Tag: drums
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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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Learning to Play Drums is More Then Patterns
If you want to learn more then just rhythms and patterns and really want to know how to drum on the deepest levels and if you really want to grow, you have to challenge your brain and you have to do different stuff then you are used to or comfortable with. I see many people… Read More »
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An Interview With Michael Markus Of Wula Drum
I had the good fortune recently to have a Q and A session with the incredible Michael Markus. Known not only for his great drumming, wit and humour he is co founder of the Wula Drum company, Wula Dance Retreat and runs the World Percussion Center in NYC. For many years he has been one of the… Read More »
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Developing Your Talent On Djembe, Congas And Bongos
I truly believe that talent is something that for may of us can be developed with hard work, love and practice. Sure there are naturals. But many of the people you see on the internet and on Youtube did not pop out of their momma’s womb playing drums or music at a very high level. I… Read More »
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The Best Djembes Made
I am now offering the best djembes made on the planet. I source the shell from either Ivory Coast, Guinea or Mali. We then construct and make the drum from scratch, from a log… to your specifications. Everything can be chosen by you from the size to the decoration. The shell is gone over with… Read More »
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Hand Drumming In The Modern Age
In the Afro Cuban conga drum world and in the traditional based West African hand drumming and performance world there is a huge obsession with speed, rolls and “impressive” licks. This is what I call performance oriented drumming. It is created to impress and to entertain others. It has a certain and strong “wow factor”.… Read More »
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New Wula Drums Are Available Now!
Wula Drum headed by legendary drummer Michael Markus has a dedicated team of drum builders in Guinea, West Africa. They work very hard every season to provide the highest-quality instruments using the best materials. Their djembes are sourced from the best hardwoods in Guinea: Lengue, Khadi, Acajou, Doukie, Koula Koula, as well as Melina Wood for… Read More »
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Playing 5 Sets of Some of the Best Congas Ever Made
I am feeling very blessed and happy to have these drums to play and show you! Here today we have some of the nicest conga drums ever made. I made a simple demo video of myself playing these drums so you can get a feel for the all these different and wonderful drums. Of… Read More »
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Understanding West African Jenbe (Djembe) and Dunun Music.
When we concentrate only on soloing on the jenbe, and not learning or playing the dunun we are only experiencing the rhythm arrangement or composition from one small perspective. You are relating to it from a small and stuck position. Its like driving down the highway and only seeing the back of the car in… Read More »
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Where To Buy A Djembe Drum? The Best Djembes.
Where should you buy a djembe drum? And what is the best djembe drum? Should you go to a large distributor on line, a chain store, a small company or an individual artist? This is a question often asked to me. I went on line and did a google search and was shocked what came up… Read More »
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One Style Or Different Drumming Styles? It’s All Music.
There are several different ways for serious students to learn and to study traditional and folkloric drumming from other countries. Today I am going to talk about two different approaches, completely different and both are valid in my book. We can try to be universal, find commonality and study the underlying principles and basic structures… Read More »