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Preview the new CD
This is an amazing audio and notation encyclopedia of every djembe and dun dun part for 50 Rhythms!  |
 Well folks, it is finally here! After a very long road of playing, videoing, shooting, editing and re editing I am very excited to let you all know that my all new DVD, “How To Play Djembe” Volume 1 is now available at X8drums.com. It is over 1 hour and 40 minutes long and covers every possible aspect of how to play the djembe! [...]  West African hand drumming and specifically speaking, “traditional djembe drumming” is based on a system of fundamentals or “basics” just like any other type or form of drumming be it Indian, Afro Cuban, Brazilian or even the western drum set. There are rudiments or “basic fundamentals” of djembe playing that can be similar to drum set rudiments but also have some other important factors that are often missed in the learning process of many djembe players of all different levels. And what are djembe rudiments? They can consist of techinque, basic rhythm structure concepts, composition (how pieces are formed and go together), “the feel”, learning the basic djembe hand patterns and learning the dunun. It is also important to learn about the history of the music you are playing and the meaning of the pieces as well. I will discuss some of these items now. [...]  I recently received a 2 DVD set from Ultimate Guru Music Company in India of a very interesting musical percussion artist named Taufiqu Queresh. The first thing I noticed is the quality of the box, artwork and packaging. Very well done! When you open the box there is full color booklet attached to the box so you will not loose it. The design of this project was very well thought out. The book includes photos, credits and sound explanations. [...]  You have just been to your first drum circle and you are fully charged up and excited to play drums. Or maybe you have been to several drum circles or drumming events. It was fun and exciting to play your drum with other people. You want to do it more and more. So what happens next? Maybe you are having fun playing in your home to a CD, DVD, iTunes or by yourself at the beach. [...]  I love to play djembes and I also love to study the music we make with djembes. Djembe soloing is a very small part of djembe music as a whole. The djembe is a communal drum and is about community and unity. We all (myself included) get caught up in being the soloist as it is so much fun! But keep in mind that it is about a whole group of people, musicians,dancers and others, too! [...]  Does age matter when playing or performing drumming and percussion music? Yes and no.Many of us who have been playing for a while would obviously like to keep playing for a while. I myself am over 50 years old. I am constantly playing with players half my age and sometimes more. Of course there are always going to be some age or physical limitations, but there does not have to be any cramp in your style and with the proper maintanance and care of our bodies there should be no reason why we can not play well into our 90′s! They do in Africa! [...]  What do you do when you are completely cold and suddenly have to play hot? Last night the islands best trumpet player performed with his band at Bali’s version of Yoshis called interestingly enough, Ryopshi’s! Any coincidence? Great sushi and great tunes. Rio Sadik, the trumpet player, singer and “star of the show”, ( as James Brown would say), was in rare form. The venue was so packed you could not move. Raymond, my impromptu agent and good friend here in Bali, Indonesia called his long time pal Rio earlier to confirm me sitting in but I think I got there way to late and there was already another conga player there. [...]  Here are some tips on soloing on the djembe drum. Please do not be afraid to express yourself when the time is appropriate (your turn) to solo on djembe. Every chance you get is a good chance to play and improve your playing. I’ll be the first to admit I have thought about throwing my drum in the fire after hearing a child in Africa drum circles around m [...]  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. [...]  People often ask me about a training program. What could they do to improve their drumming and or improve more rapidly? I put together the following suggestions based on my own training program that I have followed for many years. Those of you who know me personaly know I am a bit of a fanatic so of course you can tone down the program to suit your own personal needs. So just take a few ideas from here or all of them. “Arai gor dai” as they say in Thailand (“up to you”)! So pick and choose and enjoy your practice and training ritual. remember it’s “playing” and playing is FUN! [...]  Are you a percussionist, drummer or musician and are ready to go out there into the “real world” and make a go at it as a pro? If so I have some solid suggestions I have learned along the way I can share with you here. If you follow these tips you will be well on your way. One thing I have noticed over the years and a very important life lesson for me has been that it is not usually the most talented or best player that get’s the great gigs, it is the person with the most outgoing personality, the person who networks and get’s out there. It’s an undeniable fact, and one that needs to be acknowledged if you are going to try and be in the music business. [...]  If you are a gigging drummer or musician and just starting out playing here is some important advice and information. I am going to share some information with you that will help you to never have to suffer the way I have with unreliable people or people that do not understand or respect drumming or drummers. [...]  I will be teaching an intensive, intermediate to advanced small group djembe and dunun workshop for a limited number of people in Ubud, Bali. We will meet daily and cover some very nice pieces I learned in my travels to Guinee and Mali West Africa such as Mali style Sunu in 4/4 with opening and closing interlude breaks, traditional solo phrases and techniques and dunun arrangements for one or several players. I will be [...]  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 [...] 
Injuries while playing drums can happen to anyone from the most beginning player to the most advanced. One of my favorite players and teachers Karmba Diabate for example is constantly in pain. His hands constantly hurt. He get’s amazing sound from his djembe, but at a price. I have seen every player at every level with hand or finger injuries.
proper hand technique
So, what do we do to not [...]  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 [...]  n this lesson excerpt we look at the Kassa family of rhythms. This is the Saraya variation shown on dununs “down” style also known as “ballet” style. [...]  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 [...]  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 [...] 
“With out strong framework the house will collapse’. In this ‘follow along” video/ conga lesson we will begin to explore how to position your hands and also how to make basic sounds on the conga drum. This is part one. For more info go to: www.michaelpluznick.com  In this video I am playing the popular and social Kuku rhythm from Guinea (Guinee) West Africa where I lived and studied. These are solo techniques I learned from my various teachers in Africa and the USA including Hawaii, California and the east coast as well. [...]  This short “how to play” djembe lesson by Michael Pluznick features the basic Mali Sunu rhythm djembe part in fast, medium and very slow *(breakdown) tempo with a click track so you can see and hear where everything goes against the beat or pulse. [...]  Michael Pluznick solos on djembe and then Ben Isaacs expresses his incredible feel and techniques as well. This is a longer version then I originally posted on Youtube. This video lesson features an explanation of the meaning of Mali Sunu played with more of a 4/4 feel. We also will be showing you a version in 6/8 feel soon here as well. Michael Pluznick plays traditional solo techniques or phrases on his Toca [...]  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. [...]  The Sekere is also known as Chekere or Shekere depending on where you are and who you talk to. This is a 2 hour DVD on many different aspects of how to play a Sekere (Shekere) including playing with a group of players, playing traditional style, non traditional style and with a band or popular music as well. [...] |
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