “Rise Up” by the Hawaii and California based percussion ensemble, Barabajaba and features Zahira and Boaz on vocals,and percussion arrangements by Jesse Seymour and MIchael Pluznick. This Brazilian (Brasilian) based “HD” (high definition 1080i) piece features, congas, bata, shekere and drumming and percussion including congas. All photos taken by Michael Pluznick except for all [...]

Exotic Waterfall in Thailand and world percussion by Michael P

filmed on Koh Samui Island in Thailand . This is part 2 with music by Michael Pluznick from the CD Rythym Intergration. This tune is called, “Bata Kuku Songo and features a fusion of west african and afro cuban drumming and music styles.

survival skills

In my time I have seen everything happen at playing sessions. From people breakdown crying, to fist  fights. Drumming, as we all know being incredibly theraputic, can bring  out both the best and worst in people, or at least some deep rooted “stuff”.

playing djembe on the street at night

It is important to know when to communicate and also how to.

I have a history of problems with neighbors about “noise”. Let’s [...]

This is new music from the new CD Rise Up by Barabajaba percussion ensemble located in Hawaii and San Francisco California. This video was shot at Kronkite beach near the Golden Gate Bridge by Michael Pluznick on his new Nikon D70 digital camera.

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/barabajaba