Category: Advice & Tips
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Respect in the drum and dance community
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… Read More »
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Africa, Barabajaba and more..your questions answered!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x_J0Z_4Oo4 http://www.earthcds.com/africa/west/mali I have received so much mail asking who was who and what was what, I put this video together with answers for you..It has captions and information on whose who and what is what in many of my videos! Please click on the link in blue to take you to the earthcds.com Mali… Read More »
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How to find the teacher that’s right for you
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… Read More »
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congas to djembe/djembe to congas
When an established conga player transitions to learn to play djembe he or she has certain advantages and disadvantages. When you play congas, there is much emphasis on pushing in to the drum to make tone. On a goat skin djembe, do to the thin tight skin, you must pull the sound out. Despite this… Read More »
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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”. It is important to know when to communicate and also how to.… Read More »
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Silence the inner critic
Silencing the inner critic. For most of us when we are drumming , practicing and playing we are playing to an imaginary critic. Often this critic is saying, “you are not good enough”. I have learned over the years to simply not pay attention to the critic or whatever negative images or feelings that may… Read More »
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Leave your ego at the door please..
Don’t let your ego in the way of making you a great drummer. A great freind and teacher used to tell us before class. “Leave your ego at the door”. When we come together to drum, to learn or to play together it is important we come with respect for each other no matter what… Read More »
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Increasing your playing speed on any kind of drums
I often hear people, friends and students complain that they can not play as fast as they would like to. Watch any video of the top players in Africa or Cuba play and it is truly amazing. How do they do it? A key to playing fast is playing relaxed. This does not mean “sleepy”… Read More »
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getting the most out of your drum class
Many of us take drum class after drum class which is great for imersion, for learning by being part of something on a continual basis. But I have noticed that many people will come back to the same class time and time again with out any progression or improvement. Are you getting the most out… Read More »
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Daily practice tips
A good friend and long time drummer recommends that students play every day. Some people think that means they have to sit around for hours at a time but he say’s even five minutes to connect with your instrument (in this case the djembe drum) makes all the difference in the world. You are building… Read More »
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Listening to learn
Many drummers new to the art of djembe music think that they must play and participate in a drum circle, jam or dance class as a way to learn to drum. Most experienced players will tell you something different. By going to a djembe session or African dance class and sitting on the side watching… Read More »