http://www1.tip.nl/~t968103/yankadi/

http://www1.tip.nl/~t968103/yankadi/
Theory, experiments and exercises
Playing the Djembe may look easy, and of course it is possible for a beginner to just sit behind the
drum and play. But playing properly is certainly as difficult as mastering any other more well known
instrument: it will take years of study, practice and dedication!
Contrary to most western musical instruments like the guitar, the violin or piano, there is no teaching
method for djembe that I know of.
The most common way of teaching is that the teacher will show you how the bass, tone and slap are
produced by playing these sounds, and letting you hear what they are supposed to sound like. It is up
to the student to start praticing and experimenting in order to try and create the same sound. Without
any help in the form of theory or precise instructions, it is extremely difficult to figure out what you are
supposed to do! Or worse, when you happen to make a proper tone or slap, knowing why it was
correct, and why the next time it doesn't seem to work anymore!
To me, a teaching method consists a series of concepts and exercises that will gradually lead the
student towards developing the motoric, muscular and musical skills necessary to become a proficient
player. A gradual increase in the difficulty of the actual music that is being played is only one aspect of
such a teaching method. The Djembe is notoriously hard to master if you want to produce the three
tones, bass, tone and slap, properly. So a teaching method should also contain experiments,
exercises, theory and practices that will clearly outline to the student what they must practice in order
to take the next step towards producing a clear tone, or a clear slap.
I have been down that path myself. However, I am used to learning a new instrument by myself, so I
may have been more methodical than others. I have had lessons, attended workshops and weekends,
but I also have read as much as I could find about djembe acoustics, drum acoustics and skin
behaviour, and I tried to develop exercises which would lead to the muscle power and dexterity that
should produce the desired sounds. I then practiced my own exercises, in order to try and find out if I
was right. In some cases I was, in other cases I wasn't. I have had the opportunity to teach a few
beginners during drum circles, and I have observed both students, teachers and good players.
Over the years I have developed a few concepts, and related exercises, that may help others in
learning to play the djembe. I present them here. But please remember that I myself am not a djembe
master, but just another student amongst the many. So as with all djembe information the usual
caveat applies: if you have a teacher, then by all means follow his or her advice! However, I hope that
people will find the explanations, concepts and exercises helpful, and that they will actually aid them in
learning to play properly.
Happy drumming!
Dennis
1
Posture
Theory, experiments and exercises
Playing position
Sit on the edge of a chair and stand the djembe on the floor between your legs. Tilt the djembe
forward, away from you. Hook one leg behind the djembe, so it loosely rests between both your knees
and one lower leg behind the djembe. The tilted position (about 20-30 degrees) allows the bass sound
to come out of the bottom opening.
Imagine the skin on top of the djembe forming a plane into infinity. Your arms and hands should be
above this plane and not below it. So don't tilt the djembe too far, sit up straight or use a cushion if
necessary.
The elbows
Your elbows should be above the plane of the skin. So stick them out until
they are above this plane. Keep your shoulders down and relaxed. Why is
this important? Because the movement of hitting the djembe uses your
elbows as a pivotal point. If that point is above the plane of the skin, your
hands will travel in an arc that goes towards yourself, in the direction of your
stomach, which is the correct way to hit the djembe skin. The picture illustrates the correct elbow and
arm position relative to the skin surface.
If the elbow is below the plane of the skin, your hands will travel in an arc
away from your body, and you will hit the wood of the djembe first. Wood has
no sound and it does not give - so it will cause pain and injury, not sound.
The picture illustrates the wrong elbow position, below the skin surface
plane.
Please note that sitting on a chair, especially if you don't sit straight up, will favour the wrong elbow
position - the elbows will be far too low to play properly. Standing up with the djembe strapped on, will
favour the right elbow position. There is nothing wrong with sitting on a stool or chair, but take good
care that you have elbow room and your elbows are up!
The hands
Rest your hands on the djembe edge, with all fingers flat on the skin, and the knuckles where the
fingers join the palm exactly on the djembe edge. The tip of the thumb rests lightly on/against the edge
of the djembe. The fleshy mounds on the palm, underneath the knuckles, rest on the edge of the skin.
The wrists are in line with the plane of the skin. Your arms and hands will make a 90 degree angle
between them, and point to the centre of the djembe skin.
The wrist
The general playing movement is initiated by the wrist. Bring the wrist up slowly. The hand follows.
Bring the wrist down slowly. The hand follows. It is a wave-like movement which will develop into a
whip-like movement later. Do not "lock" the arm and wrist into position and move the fingers up and
down only, but involve your whole hand, wrist, arm and even your body. Your "consciousness" for the
movement is in the wrist, not in the fingers!
How to play the bass
Sit in the correct position first and rest your hand in the centre of the skin. Keep the fingers and thumb
together, the hand is stretched but not completely flat, there is a slight hollow underneath the palm and
fingers. The complete hand hits the centre of the djembe skin at once. The actual force is with the
lower palm area. Let the djembe skin itself provide the power to move your hand away again, like a
trampoline. You should neither force your hand to stay on the skin, nor have to move it away from the
skin yourself.
2
It is important that your hand does not move sideways, forward or backward whilst playing the bass!
Any sliding of the hand or fingers across the skin will result in blisters after prolonged play. Sliding also
dampens the bass again.
The full force to create a loud bass is in fact in the lower part of your palm. This transfers the full mass
and weight of you wrist and forearm into the skin. The fingers have no real "weight" or "mass" to drive
a loud bass. The palm, wrist and forearm do!
The height of the bass note itself depends mainly on the height of the djembe, not really on the skin
and how tight that is.
Bass amplification
The bass is amplified by the djembe stem shape, which flares out slightly or can even be a true
trumpet shape. You can amplify the bass even further by creating an extension to this trumpet shape
of the stem of the djembe. The trumpet shape does not need to continue in the same direction as the
instrument either. In fact, you can reverse the direction of the shape completely, without losing any of
its amplification properties. This is common knowledge in the field of acoustics and loud speaker
development, notably bass reflex speaker development.
Experiment
Create an extension of the trumpet shape by using any angled surfaces behind
you, for example a floor and a wall (the grey lines in the picture to the left).
Stand with your djembe in the position as drawn here, with the wall behind you,
and aim the center of the foot at the edge where wall and floor meet. Play a
bass, and enjoy the full WWWWHHHOOOOMMM that results!
If you listen carefully, you may notice a few things. First, since the bass
vibration is long in distance (a 70Hz note uses almost 5 meters for 1 cycle!) it takes distance from the
instrument to hear the bass properly. By standing as shown in the picture, you put yourself more
inside the bass note, and hear it louder.
Secondly, since distance is important for low notes, they do not develop their full power at the moment
you play, but slightly later. You must play at the "W" of the WWWWHHHOOOOMMM sound, but you
will fully hear it at the "O" of the WWWWHHHOOOOMMM sound. So playing the bass just a touch on
the early side will prevent the bass notes feeling "sluggish". like they are slowing down the music.
Bass notes can travel enormous distances. Their long wavelength makes walls, houses, cars and so
on "invisible" to them, and they continue without much interference from whatever is between the
source of the note and the listener. Everyone instinctively knows this - as soon as you leave the disco,
the music is reduced to a low boom - boom. All the high notes have gone, only the bass notes are left.
So carpets, curtains and drapes will not dampen bass notes very much!
Elephants communicate with subsonic sounds (very low notes below human hearing, in the 5-30 Hz
range) over tens of kilometers. Trees, grassland, hills and so on do not change these notes very
much. For comparison, the Djembe bass note, which depends mainly on the hight of the instrument, is
between 50 and 70 Hz.
You can use all this knowledge to your advantage in stage presentations. Be aware that the public will
hear the bass louder than you do. They will hear less of the high contact sound of your hands with the
skin, and more of the low boom of the bass. This applies also to the light bass component in tones and
slaps! If you accidentally amplify the bass part in your tones and slaps by standing as shown in the
picture, your music will not sound as intended, but it will sound muddy! The vertical of the "trumpet
shape" behind you does not need to be a wall either: a large crate or box or the front of a stage edge
will work just as well.
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Silencing the bass
There are ways and means to reduce the volume of the bass. The simplest, which is for practicing the
djembe at home, is to stand the djembe on a cushion. This will effectively close off the stem of the
djembe, reducing the bass volume to zero. It also will prevent the hits on the djembe to travel, as
contact sound, via the floors, to other rooms or other houses. Sticking a small cushion or a jumper or
coat inside the stem works fine to silence the bass too, but it won't prevent contact sound to travel.
If you want to reduce the volume of the bass only, without removing it completely, then the most
obvious trick is to change the trumpet shape of the stem back to a straight cylinder shape. This will
remove any amplification, and will therefore reduce the overall bass volume.
To change the djembe stem from a trumpet shape to a cylinder, get a piece of PVC pipe that has the
same diameter as the hole inside the djembe, where the stem and the bowl are connected. Cut it to
the length of the stem itself, or slightly less. Wedge the pipe into the hole experimentally, maybe fill up
the cavity between djembe stem and pipe with a cloth for now. If you like the result, you can find a
more permanent way to fix and unfix the PVC pipe in this position.
To adjust the bass volume during play, the most obvious way is by playing softer or louder of course.
You can augment the difference by pointing the djembe stem to a square angle behind you, like a floor
and wall angle, or a crate and the floor, to amplify the bass. Or by holding the djembe more upright
and reflecting the bass notes vertically off the floor towards the ceiling, to reduce bass volume. This
applies when you sit down as well: keep the djembe almost upright to reduce the bass volume. To get
the most out of your bass, let the djembe lean forward to almost a 45 degree angle, or even lift it off
the floor a bit at that angle.
Where is the sound?
One of the problems when you start playing the djembe, is not knowing where the sounds really are
on a drum. Here is a little experiment to show you where they are. Stand the djembe on the floor, and
take a timbales stick. Any wooden (drum) stick will do, or even the handle (stick) of a wooden cooking
spoon! Make sure the tip is rounded so you won't damage the skin, and the stick is straight. Look
carefully at the pictures to see where you hold the stick and how much of the stick is actually over the
djembe.
Experiment
Hit the djembe softly with only the tip of the stick, at a point about halfway
between the centre of the skin and the djembe edge. You will hear a fairly
low and soft sound with a definite tone to it. This is comparable to the
djembe tone.
Note that the stick in this picture represents the correct arm and elbow position for playing the djembe properly the elbow is above the plane of the djembe head.
Hit the djembe softly with the stick hitting the edge of the djembe, without
hitting the skin at all. This will not produce any sound that is worth having. It
would be a fairly useless exercise, except to point out that many people try to
play a slap like this, by hitting the wood instead of the skin. Simple advice:
don't! Hitting the wood causes pain and injuries, not a slap sound!
Note that the stick in this picture represents the wrong arm and elbow position for playing the djembe!
4
Hold the stick very carefully so that it is almost level with the skin. The bit that
is over the skin when the stick rests on the edge is only a fraction of a
millimeter higher than the skin, no more! Now hit the djembe softly. You will
hear a very loud, hard, sharp and high note. This is comparable to the
djembe slap. Remember this!!
Final experiment: hit the skin with the point of the stick (like the top picture), but now in the centre of
the skin. You will not hear a bass note at all!! Instead, you will hear a dead plop, not even a tone.
What have you learned from this experiment?
•
•
•
Some sounds like the bass are not "in the skin" - they depend on your hands and/or
the djembe itself.
To produce a sound, you really should hit the skin, not the wood edge... ;-)
The loud slap sound is really there in your djembe, even when you yourself cannot
make it yet. You may have noticed that it is difficult to make that slap-like sound
consistently every time with a stick. With your hands, it is even more difficult.
However, you know that it is possible, and practice and perseverance will do the rest.
The Wrist
The wrist is crucial to playing the djembe, whether you play tone, bass or slap. I have found that using
the wrist is extremely important. A concept that you can use is the whip. Think of your forearm as the
whip handle, and your hand and fingers as the strings of the whip. Now move your forearm up and
down, and try (don't try this too hard!!) to make your hand and fingers make a "crack" like a whip can.
You won't be able to do it, but you will get an idea for the concept. All moves are initiated by the wrist.
You can also think of your forearm and hand being like a flail (two wooden sticks connected with a
leather hinge, used for threshing grain). If you measure the length of your hand from the wrist line to
your middle finger tip, you will find that it is almost as long as your whole forearm!
General exercises to learn to use the wrist
Exercise 1
This exercise will teach you to initiate all movement from the wrist, and to keep the hand and fingers
relaxed.
Sit comfortably, and rest your hands on the top of your legs. Really relax your hands so they feel very
heavy and sleepy. Now very slowly lift your wrist only, just half an inch. Your hands stay relaxed and
thumb and fingertips remain relaxed in contact with your legs. Now put the wrist down quickly. Take
care that the hand does not tense up at all – the hand and fingers remain relaxed, the fingers never
lose contact with your legs. As soon as the fingers or hand stiffen, bring back your consciousness to
the wrist again and relax your hand. Also take care that the fingers do not start to slide along your legs
- they remain in a fixed position.
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Exercise 2
This exercise will teach you to "play" a rhythm completely from the wrist, using the same position for
tone and slap.
Take a simple rhythm, for example | s . . s s . t t | which is a very common rhythm, or any other simple
rhythm without bass, that you know well. Play it slowly on your thighs with your wrists. Keep the hands
relaxed, the fingertips stay in contact with the legs at all times, and do not move the wrist forward or
sideways to distinguish between slaps and tone, just play all notes in the same position.
For variety – as well as because you will benefit from it later – reverse your hands and play the rhythm
as if you were left-handed. Again wrists only. Make sure your hand does not tense up when you need
to concentrate on an unfamiliar rhythm or handing!!!
Exercise 3 * Angular movement
This exercise will teach you to cancel out minimal sliding of the fingers. It also is the basis of good
tones.
Sit comfortably, and rest your hands on the top of your legs. Really relax your hands so they feel very
heavy and sleepy. Lift your wrists, keeping your hands very very relaxed. Lift your wrists so high that
the fingertips no longer are in contact with your thighs. Without stiffening or tensioning the hand or the
fingers at all, bring the wrist down on your leg slowly. You will notice that the fingertips come into
contact with the leg first, then the wrist, and the rest of the fingers and the palm do not touch the leg.
Instead, they remain slightly curved and very relaxed.
Now take special note of the following. As you lift your wrist, the fingers will move or slide backwards a
bit along the leg before the are lifted clear. And as you bring down your wrist, the fingers will move
forward a bit as the hand goes from a fairly vertical position to a horizontal position again. If you do not
observe this, then fake it, by moving the wrists towards yourself as you lift them, and away from your
body as you bring them down, so you can see and feel the fingers sliding along your legs.
The actual exercise is to cancel out this movement of the fingers along the legs when the wrist is lifted
or put down. In order to do this, the wrist must be lifted using a motion away from your body, towards
your knees, and put down using a motion towards your body. The angle is about 20-30 degrees off the
vertical.
This exercise is important because the direction in which you hit the djembe does contribute to the
quality of the sound. You can help yourself by using the correct posture and especially by making sure
your elbows are above the plane of the djembe head.
One lesson my teacher gave me, after I learned to play something loud that came close to a slap,
was: "Try and play a soft slap! If you can master the slap quality without being overly loud, you
have truly mastered the slap!"
Overview
The tone and slap are each others opposites in virtually everything. But there are two things that do
not differ:
•
•
Hand position: Both tone and slap are played using the exact same position of the
hand relative to the djembe
Volume: How hard you hit controls the volume, not the sound, although slaps are
easier to learn if you put some force into them.
What differs is everthing else!
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An important note on tuning
One very important note for beginners: if your djembe is not tuned properly, then you can learn to play
a bass and a tone, but not a slap. Advanced players can play a tone and slap on anything, even wood
or rubber or carpet or their legs, and you can hear the difference. But as a beginner, you need a tuned
djembe that will actually tell you if you are doing it "a bit right already". So go to the djembe tuning
page and make sure your djembe is tuned properly.
First exercises
We start with the first exercises towards learning a tone and a slap. The aim of these exercises is not
yet to produce a tone and a slap, but to maximise the difference between these two sounds. The
djembe skin only has one sound, which consists of a basic tone with many high harmonics. The aim is
to play the basic tone only when you want to play a tone, and to play the main harmonics only when
you want to play the slap. So the position of your fingers, and how you hit the skin, determine what the
sound will be like!
The tone - full description
Keep your fingers together and press them a tiny bit against each other so you
create a stiff paddle. Now gently hit the skin with the top half of your fingers and
push down a bit. Don't immediately bounce off, but push down a bit in the
direction of your stomach. As if you want to hit the inside of the djembe bowl
through the skin. Take note that this is easy to do if your elbows are high enough.
Picture 1 shows (in blue) which parts hit the skin - the rest of the hand does not
touch the skin. The blue line represents the djembe edge.
If you take away your legs from around the djembe at this point, the djembe won't
fall over because your fingers which are on the skin keep the djembe in position
and exert a slight pull towards yourself. Please note that the knuckles are not
touching the edge of the djembe yet! However, the position of the knuckles (where the fingers are
connected to the palm) is exactly over the edge of the djembe.
Since your whole wrist and hand were travelling downwards, the wrist will travel
further downwards after the fingers have hit the skin and are pushing down. This
movement will now help to roll the fingers off the skin again, so the tone can
finally sound. Picture 2 shows (in blue) which parts are on the skin.
The purpose of the tone is to hit the djembe skin in such a way that all high
overtones will be dampened by your fingers and only the basic note will be left to
sound.
The final position is when the hand lightly rests with just the palm on the edge of
the skin and the skin is free to vibrate. The high harmonics are very small
vibrations, so you dampen those during the rolling-off movement when your
fingers are in full contact with the edge of the vibrating skin, but most of the skin is
free to vibrate.
Summary: Hit - push down - roll off.
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The slap - exercise 1
The slap is considerably more complicated than the tone. Anyone can hit a djembe hard and produce
a loud noise, and most beginners will at some point play loud and soft notes instead of slaps and
tones. But the slap and tone really are different notes and can both be loud and soft. The problem with
making a good slap is not just the mechanics of how to do it, although that is difficult enough. In order
to do it, your fingers must be able to have a suppleness that needs time and exercise to develop. So a
beginner will be physically unable to make a good slap without actual practice to train the hand and
fingers!
With the tone, the idea is to let the whole skin sound, but dampen all the high harmonics. The slap
does the opposite. Now we are going to prevent the whole skin from sounding, but not dampen the
high harmonics.
The first step is really only a first step. Don't expect a slap sound yet. What we are aiming for at this
stage is a sound that is different from the tone, that is all.
Rest your hand on the skin, with your knuckles on the edge of the djembe. Your
thumb is resting against the edge of the djembe. Now cup your hand a bit, so only
your finger tips touch the skin, and nothing else of the fingers. Also, tilt your hand
slightly so that only the knuckle of your little finger is on the djembe edge, the
other knuckles do not touch the skin. There are 6 points in touch with the skin
now: your finger tips, the knuckle under your little finger, and your thumb. Nothing
else. Picture 1 shows the two support points (in blue) and the 4 finger tips on the
skin (in red).
The fingers are relaxed, not touching each other but not spread out! There is like
half a millimeter between the fingers, no more. Lift your hand and wrist and bring
them down in this position. Since your hand is tilted a bit (to keep most knuckles
off the skin edge) it is natural for your finger tips to hit the skin in sequence, little finger, ring finger,
middle finger, index finger. It sounds like a tiny rainfall. Let the finger tips touch the skin very ligtly and
bounce off, and you will start to hear a soft high note which is the first main harmonic of the skin.
When you hit the skin like this, the actual support points for your hand are the knuckle of your little
finger on one side, and your thumb against the edge of the djembe on the other side. That is all, the
finger tips now can touch the skin and bounce off.
You will notice that as soon as all finger tips hit the skin at once, that you will get a tone again, not the
high note! So do it in sequence. The sequential hits will set up a wave pattern in the skin that is the
high harmonic that you want for the slap later.
The sound is very very soft, you can easily practice this without the neighbours hearing anything. But
you need a properly tuned djembe or you won't hear any of the harmonics!
Summary: a very light sequential finger tip touch.
Practice
Practice this very soft slap exercise, and a very soft accompanying tone, with a few rhythms that you
know. Your main aim is to create two very different sounds! So don't worry if the high note does not
sound like a slap, because that is not what you want yet. You want a high and clear note on the one
hand, and a low and dull note on the other hand.
The important thing in exercises is that it gives you the opportunity to really exercise. Some people try
an exercise a few times, oh yeah, that works, lets do the next exercise. But your muscles, hands and
fingers need developing. The movement needs to become natural. This takes time and practice. So
just do the exercise like 5 minutes at a time, a few times during the day, for a few weeks. You
can practice on your legs or a table top, but this will exercise your finger positions only. To practice for
the sound, you need the djembe. Practice practice practice until your fingers will know "slap" from
"tone" by automatically taking the positions and hitting the djembe skin correctly. Practice on the
djembe so you will maximise the difference in sound between tone and slap. Low and dull versus high
and clear.
Remember: you are practicing the first stage, it won't sound like a slap yet. Do it softly, aim for
clarity.
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If you have not read the previous page, please do so! That information is necessary to continue here.
The tone
For the tone, all information was given on the previous page. From there onwards it is just a question
of practicing until the hit - push down - roll off movement, which is like Michael Jackson's moonwalk
technique, becomes natural and smooth. Once it is smooth you can start adding real force into the
tone by starting to use your wrist more so the fingers will be whipped onto the skin, adding extra speed
and force.
You will really need to put a lot of time into the practice, because the movement is exactly the opposite
of what people do naturally, which is hit the djembe edge first and then let the fingers hit the skin.
The slap - exercise 2
The second exercise is similar to the first exercise. However, some people may be physically unable
to do this yet. If that is the case with you, you should start doing hand and finger stretching exercises
to make your fingers more supple and to loosen up the ligaments.
Put your hand completely flat on the skin, with the knuckles on the edge of the skin. Now lift the
knuckles away from the djembe edge but keep the fingers flat on the skin. You can simulate this by
imagining there is a piece of paper under your finger tips that you pull towards yourself. The knuckles
of your hand are lifted clear off the djembe edge. It is a bit like a tent shape. Now find a position where
you can also lift your finger tips off the skin a tiny fraction. You should now be able to rock your hand a
tiny bit, with the finger knuckles as the resting point, indicating that both the finger tips and the palm
knuckles are clear of the skin.
There are now 6 contact points between your hand and the skin. The resting
points are the knuckle of your little finger on the djembe edge, and your thumb
against the djembe edge. And the other 4 points are the middle knuckles of each
finger. The rest of your fingers is not touching the skin, or just barely brushing it.
Picture 2 shows these support points (in blue) and the four knuckles (in red). In
practice the little finger will simply lie flat on the skin.
From this position, do the same exercise as in exercise 1: Lift your hand and wrist,
and bring them down so the 4 knuckles under each finger hit the skin in sequence,
one after the other, very lightly. Again you will hear a clear note emerging.
This exercise is physically difficult to do, and the differences are very very minimal. This exercise does
benefit from doing it on a wooden table top, because you will instantly feel your finger knuckles hitting
the wood so you know you are doing it right. The djembe will reward you with a clear note, but you can
feel far less clearly what happens because the skin is far softer than a table top.
It helps to loosen up your fingers before practice, by shaking them loose, opening and closing your
hand, stretching the fingers, playing Edward Scissorhands and so on until you can feel that the
ligaments have had a good workout.
Be prepared to spend at least a month of daily exercises on this! If initially you are absolutely unable
to do it physically, don't despair, keep working on it, because your hands will become more supple in
time.
9
Practice
This second slap exercise is one where you can start to put some force into it, once you have
mastered it to the extent that you can create a clear note. Again, use your wrist, play from the wrist,
don't hit the djembe edge first. Don't try to make this very loud yet, but aim for the same loudness with
both the tone and the slap. You will now come to realise that although the tone is easier to create, that
making it loud is a lot harder than making a loud slap! So practice to make both as loud as the other,
and if that means playing a softer slap, then do so. At all times keep aiming for a difference in note
and quality, not a difference in loudness, between tone and slap!! Try to pull the quality of tone and
slap as far apart as you can.
If you have trouble doing the second exercise physically, you may now come to realise why a slap is
easier if you do it loudly: because the force will actually force your fingers to bend down in the middle
so the finger knuckles hit the skin too. But as soon as you do it softly, your fingers won't bend enough.
You can remedy this with exercises, but it takes time and practice.
The final complete slap movement is a combination of the slap exercise 1 and exercise 2 which come
to a third resting position. Below is the full movement described.
First, your finger tips hit the skin. The fingers should be supple enough, and the
actual distance between the fingers and the skin should be chosen in such a way,
that the central knuckles of your fingers can actually hit the skin as well, in step 2.
So your hand will be almost flat over the skin with maybe 1 mm between the skin
and the central knuckles on your fingers..
In step 2 the central knuckles of your fingers hit the skin as well. The
finger tips are at this point still on the skin too, so in effect the whole top
section of your fingers hits the skin. It is very important that the edge of
the skin remains clear at this point. So don't rest your palm on the edge. When practicing,
you will find that if you keep your palm and wrist higher, you will get a clearer slap. Also
don't forget the sequential hitting of the fingers that is part of the slap. The tiny sequential
difference builds up a high harmonic as well.
There is a third step in the whole movement, and that is the final resting
position. Since you are trying to let the harmonics sound, this resting position
must be determined by trial and error because it depends on skin diameter, the
size of your hands etc. The idea is to let one or two finger tips rest very lightly on
the skin so that you dampen the low notes and create the harmonics, similar to
playing harmonics on a guitar. My own resting position is shown in picture 3. The
fingers only stay there briefly of course, the idea is not to dampen the sound, just
to emphasise the high harmonics.
Tone and slap differences
The overall movement for tone and slap is identical, a rolling movement from the finger tips to the
edge of the drum. Both are played in the same position. But the tone is slow and uses force to
dampen all high harmonics. The slap is fast and very light to create harmonics, and it uses a slight
sequential coming down of the fingers to generate more harmonics. Both the force for the tone and the
speed for the slap are generated by the wrist, so that a whip-like movement will result. The tone
movement is slowed down because the fingers are tensed. Any muscle tension will slow down all
movements. The slap movement is at high speed because the fingers are completely relaxed. The
general travelling direction of the hand, which enables you to get the fingers onto the skin first and
then roll off, is enabled by keeping your elbows above the plane of the drum head.
10
From this point onwards you can experiment and practice in order to start perfecting your tone and
slap. The djembe is a beautiful and extremely expressive instrument with a huge range in volume.
Trying to play a soft slap is a real challenge, and how soft you can play it, is determined by how supple
or loose your fingers are, as well as by how accurate you can position them each time.
Also remember that as soon as you can play loud, you are becoming more responsible for the music
you make in a group! Loudness is not an end in itself or a way to dominate a group and use it for
egotistical purposes! Instead, it is a support function so you can play beautiful music!
Various exercises and tips
There is no quick fix to avoid exercising. Any musical instrument worth mastering should be played 3060 minutes a day over a few years in order to become confident and master the basics. But there are
simple exercises you can do, also without a djembe, that will benefit your playing. Many of these
exercises are already beneficial if you do them 3 times for 30 seconds during the day. Frequent
practice will teach your muscles the new movements and positions, so they become natural to you.
Even if you cannot play the djembe itself daily, you will notice that these exercises help. You may have
noticed that you may need like 10 minutes of playing before your hands remember the right positions
again. You can decrease this "practice time" by practicing frequently during the day, even on your
legs!
Wrist exercises
The emphasis when playing is on the wrist. Becoming comfortable with "playing from the wrist" helps
you to loosen up quickly. Take any rhythm you need to practice, and play it on your legs with your
wrists only, keeping the fingers as relaxed as possible. The fingers are allowed to follow the wrist,
never to lead the wrist! See also the wrist page and the posture page.
Simple practice pad
A "practice pad" is something you can hit that is not a djembe... ;-) Take an old piano stool, or any
other circular piece of wood with a central leg that you can hold between your legs. Take an old rubber
mouse mat, and cover the wood with a rubber circle. Stick it down with double-stick tape. This is your
playing surface. Now you can practice rhythms and hand positions without annoying the neighbours! It
is great for learning rhythms and practicing rolls and solo patterns. It is also great for putting some real
force into your playing - something you may not be able to do during home practice or classes. And
yes, if you play properly, you can hear the difference between tone and slap on rubber!! However:
never alter your hand positions because it sounds better like that on rubber - for practicing sound, you
need the djembe, not rubber!
Nothing to do?
If you have nothing to do for a minute, practice any rhythm you can think of left-handed (if you are right
handed of course). Even-handedness is very important during solo play, because often you will end up
on the wrong hand after a roll. The sooner you learn to play left-handed, the better your playing will be.
Got the radio on?
Any music will do! Take a simple rhythm, and try and join in with the music. Take very good notice that
you join in exactly on the beat, and exactly in time (i.e. correct speed). Joining in with existing music is
crucial to playing together. And yes, you are allowed to count to 4 before you start!
Speeding up
Many people have a natural tendency to speed up rhythms, as soon as the rhythm has a pause in it
somewhere. They make the pauses too short. Practice these rhythms when you are walking or
cycling, and keep in time with your paces. Learn to "hear" the unplayed beats. Here is an example,
with a left and right step indicator:
| s . . s | s . t t |
| r . l . | r . l . |
Learn to "hear" the first left step that comes before the second slap!
11
Hands and feet
It helps if you can teach yourself to "step" or tap your feet whilst at the same time playing or clapping a
rhythm. It will be hard work at first, but eventually will come naturally. The tapping will help you later,
when you start playing rhythms that don't have a first beat, or more complicated breaks and solos.
2 against 3
A central element in african music is that it is polyrhythmic: playing different rhythms at the same time.
A lot of african music is 6/8, i.e. it has 6 pulses to a bar. Try to tap the following with right and left
hands:
|lr . r l r . |
1 2 3 4 5 6
The first beat is left and right together. Once you can do this, notice how the left hand divides 6 pulses
into two groups of three, and the right hand divides it into three groups of two. Practice it with hands
changed. Practice it with one hand "tapping air" so you don't hear it. Become familiar with this pattern
of switching between 3 and 2 pulses in one bar - it will show up a lot! A classic example is the
Kakilambe.
Metronome
Look around for a metronome, an instrument that will play an even tick so you can learn to
synchronise your playing and keep exactly in time. There are electronic ones available with many
speed and rhythm settings. The metronome has a tendency to sound like it is speeding up or slowing
down, for example when you change from a rhythm into a solo. It isn't - you are! Become aware of
your natural speed changes. If you know where you have a tendency to speed up, you can adjust it.
Drum circles
Look around for drum circles! These events alow you to play your djembe, without having to stick to a
set rhythm, for a few hours at a stretch. This gives you invaluable practice time. You learn new things,
test your endurance, and if there are some advanced players there, you will get a good idea of where
you are going and how your playing progresses, compared to them. It will also allow you to play loud
from time to time. If there are no drum circles, consider starting a small one with a few friends or fellow
students from your class.
Teachers, classes and workshops
I said it earlier and repeat it here: I am not a master, just another student. By all means find a good
teacher, go to classes or attend single workshops or djembe weekends if you can. The djembe is
made to play together!
Responsibility
A final word on responsibility. If you have managed to improve your slap and tone and bass using
these tips and techniques, then you are also becoming more responsible for the music when you play
together! If you cannot play in time, or if you cannot play softly when someone else wants to play a
solo, then you should work on your social skills, not on your slap and tone! There is nothing more
frustrating to a group than someone who plays loudly but is always out of sinc with the group! Or
someone who can play good solo's, but is constantly playing solo without listening to anyone else. Or
someone who is loud but only knows 2 rhythms. A good slap and tone are completely useless if you
cannot play in a group setting and make music together! Good music contains more silence than
notes!
12
Kari Kääriäinen: Basic Technique for Djembe
Kari Kääriäinen (Finland)
The Basic Technique for Djembe learning
material kit introduces the three basic strokes
played on the djembe drum originating in West
Africa. It also illustrates some aspects of
economic playing technique.
The tone, slap and bass
The djembe has three primary tones: the (closed) tone, the slap (or open) tone and the bass tone.
In French and English, the following expressions are used:
French
English
closed
tonique, tonic, ton, fermé
closed, tone (also open, cf. conga)
open
claque, claqué, ouvert, clac
open, slap
bass
basse
bass
There is no established way of indicating these terms. In this learning material, the English terms
used are the slap, tone and bass.
The tone is a medium high-pitched, round, "matt" sound while slap is a high-pitched, open, sharp
whiplash-like sound and bass is a low, round sound. The tone and slap are played on the edge of
the drumhead, the bass in the centre.
13
How to do it
Tone
Where to strike: The fingers meet the edge of the drumhead simultaneously covering as large an
area as possible. The part of the fingers that touch the edge of the drum extend up to the bend at
the root of the proximal phalanx (first finger bone) of the middle finger, but no further towards the
palm.
From the player's perspective the tone looks like this at the time when the hand hits the
drumhead:
Technique: Try clapping one hand against the other to find out how the tone is played; the feel on
the drumhead is very near to this. Keep your fingers together without squeezing. Point your
thumbs slightly upwards to prevent them from hitting the rim. You may use substantial force in
producing the sound.
14
Slap
Where to strike: In the slap, the hand hits the centre of the drumhead 1-1.5 cm closer than in
the tone. The edge of the drum should be hit with the fleshy part of your palm which is on the
same level as your knuckles on the other side of your palm. The bones in your hand arch just the
opposite way than the edge of the drum, but try to do it so that as much of the fleshy part of your
palm as possible can receive support from the rim. Fingers are free to move and whip the skin
even when the palm movement stops.
From the player's perspective the slap looks like this at the time when the hand hits the drumhead:
Technique: Even though the slap sounds louder, the feel should be lighter than in producing the
tone. Do not press your fingers together, but allow the fingers to relax into a slight curve. Do not
spread your fingers too wide apart or straighten them because this makes them too tense. Keep
your wrist in a slightly lower position than in the tone to allow a slightly wider angle where your
fingers and the drumhead meet. Remember to keep your thumbs up.
Take care that you do not draw your hand too far away from the drumhead, because doing this
makes your hand land on the rim with the area between the knuckle and the first joint of your
finger. Although you may find playing the slap easier when the fingertips hit nearer to the edge, it
will hurt your hand and forces your hand and fingers to partially cancel out each other. The edge of
the drum will force your finger upwards just when it should be moving downwards.
Do not move your hand too far towards the centre of the drum. This focuses the weight on the
fingertips and the slap loses sharpness. This also strains the last joints of your fingers.
Avoid making an active movement with your fingers, in other words, snapping the drumhead
surface. You should try to find an ideal tension: not too stiff which prevents the fingers from
touching the drumhead, but not overly loose either.
15
Bass
Where to strike: The best sound is produced right in the centre, but it is often practical to hit
where both hands have room for quick repetition of bass strokes.
Technique: Keep your palm stiff and flat and try to make the entire drumhead vibrate so that
even the lowest frequencies can be heard. Strike firmly but avoid overdoing it: the volume will not
grow endlessly by increasing the striking power.
The arm movement
Avoid tensing your arms so that your upper arms become rigid and only your forearms move
vertically.
A more economic way of playing is keeping your elbows clearly apart from your sides with the
elbows and palms moving almost in opposite directions. When the palm moves up and down to the
whole extent, the elbow moves in the opposite direction some 5 cm. The arm rotates around an
imagined axle which starts from the shoulder and runs through the forearm at a point which is
some 5 cm from the elbow towards the palm. In the opposite sides of the axle, the arm masses
balance each other during the movement, which makes the movement lighter but maintains the
speed of the palm movement.
16
Fore Foté
Bass
17
Tone
18
Slap
19
www.afrodesign.com
How to hold the drum
The most commonly used drums in Ghana are the Djembe and the Panlogo.
Hold your drum between your knees and incline it at a slight angle, facing away from
you. This opens up the hole of the bottom of the drum, allowing the sound to come
through. The body should be relaxed. If not, get a massage while playing, this works
very well!
The three basic strokes
A Djembe or a Ponlogo can each produce an infinite number of sounds, probably more
than a western drum kit. For our purposes here, we will describe the three basic strokes:
OPEN - a high pitched tone
SLAP - harsh staccato and loud
BASS - a deep resonant tone
THE OPEN
The open stroke has a high pitched ringing tone. It is played with the fingers straight
and together, hitting the periphery of the drum in a bouncy motion. As you can see on
the picture, the bases of the fingers come into contact with the edge of the drum. The
thick line on the picture of the inside of the hand shows where the drum impacts the
hand.
20
THE SLAP
This is the most difficult of the three techniques. When played correctly, the slap is
short, sharp and loud. The sound should not be continuous. The heel of the hand
impacts against the edge of the drum as the fingertips grasp the skin, Bring your fingers
toward the edge as if you were try to pull the skin up. This takes practice!
THE BASS
This is a deep, resonant sound which can be felt low down in the body, The hand is
cupped and strikes the center of the drum firmly before bouncing back again. For all
these sounds you are advised to listen to audio if your sound is approximately like mine,
then you are doing well.
21
Tubabu (Slovakia)
Zpùsob hry na djembe
Na djembe se hraje zásadnì dlanìmi a prsty. (V Senegalu má pùvod
sabar, buben tvarem podobný djembe, na který se však hraje jednou rukou
a jednou tenèí, pružnou døevìnou palièkou èi spíše proutkem). Pøi høe na
djembe rozeznáváme tøi základní zvuky (pro které se používají nejrùznìjší
názvy) - basový, støedový a výškový: Basový (bas) - ten se vytváøí úderem
celou, uvolnìnou dlaní doprostøed bubnu. Po úderu nesmí ruka zùstat ležet
na kùži, jinak se buben nerozezní. Støedový (tom, ve francouzské
terminologii tonic) - pøi nìm naráží konec dlanì o hranu djembe, prsty jsou
pevnì nataženy a u sebe. Dlaò dopadá na hranu tak, že klouby jsou buï tìsnì
nad nebo tìsnì pod hranou (jinak by došlo k bolestivým obraženinám).
Výškový (slap, klake) - vytváøí se podobným zpùsobem jako støedový.
Poloha ruky se témìø nemìní, avšak prsty jsou uvolnìné a úhel mezi prsty a
kùží pøi dopadu ruky na hranu je o nìco vìtší. Pøi úderu prsty pouze
šlehnou o kùži, èímž se dociluje razantního a prùrazného zvuku. (Znamená
to tedy, že nejvyšší tóny se nevytváøejí koneèky prstù, jako je tomu pøi
høe na konga.) Pøi obou tìchto úderech je dùležité, aby byl palec odtažen
od dlanì, v opaèném pøípadì by docházelo k jeho otluèení o obruè. Pøi høe
všech úderù by mìlo být pøedloktí s dlaní v rovinì.
Tyto základní údery a zvuky jsou potom doplòovány množstvím
dalších úderù, poloúderù a tlumení. Èasto jsou v pauzách používány velice
slabé údery koneèky prstù (tap), které vytváøejí další zvukový efekt a
zejména zaèáteèníkùm pomáhají udržet rytmus (tuto techniku hry rozvinul
ve svébytný styl pøedevším Adama Dramé). Vedle toho jsou bìžné tlumené
údery. Pøi nìm buï jedna ruka tlumí dlaní kùži už pøed úderem. Jiný zpùsob
je ten, že ruka po dopadu neodskoèí od kùže a tím ji zatlumí. Pøitom každá
z tìchto technik vytváøí ponìkud odlišné zvuky.
22
The Slap
A beginner's guide to mastering the most difficult stroke on conga or
djembe
Of the three basic strokes on conga or djembe--bass, tone, and slap--the
slap is the most difficult to master and the hardest on your hands. So
take your time learning it and go easy at first. Don't hurt yourself by
hitting the drum too hard too soon.
The slap is produced by bringing your fingertips down onto the drumhead
with a whip-like motion. Only the pad of each fingertip--the fingerprint
section--should make contact with the drumhead. The only other part of
your hand that will make contact with the drum when you make a slap will
be the lower part of your palm--the chubby part. It should make light
contact with the edge of the drumhead just before your fingertips make
contact with the drumhead.
Here's an exercise that will help you get the feel of a slap stroke before
you try the real thing. Rest the chubby part of your palm on the edge of
the drum with your fingers raised, relaxed, and slightly curved. Now-without lifting your palm--bring your fingers down onto the drumhead.
Make sure you make contact with just the fingerprint section of each
finger. Do this exercise with alternating hands until the motion feels
comfortable.
Now for the real thing. Start by lifting your hand two or three inches off
the drum by raising your forearm slightly. At the same time, flex your
wrist and pull your fingers up until your hand makes at least a 45 degree
angle with the drumhead. Keep your fingers relaxed and together or
slightly apart. Your thumb can be pulled up against your fingers or
pointing out away from the hand--whatever's comfortable.
Now throw your fingers down onto the drumhead in a whip-like motion
while you bring the chubby part of your palm into light contact with the
edge of the drum. It may help to imagine that the pad of each fingertip is
a lead weight and the rest of each finger is completely weightless.
When the pads of your fingertips make contact with the drumhead you
have two choices. You can hold them down on the head with a slight
gripping motion. This is called a "closed slap," and it's used by conga
23
drummers. Or you can bounce your fingers off the drumhead
immediately. This is called an "open slap" and it's used by both conga
drummers and djembe players.
When you're practicing slaps, pay attention to each one you make. When
you get a slap that sounds good and feels comfortable, stop and analyze
what you just did. Ask yourself: "What was different that time?" "What
made that one better than the rest?" You might find that you get a better
sound by centering the force of the slap on a particular finger or fingers.
Since everyone's hands are different, ultimately your own body will be
your best teacher.
As you practice, also remember that the sound of the slap comes not
from sheer force but from a relaxed snap of the wrist. If your hands hurt,
you're doing something wrong. So only play as loud as you can play
comfortably. As your technique improves, you'll be able to play louder
with less effort.
24
Djembe Forum (Austria)
Djembe spielen
Für die, die noch nie Djembe gespielt haben oder jene die gerade damit
beginnen, eine Beschreibung der Schlagtechniken, die hauptsächlich auf die
Djembe ausgeführt werden. Die hier befindliche Erklärung ersetzt natürlich
nicht einen persönlichen Unterricht bei einem guten Lehrer, kann aber zur
ersten Orientierung nützlich sein.
BASS: Die Handfläche (Finger geschlossen,
Daumen weggestreckt) schlägt in der Mitte
des Felles auf. Der Druck soll über die ganze
Handfläche verteilt sein und nur durch die
Schwerkraft entstehen. Nach dem Schlag
federt die Hand wieder weg (Ton
"herausziehen"), das Fell soll
nachschwingen. Der Bass entfaltet seine
volle Wirkung, wenn die Djembe nach unten
offen ist, d.h. nach vorne gekippt ist.
OPEN: (offener Schlag, tone) Die
geschlossenen, gestreckten Finger schlagen
mit der gesamte Fingerfläche waagrecht auf
das Fell. Die Fingerwurzeln liegen zirka in
Höhe des Trommelrandes. Die Hand gleich
wieder abheben, damit der Ton satt
nachklingen kann. Der Sound des Open soll
"trocken und erdig" (möglichst obertonfrei)
klingen.
SLAP: Die Finger sind geöffnet und locker
ausgestreckt. Die Handführung zum Fell
erfolgt ähnlich wie beim open. Unterschied
beim Slap ist, das die geöffneten Finger auf
das Fell "schnalzen", das Handgelenk liegt
unter dem Trommelrand (leicht steilere
Handhaltung als beim offenen Schlag). Die
Hand wird wieder abgehoben um das Fell
nachschwingen zu lassen. Der Slap soll
klingen wie ein "Knacken". (Stellung der
Finger am Foto leicht "überzeichnet")
"gedämpfter" Slap: Anschlag wie oben jedoch dämpft die freie Hand das Fell in der
Mitte während des Schlages ab.
TAP: Dabei berühren die Fingerspitzen ganz
leicht das Fell. Taps werden als Füll- oder
Zwischenschläge eingesetzt und haben
keinen Sound (sind fast nicht hörbar).
25
Djembe Forum (Polska)
Wydobywamy podstawowe dźwięki
01-09-2004 by Zdzisiu; Żródło
Jak już przerabialiśmy na poprzednich warsztatach, dzięki charakterystycznej budowie, w kształcie
zbliżonym do kielicha, można wydobyć z djemby szerokie spektrum dźwięków. Przyjeło się, że
podstawowymi dźwiękami są:
- głęboki, nisko brzmiący „bas”,
- średniej wysokości „ton” (czasem zwany „otwartym” lub „open”),
- bardzo wysoki, ostry „slap”.
Bas - jest najniżej brzmiącym uderzeniem. Wydobywamy go uderzając otwartą dłonią, całą jej
powierzchnią (łącznie z palcami) w środkową część membrany bębna. Dłoń, zaraz po uderzeniu,
powinna odbić się od skóry, aby nie tłumić powstałego dźwięku. Palce dłoni powinny być złączone.
Ton – zwany też „open”, uzyskujemy go przez uderzenie w bęben przy jego krawędzi. Dłoń
powinna być wyprostowana a palce złączone (poza kciukiem, który należy odchylić, aby nie uległ
kontuzji, co bardzo często zdarza się u początkujących). W momencie uderzenia, krawędź bębna
powinna znajdować się nieco poniżej palców, pod „poduszkami”, a palce w momencie uderzenia,
powinny dotykac membrany całą swoją powierzchnią.
Slap – jest najwyżej brzmiącym (nawet lekko metalicznym) i najgłośniejszym uderzeniem.
Uzyskujemy go uderzając podobnie jak w przypadku „tonu”, przy krawędzi bębna. Różnica polega
na tym, że palce są rozłączone i razem z dłonią tworzą jakby lekki łuk, tak że o membranę
uderzają jako pierwsze opuszki palców (zamiast całych palców, jak jest to w „tonie”), dopiero za
opuszkami, dolatuje „reszta” palców. Bardzo częstym błędem u początkujących jest wyginanie dłoni
w łuk na siłę. Wygięcie powinno powstawać z częściowego rozluzowania górnych mięśni dłoni, które
przy graniu „tonu” prostują ją.
Bas
Ton
Slap
DODATKOWE UWAGI:
•
Bardzo trudno jest na początku wydobywać czyste „slapy” oraz „tony”. Kluczem, do
nauczenia się ich, jest odpowiednie rozluźnienie mieśni, odpowiednie rozwarcie palców i
bardzo dużo praktyki :)
•
Pamiętajmy, aby nie spinać mięśni dłoni, jak i całej ręki, powinny być możliwie
maksymalnie rozluźnione.
26
Larry Swanson (Sweden)
Djembe Technique
Developing good djembe technique is crucial if you want to be an in-demand djembe
accompanist or if you want to solo for dance classes or in performance. Bass, tone, and
slap are the alphabet for your djembe vocabulary.
Body Mechanics & Breathing
Before you even touch your drum, get warmed up and get grounded. Walk around the
block. Run in place. Swing your arms freely. Shake out your shoulders, arms, wrists, and
fingers. Do some yoga or tai chi. Meditate. Do whatever it is you do to get centered and
grounded in your body before you start drumming.
Before you start to play a djembe, you need to be comfortable and properly oriented to
your drum. Sitting on a stool or armless chair that is the right height for you and your
drum, tilt your drum slightly away from you and pull your upper arms laterally away
from your torso about 6-8 inches. Your hands should rest comfortably flat on the head of
the drum at a 90-degree angle to each other, with your forearm forming a straight line
from the elbow to the fingertips. To end up with this positioning, you may need to
experiment with different chairs and stools, or you may want to get an adjustable-height
stool or drum throne.
You can also play the djembe standing up with the drum hanging from a strap. Many
players use a long strap that wraps around their drum and over their shoulders. You can
also use a shorter strap that just goes around your waist. In either case, the drum ends up
hanging between your legs. Adjust the length of the strap so that your arms rest
comfortably flat on the head of the drum at a 90-degree angle to each other, with your
forearm forming a straight line from the elbow to the fingertips.
Remember to breathe. At a physiological level, djembe playing is a vigorous activity, so
you'll need all the oxygen you can get. From a mechanical perspective, if you're holding
your breath you'll mess up your mechanics and your playing won't be relaxed.
Finally, don't wear rings or other jewelry on our hands and arms when playing a djembe,
since they can damage the head of the drum. Also, maintain your drum so that it is
properly tuned and otherwise ready to play. The drums.org web site has good tips on how
to maintain your djembe. Perhaps the most important step you can take to protect your
djembe is to invest in a high-quality padded bag.
Fundamentals of Djembe Technique
Most djembe sounds are open and unmuffled. For all of the basic sounds, let your hand
rebound as soon as it has made its sound. A bass should rebound like it's coming off a
trampoline. A tone should jump up like you've just touched a hot stove. A slap should
snap back like the end of a cracking bullwhip.
Most djembe patterns are played out of "the roll," meaning that if you filled every note in
a measure, your hands would alternate left and right. In 4/4 time this means that the
27
downbeat and the "+" beat (if you count 1 e + a 2 e + a etc.) are played with the right
hand (if you are right-handed), while the offbeats (the e's and a's) are played with the left
hand. (The term "roll" can also refer to double-time notes; see my djembe roll exercise
page for more on this.)
You want all of your basses, tones, and slaps to have the same tone, pitch, and character
each time you play them, so it's very important to practice as much or more with your
non-dominant hand so that every note sounds the same, regardless of which hand you're
using.
Djembe Bass
The bass is the lowest-pitched djembe sound. To make a bass sound on a djembe, drop
your hand down in the middle of the drum, with the base of the palm of the hand just
inside the rim of the drum. The thumb is tucked in, parallel (or almost parallel) to the
fingers. The four fingers are together. All of the palm, the fingers, and the fingertips hit
the drum head at once with a soft yet firm intention. Don't reach all the way to center of
the drum to make a bass sound; just get the bottom of the palm of your hand inside the
rim of the drum. Keep your hand soft and flat or else you can end up with slapping or
other extraneous sounds. As soon as your hand hits the drum head, let it rebound like it's
doing a belly flop on a trampoline. The movement to make a bass sound starts at elbow,
but the wrist should lift up a bit more than the hand itself; imagine a marionette string
attached at the wrist lifting the hand, and then just let it drop straight down on to the drum
head.
Djembe Tone
The tone is the middle djembe sound. Many of my teachers call the tone the natural sound
of the drum - the default sound it would like to make. But please note that, as Seattle
djembefola Lance Scott points out, "This doesn't mean that making a good tone is any
easier than making a good slap. The kind of sound most beginning drummers make when
hitting a drum is somewhere between a tone and a slap (usually closer to the tone). To get
a good, deep tone without any higher overtones takes a lot of practice."
To make a tone sound on a djembe, form a straight line from your elbow to your
fingertips and keep your forearm, wrist, hand, fingers, and fingertips gently locked as a
single unit. Imagine that your arm is like soft steel and your finger pads and fingertips are
a mallet that will firmly strike the drum head. With your thumb perpendicular to your
fingers (so that it won't hit the rim of the drum), firmly drop your hand onto the drum
head with the pads at the base of your fingers landing just outside of the rim of the drum.
Your fingers stay together throughout the motion so that the four of them form a sort of
paddle. The angle of force is straight down into and through the head of the drum. As
soon as your fingers hit the drum, they should rebound as if you had just touched a hot
stove.
Djembe Slap
The slap is the highest-pitched djembe sound. To make a djembe slap sound, assume the
same arm position that you did to make a tone and then relax the wrist and let it drop
down so that the palm of the hand is extended back about 10 or 15 degrees. Relax your
28
fingers and let them naturally spread out and curve. With a flicking/whipping motion,
drop your hand onto the drum head with the pads at the base of your fingers landing on
(or just outside) the rim of the drum. Only your fingertips should hit the drum head (in
extreme slow-motion they land in this order: pinky, ring, middle, index finger). As soon
as your fingertips hit the drum head they should rebound like the tip of a bullwhip. The
direction of force is at a slight angle to the head of the drum (unlike the tone, which goes
straight down into the drum).
My teachers have differed on exactly where the hand should land to make a slap sound.
Some say the pads at the top of the palm/base of the fingers should be in just a bit from
where they are to make a tone. Others say they should land in the same place as they do
when you make a tone. Experiment with this to find the position that works best for you.
Your goal is to end up with a crisp, clear, clacking slap.
Muffled Slap
To make a muffled slap on a djembe, use the same technique as for a regular slap, but
place the other hand on the drum head to muffle the sound. The trick here is to deftly slip
the opposite hand onto the drum without making a sound. Use a swooping motion coming in at a flat angle - to quickly and quietly slip the non-playing hand on to the drum
head, and then make your muffled slap.
Difference Between Tone and Slap
I hope it's clear in my descriptions above how tones and slaps differ, but it's useful to
spend some extra time on the differences between tones and slaps. The main differences
are in the:
•
•
•
•
angle of attack: straight down into the drum head for a tone, at a slight oblique angle for a slap
tension in the forearm: strong tension for a tone, relaxed for a slap
curve of the fingers: straight for a tone, curved for a slap
amount of flesh that hits the drum head: all of the fingerpads and fingertips for a tone, just the fingertips for a slap.
For Mamady Keita, it's the intention that makes the difference. He holds his hands the
exact same way for each sound, but when he thinks tone, he makes a tone; when he thinks
slap, he makes a slap. However you get there, the end result should be a thudding melodic
tone and crackling crisp slap.
Vocalization
Many djembe teachers and students find some sort of vocalization helpful. Baba Olatunji
used to say, "If you can say it, you can play it," and he developed his Gun/Dun, Pa/Ta,
Go/Do system to help students sing rhythms before playing them. Most of the djembe
teachers I have had use some sort of vocalization scheme. To keep things simple, I
recommend adopting your current teacher's vocalization style, but if you have a lot of
teachers, you might also want to develop your own for your ongoing learning.
Many experienced djembe players vocalize as they play. When Pepe Danza solos, he's
vocalizing non-stop. Ibrahima Camara says, "If I don't talk, I cannot play." So if you see
djembe players muttering to themselves as they play, don't question their sanity; just
29
assume that they're working out their phrasing.
Find a Good Teacher
Neither this article nor any other written or recorded source is a substitute for a good
teacher. There are subtleties and refinements to djembe playing that you can develop only
under the tutelage of an experienced teacher. If you really want to master the sounds of
the djembe, find a good teacher.
Practice
Like any musical skill, mastering djembe technique requires lots of practice. The more
you practice, the better you'll sound. Tyler Richart, one of the most accomplished djembe
players in Seattle, still spends an hour a day just working on his basic djembe sounds.
When he teaches djembe soloing, Tyler points out that your djembe sounds are your
alphabet to make the words that you use to tell your story. If you haven't mastered your
djembe technique, your story will sound like you're talking with a mouthful of gravel.
Sources
I am grateful to the many djembe and other hand-drumming teachers I have studied with
over the years. In roughly chronological order they are Simone LaDrumma, Bill
Matthews, Babatunde Olatunji, Sanga of the Valley, Thione Diop, Geoff Johns, Gordy
Ryan, Mamady Keita, Rusty Knorr, Rusty Eklund, Pepe Danza, Tyler Richart, and
Ibrahima Camara. I have also learned a lot from the djembe players I have played with
for Seattle dance classes: Carold Nelson, John van Broekhoven, Thierno Diop, Ryan
Harvey, Thaddeus Honeycutt, and many others. I am also grateful to Seattle's two great
dununfolas - Frank Anderson and Marc Langeman - for their support and help.
30
Wil Howitt
Getting Started
First, of course, you need a drum! If you already have a djembe or an ashiko (a similar kind of African drum), you're all set. If
not, you may want to look in a local music store, or look at the pointers at the end of this document.
Before playing your drum, be sure to take off any rings you may be wearing. Only your skin should touch the
drum's.
Posture
It's important to be aware of your body and your posture while playing. It can be hard work! If your drum has a strap, you can
play it sitting or standing. If it has no strap, you must sit to play. If you are sitting, you will want a chair with room underneath
it for the drum, which goes between your legs. Try to perch on the edge of the chair, with your back straight. You can cross
your ankles to hold the drum in place if you don't have a strap.
Basic Tones
The djembe is played with three basic tones, so we will start by learning each tone in isolation. In this lesson we'll call them
"gun" (rhymes with "moon") which is the low bass note, "go" which is the middle note, and "pa" which is the high note.
Each description comes with an applet which shows the hand position on the drumhead. Click on it to hear the
sound.
Gun, the bass note
Gun is the wonderfully satisfying deep bass note, which you play by hitting the middle of the drumhead with your palm. Try to
simply let your hand fall on the drumhead and bounce up a bit.
Gun is the tone that "speaks" through the hole at the bottom of your djembe, so be sure that the bottom of your
djembe is open to the air. If you put your hand over the bottom hole, you should be able to feel the air moving
when you play.
Practice a while until you can bring out the deep, rich bass sound without much of the high ringy overtones.
31
Go, the middle tone
Go is the main, middle tone, which gets used a lot in many rhythms. You play it with your fingers on the edge of the
drumhead, so that the rim lands on the fleshy part of your fingers.
Try not to let the rim hit your knuckles. Even though your palm is padded, the rim can bruise your knuckles in
short order.
Pa, the "slap" or high tone
Pa is sometimes called "slap" because that's just what it feels like! Slap the drumhead with your fingers together, using
whippy motion of your forearm, and let them bounce right up again.
The rim should land in the center of your palm. Be sure to keep your thumb back out of the way, as the picture
shows. If your thumb hits the rim, you may get bad bruises.
32
www.kanyinsola.com
Playing position
Sit on the edge of a chair and stand the djembe on the floor between your legs. Tilt the djembe forward, away from you.
Hook one leg behind the djembe, so it loosely rests between both your knees and one lower leg behind the djembe. The
tilted position (about 20-30 degrees) allows the bass sound to come out of the bottom opening.
Imagine the skin on top of the djembe forming a
plane into infinity. Your arms and hands should
be level with this plane or even above it, and not
below it.
Stick out your elbows until the elbows are in
line with this plane. Keep your shoulders down
and relaxed. Rest your hands on the djembe
edge, with all fingers flat on the skin, and about
half the palm outside the skin in the air. The tip
of the thumb rests lightly on/against the edge of
the djembe. The fleshy mounds on the palm,
underneath the knuckles, rest on the edge of the
skin. The wrists are in line with the plane of the
skin. Your arms and hands will make a 90
degree angle between them, and point to the
centre of the djembe skin.
The general playing movement (more about that
later) is initiated by the wrist. Bring the wrist up
slowly. The hand follows. Bring the wrist down
slowly. The hand follows. It is a wave-like
movement which will develop into a whip-like
movement later. Do not "lock" the arm and wrist
into position and move the fingers up and down
only, but involve your whole hand, wrist, arm
and even your body. Your "consciousness" for
the movement is in the wrist, not in the fingers!
Dabi Kanynsola, Quebec, Canada
33
Basic Drumming Strokes For Jembe
OPEN/TONE
:Played near the rim but not on it,fingers together.
SLAP
:Played near the rim but futher in than
open.
How to play the bass
The most important thing to remember is that the fingers have no real "weight" or "mass" to drive a loud bass. The palm,
wrist and forearm do! So the real impact for the bass is at the lower part of the palm, where it connects to the wrist.
To play the bass, keep the fingers and thumb together, the hand is stretched but not completely flat, there is a
slight hollow underneath the palm and fingers. The complete hand hits the centre of the djembe skin at once, but
the force is with the lower palm area. Let the skin itself provide the power to move your hand away again, like a
trampoline. You should neither force your hand to stay on the skin, nor have to move it away from the skin
yourself. The fingers should hit the djembe at the same moment that the palm does. There should be no extra
sounds of fingers on the skin before or after the bass.
It is important that your hand does not move sideways, forward or backward whilst playing the bass! Any sliding
of the hand or fingers across the skin will result in blisters after prolonged play. Sliding also dampens the bass
again.
The full force to create a loud bass is in fact in the lower part of your palm. This transfers the full mass and
weight of you wrist and forearm into the skin.
Where is the sound? One of the problems when you start playing the djembe, is not knowing where the sounds
really are on a drum. Here is a little experiment to show you where they are. Stand the djembe on the floor, and
take a timbales stick. Any wooden (drum) stick will do, or even the handle (stick) of a wooden cooking spoon!
Make sure the tip is rounded so you won't damage the skin, and the stick is straight. Look carefully at the
pictures to see where you hold the stick (at the left side of the picture) and how much of the stick is actually over
the djembe.
Overview
The tone and slap are each others opposites in virtually everything. But there are two things that do not differ:
Both tone and slap can be played using the exact same position of the hand relative to the djembe How hard you
hit controls the volume, not the sound, although slaps are easier if you put some force into them. What differs is
everthing else! Here is a schematic overview and summary of the differences.
34
Tone
Slap
Part of the skin to hit Area from the rim to 1 inch inwards.
Area from 1 inch to 2 inches inwards. The 1 inch area next to
the rim stays free.
Part of the fingers to hit with (mostly) Index and
Middle and ring finger, the top 2 sections of the
middle finger, the section connected to the palm only.
fingers.
How to hit the skin Hit and hold and dampen. The
Hit fast and bounce of immediately. The wrist travels
wrist travels further downwards.
further upwards.
Direction of wrist travel when hitting From the centre
From the edge towards the centre ("push") and
towards the edge ("pull") and downwards.
upwards.
Basic hand position exercises Here are simple exercises. These exercises are the first steps in learning to position
your hand. Do not expect them to create a full tone or slap yet! Just practice them to get your hand position
correct. Note that the largest block in the drawing is the palm.
For the tone, put the palm and fingers flat on a table.
For the slap, start with the palm and fingers flat on the
Keep the fingers together, and the whole hand and
table. Next, make a tent shape by lifting all knuckles
fingers slightly stiff. Now curve the whole hand
clear of the table so the hand is slightly hollow
upwards slightly. Only the 1st section of the index and
underneath. Lift the index and little fingers too. Just
middle finger press down on the table (the section
keep the top 2 sections of middle and ring fingers on
connected to the palm), the rest of the fingers, and the the table, and the wrist. The fingers are slightly spread,
palm, thumb and wrist, are clear off the table as much
like 1mm only, not too far!
as possible. This is difficult, and there is very little
clearance underneath, but it can be done!
The overall difference between tone and slap position is minimal, like 1 or 2 mm difference in height away from
the table. But everything in the hand and finger positions is different! Practice these positions until you become
comfortable in changing from one to the other. You will notice that both positions depend on the fingers ability
to curve upward slightly. So practice some hand and finger stretching and relaxation exercises to facilitate this.
Practice the positions too when you practice a rhythm on your legs. Even when you hit your legs very lightly,
you should already hear a difference in sound! Practice these positions using some simple rhythms that you
know. Do it very slowly so you have ample time to change the hand and finger positions properly. The main aim
at this point is to teach your muscles to remember these positions so that they become natural.
There is one extremely important thing to remember, and to practice, and that is relaxation. Keep the wrist, hand,
palm and fingers as relaxed as possible, whilst still keeping the correct position. If you want to hit hard, you will
be afraid of hurting your hand. This will make you tense your hand, and this in turn will actually cause pain
rather than avoid it. So practice softly on the djembe at first, until you become confident. The best way to relax is
to play from the wrist. Move the wrist up and down, and let the palm and fingers follow naturally after the wrist,
as relaxed as possible. At the moment of impact, a tiny tension in the fingers to position them correctly on the
skin, is sufficient.
The rule to remember, is that relaxation will increase the volume automatically - you don't need to work for it!
The tone
The general movement of the hand is one of rolling from the fingertips towards the palm. It is like walking backwards. The full
power of the fingers is used to depress the skin and create a tone. At the end of the movement, the high frequencies are
dampened because the 1st section of the fingers (the red parts in the hand-picture) stay on the skin. If you have practiced
the wrist exercises earlier, this will become much easier to do.
35
Keep the fingers next to each other, the hand and fingers almost flat. Move the hand and arm down in the
direction of the arrow, so the fingertips touch the skin first.
The 1st section of the fingers comes to rest on the skin at the edge. The top 2 sections of the fingers are free of
the skin. .
After hitting the skin, the coloured parts of the fingers rest on the edge of the djembe (indicated by a blue line).
The white areas of the fingers do not touch the skin.
The main force of the tone is concentrated in the red-coloured parts in the handpicture: the 1st section of the index and middle fingers. It feels like your hand is every
so slightly tilted towards these fingers. Once the tone is made, you should be able to
hold the djembe only by using the friction of these (red) parts of the fingers on the
skin, pulling slightly towards you. The fingers at stage 2 above are slightly tensioned
or stiff, which prevents them from bouncing off the skin and leaving too many high
overtones in the tone.
So the general movement is down-towards-yourself, hit-and-hold whilst the wrist
travels further down. The wrist then travels further towards yourself, up, then away
from your body, and down again to produce the next tone. The wrist makes a little
circle.
The slap
The general movement of the slap is the reverse of the tone. The initial downward wrist movement changes to an upward
movement whilst the fingertips hit the skin. The momentum and mass of the fingers which are still travelling down, causes
the full length of the top 2 sections to hit the skin. At that moment, the wrist is already travelling upward, aiding the fastest
possible release of the fingers from the skin.
Keep the fingers slightly spread, like 1mm apart. Move hand and arm down in the direction of the arrow. The
fleshy mounds on the palm, under the finger knuckles, hit the djembe edge - but only very lightly, more as a
resting point!
The top two sections of the fingers bend down slightly due to the slap force, and hit the skin as simultaneously as
possible, tips first. The 1st section of the fingers (connected to the palm) stays clear of the skin! The wrist and
palm are already travelling upwards again.
The red parts of the fingers hit the skin as one, super-flat, and at the same time. The orange parts may hit the skin
too, with less emphasis. The white parts of the hand do not touch the skin!
The main force of the slap is concentrated in the red-coloured parts in the hand-picture: the top 2 sections of the
middle and ring fingers. It feels like your hand is every so slightly tilted towards these fingers. Once the slap is
made your fingers bounce off the skin really fast and your wrist continues to travel upwards and slightly away
from you. This upwards movement will aid you in keeping the djembe skin clear at the edge, allowing the slap to
sound properly. As soon as the slap starts to sound like a tone, you are not leaving enough clearance and/or are
playing with the finger knuckles instead of the tips coming down on the skin first.
So the general movement is down-away-from-yourself, hit-and-bounce whilst the wrist travels upwards and
away from you already. The wrist then travels further away from yourself, up, then towards your body, and
down again to produce the next slap. The wrist makes a little circle, but the opposite way from the tone.
Once you get the hang of the movements, the circular travel of the wrist will be reduced to a minimum, it will
become more of a slight emphasis in direction.
36
Playing softly
Playing the tone and slap softly is a lot harder than doing it loudly! Here are some instructions, but as usual you have to
practice, practice, practice! One benefit: if you can play them softly, you will have had so much experience that you will be
able to play them consistently and loud without any more problems!
Playing a soft tone
To play a soft tone, refer to the second picture of the tone above. Hit the skin with the 1st sections of your index and middle
finger at the edge of the djembe, and hold, keeping the hand and fingers stiff. To improve tone quality, very very gradually
relax your fingers a tiny bit in order to increase volume and lower the tone itself. And the "hit" is like a 5 mm travel of your
hand - play really soft.
Playing a soft slap
This is hard - mainly because your hand and fingers may not have the suppleness you need for it yet. Remember the
experiment with the timbales stick where the slap is? The stick had to be like a half mm off the skin when the stick hits the
edge. OK, here is how to simulate that with your hand. Put your hand flat on the skin. Now create the normal "tent shape" for
the slap so that the 1st section of the fingers (connected to the palm) is clear of the skin. Next, keep your knuckles on the
skin but lift the 2 top sections of the fingers as well. What is in contact with the skin at this point is like your little finger full
length, and the middle knuckles of the three fingers only. Your fingers are really bent upwards, even if it is only one-tenth of a
millimeter. Hold this position without over-tensing your muscles, and hit the djembe softly. The finger knuckles will hit the
skin, then the top 2 sections of the fingers will hit the skin and bounce off. Experiment with tiny adjustments until you get a
soft but clear slap sound.
Improvements on the slap
If you have practiced the above exercises, you should be able to create a very different sound for the tone and the slap, and
you should also be able to play both sounds softly without losing too much of the quality of the tone or the slap. Once you
can play both softly, you can be confident that you have mastered them fairly well.
The slap can be further improved by taking note of what the index and little finger are doing. If you keep these
fingers higher than the middle and ring fingers when you hit, you will get a clear and fairly open note. If you
keep these fingers lower than the middle and ring fingers when you hit (so they rest on the skin when the other
fingers hit), you will create a more closed slap sound, dryer, shorter and higher. You can also combine the ring
and little finger to rest on the skin, and the index and middle finger to come down a fraction later.
There are quite a few other elements that change the slap sound. If you have practiced all the exercises, you
should have become so well aware of what your hand and fingers are doing that you will be able to make the tiny
adjustments that improve the sound quality in a conscious manner, as opposed to the unconscious manner that a
beginner uses when they just hit very hard to create a slap.
For example, you can experiment with spreading the fingers more apart. You can experiment with the knuckles
or the tips of the fingers hitting the skin first. You can experiment with the exact position of the hand relative to
the djembe: pointing towards the centre or more angled away towards the rim. You can experiment with the hand
position: more or less of the palm on the skin. And so on. They are very minimal differences, but becoming
aware of them will help you to develop a consistent slap.
37
www.mairie-athis-mons.fr
by Serge Blanc (France)
Sounds and Basic Techniques
The beginning percussionist's most frequent
technical difficulty is mastering the instrument's
different tones. This crucial step is often
mistakenly skipped in favor of learning rhythms,
the possibilities of expression are thus seriously
limited.
The djembe is always played with bare hands.
The right touch is obtained by keeping a perfect
balance between strength and flexibility. You
need to find the right place to play the skin. You
don't have to hit it hard, which would inevitably
injure a beginning player's hands. If these few
guideline are not observed, it is impossible to
play in a continuous balanced fashion and the
beginner may lose motivation.
The Three basic sounds
For these sounds, the hands bounce off the
drum and stay perpendicular to the skin.
•
•
•
The open tone, pronounced "peh".
It is played on the edge of the skin with
the fingers together. The thumb is
"open", away from the fingers.
The slap, pronounced "pah".
It produces a higher sound. The skin is
whipped with the fingertips. The hand
can be slightly more forward than for the
open tone. The thumb is "open", away
from the fingers. Do not cup the hand.
The bass tone, pronounced "pooh".
It is played in the center of the drum with
the entire open flat hand in contact with
the skin. The sound is low.
38
WORKSHOP: MADOU DEMBELE RESIDENCY
PLACE:
NASHVILLE, TN, USA
DATE:
AUGUST 17-29, 1998
Brought to America from Ivory Coast in 1995 by African singer Machanga Camara, Master Drummer
Madou Dembele has been exciting audiences and students with his energetic and electrifying
performances. A djembe soloist for Baba Olatunji and a performer with both the Mask Dance
Company and Sahyini 'Grandmama' Morningstar's Speaking Shield Puppet Theatre in New York,
Madou brought his talents, his energy and his patient yet challenging teaching style to Nashville for a
two-week residency at GLOBAL EDUCATION CENTER. (4822 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville, TN, USA
37209; 615-292-3023;
Madou was in Nashville from August 17 through August 29:
I've been studying percussion (particularly Indian and African) for nearly 30 years and I've learned a
thing or two about fancy rhythms, but when I sit next to Madou and he shifts into high-gear and
unleashes one of his incredibly complex phrases that float effortlessly across the "bars" and then out
of this seeming chaos he lands smack-dab on "one", I begin to wonder if I know anything at all about
rhythm. I'm still in kindergarden.
The beautiful thing about Madou is his generosity. I've had experiences with some teachers who
would hold back and didn't really want to teach their best stuff. Madou, on the other hand, would ask
me before each class what we wanted to learn and we could ask him at any time to demonstrate
something and break it down so we could see exactly what he was doing. His tone production on the
jembe is amazing. He sometimes played my REMO jembe and he made it sound almost like a real
jembe - reinforcing my belief that the sound comes more from the hands than the drum.
To explain the difference in hand-position between tones and slaps, he would hold his arm out
straight - parallel to the floor. There would be a straight line from his forearm to his fingertips.
This is the position for tones. Madou would then let his wrist drop down from this straight
plane (as if to allow the palm to go down along the side of the drum where the metal rings are)
and allow his fingertips to curve down slightly. This is the position for slaps.
Madou did this demonstration at the SJI this year and it totally changed my conception of
tones and slaps as well as the angle I hold the jembe. I had been focussing on the differences
in the hands from the base of the fingers, forward. Now that I'm conscious of these wrist
positions, my ability to move quickly between tones and slaps has improved as well as my
ability to produce tones and slaps from virtually the same spot on the drum instead of
"searching for the slap" by moving forward. I played congas before I played jembe, so the
ability to play the "correct" jembe slap has been an issue for me. Madou also uses a slap that
is farther toward the center and sometimes plays them a little more "closed" when playing
some Ivory Coast styles.
On the last night of his visit, Madou presented a concert with the help of the Nashville students that he
taught at the SJI and Kwame Ahima - our local Ghanian master-drummer. We played a couple of the
fancy arrangements that Madou taught us and everyone played solos, then he taught the audience a
song and answered questions. He explained that the different drumming styles found in West Africa
are a result of the different languages that the drumming emulates. Madou then played an
INCREDIBLE jembe solo. This was an extended version of the one he played at the final concert at
the SJI in June. At the end of this solo, my percussionist friends in the audience were left dumbfounded, bug-eyed and drooling on themselves in bewilderment. We then played Dansa and brought
the whole audience on stage - dancing and singing.
Chris Armstrong
Percussion Coordinator Global Education Center, Nashville, TN, USA
39
www.soundingforms.com
How-To Play the Djembe
By Peter Batty
First let us examine what a Djembe is ?
African Djembe (jem-bay) is a drum famous for its unique
ability and style to produce a wide range of tones from one
drum.
Djembe is Africa's most popular drum. Its huge resounding
shock sharp slaps and bass which is easy to play once you
have a rhythm is a great but unique quality of the drum.
Traditional Djembe is a resident of West Africa: Senegal,
Mali, Ivory Coast and Ghana. Interest in the U.S. centers
around Ladji Camara, a member of Les Ballets Africans in
the 1950's.
The different sounds that are available on a hand drum are
what turns rhythm into music. Mastering the sounds is vital
if your playing is to be pleasant and interesting, even
exciting, to listen to.
Each different type of hand-drum (conga, djembe,
kpanlogo etc.) has a range of different sounds. Even
different examples of the same type of drum may require
subtly different playing technique to produce the various
sounds. But the sounds themselves are broadly common
to all hand-drums, and the techniques of playing them are
similar. If you master them on one drum, it is relatively
easy to play the equivalent sounds on another.
The following list describes how to play the most frequently
used sounds on the djembe, as follows:
•
•
•
the sounds where your hand or fingers "bounce" on
the skin, remaining in contact with it for as little time
as possible
the sounds where you deliberately "trap" the skin
with the fingers
several other common playing techniques
(Note: For two of the sounds, I use names which are
translations from French as used in Cote d'Ivoire, rather
than the more commonly used English ones; the French
ones are, in my opinion, more pleasantly descriptive. The
equivalent, English names are also given.)
40
"BOUNCED" SOUNDS
BASS
is played with the full hand in the centre of the drum
head. It can be played:
o with a flat hand, so that the palm is the main point
of contact with the skin.
o with the fingers bent slightly back, so that the
fleshy mounds at the base of the fingers are the
main point of contact.
o with a cupped hand, so that the edges of the
palm are the main point of contact.
The centre of the skin has what is known as a "sweet
spot", at which the sound is fullest. Search out the
"sweet spot" on your drum. It's worth it.
DARK (also know as "open")
is played at the edge of the drum head, with a flat hand
and the fingers together. The quality of the sound varies
according to how far onto the head your fingers extend.
Using only the area from the middle knuckle to the tip
produces a lighter sound; using the full length of your
fingers produces a stronger, fuller sound.
LIGHT (also know as "slap")
is also played at the edge of the drum, with your fingers
relaxed and slightly spread. This is usually the hardest
sound for beginners to produce. Bring your hand down
onto the drum so that the middle of the palm contacts
the wooden rim of the drum head first (keep your
thumbs out of the way!). At this stage, no sound has
been produced. But, because your fingers are relaxed,
the momentum of your movement carries them on, and
they flick onto the skin, like a whiplash, producing a
sharp, "crack" sound.
There are many varieties of this sound, mostly to do with
how spread the fingers are. Conga players, for instance,
tend not to have their fingers spread at all. This
produces a drier sound, often called a "closed slap". It is
also possible on the djembe. Experiment!
TOUCH
this is a very light touch with the fingertips, played
anywhere on the drum; it is used to "fill in" between the
main sounds
RIM
is quite a gentle sound, played at the edge of the skin,
using only one or two fingers
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"TRAPPED" SOUNDS
SOFT TRAP
uses the same hand shape as the LIGHT sound, the
fingers lightly trap the skin, rather than bouncing off.
Often played with a slight trill, or even a brushing
motion, of the fingertips.
HARD TRAP
is like the SOFT TRAP, but done with considerably more
force. This sound is often played by holding the skin with
one hand and playing the stroke with the other. It
produces a very sharp, "crack" sound.
OTHER TECHNIQUES
There are a number of other common rhythmic techniques
used on hand drums. Perhaps the most frequently used
are:
FLAM
To play a flam, both hands are used to play two sounds
almost, but deliberately not quite, simultaneously. It is
most frequently played using DARK, LIGHT or SOFT
TRAP sounds.
DOUBLE
The double is a technique in which you play two notes at
double the speed of those around them, using the same
hand. It can be played with any of the "bounced"
sounds, in either hand.
ROLL
The roll is a technique where a number of notes (often
four, sometimes six or eight) are played at double the
speed of those around them, alternating hands. It is
usually played using DARK or LIGHT sounds, and
occasionally the RIM sound. Rolls can start in either
hand.
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Percussions de Guinee
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How to Play a Djembe Drum
There are 3 basic sounds made on the djembe; bass, tone, and slap. These 3
sounds are made by hitting the djembe different ways. Below are some pictures that
might help you master the techniques. When playing you can position the drum many
ways but always make sure to have the bottom of the djembe slightly tipped up so
that sound can go through the bottom.
BASS
Make sure your hand is almost flat with
the palm slightly below the rest of the
hand. Hit the drum directly in the center of
the drum, it should produce a hollow bass
sound
TONE
This should produce a higher pitch, cup
your hand slightly and hit the edge of the
drum, the center joints of your fingers
should be on the corner of the skin and
the edge of the drum
SLAP
This is the most challenging sound to
produce and will take a little practice. You
want all your fingers from the edge of
your middle finger to the pinky to hit the
drum. You want to hit in between the
direct center and the edge.
You want to pull your hand back and just
swipe this area of the drum with your
hand, this should produce a slap sound.
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Techniques & Rhythms
The djembe is played with bare hands (no jewellery, as this can scratch the drum
skin or even break the jewellery).
Mastering the correct drumming techniques to distinguish between the different tones
can take practice, however, a beginner can produce a good range of sounds on a
good drum in a short time with guidance. The key is finding the right place to hit the
drum skin and the correct hand position to produce the different tones.
The following pictures show the three basic hand positions and give a description of
how to strike the drum. Of course, learning from expert enables the beginner to listen
to the different tones and match the sounds they are producing with those of the
master drummer.
The Bass Tone (Gun and Dun - see the Language of
drumming)
The bass tone is the lowest sound and is played in the centre
of the drumhead. Strike the drumhead with the entire flat of
the hand with the fingers almost touching. Keep the hand
relaxed and bounce the whole hand straight off the drumhead
so that the sound is not damped.
The Open Tone (Go and Do - see the Language of
drumming)
This is a higher sound, produced by striking the drum towards
the edge of the drumhead. Keep the fingers together and the
thumb out of the way. Bounce the hand straight off the drum
to produce a clear sound.
The Slap (Pa and Ta - see the Language of drumming)
This is a sharp sound produced by whipping the drumhead
with the fingers. Strike the drum with the hand at a slightly
inward angle, making contact with the side of the palm and
the little finger, whipping the fingers down onto the drumhead.
Keep the hand relaxed, the fingers apart and the thumb well
out of the way. The 'slap' can take a little more practice than
the bass and open tones.
…Remember - if you hit the drum too hard you will hurt your hands!
Practising the different drumming strokes
The following exercise is designed to help practise distinguishing between these
three tones. As you become more proficient, increase the speed, keeping the
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different sounds for the three drum strokes.
A Traditional West African Rhythm
Soli is a traditional rhythm played throughout the Maninka country, specifically for
excision or circumcision events. The festivities include much singing and dancing and
begin seven days before the initiation ceremony. In Mali, this rhythm is known as
Suku or Fura.
The rhythm is notated in a grid with each box representing the same amount of time.
The individual drum strokes are indicated by the mnemonics (see the Language of
drumming)
Practise this rhythm one part at a time, starting very slowly and gradually increasing
the speed.
The Language of Drumming
Music is a universal language that crosses boundaries and cultural divides.
Drumming could be regarded as a 'vibrational' language providing us with new ways
to enjoy communicating, to express our feelings and to interact effectively with
friends, family, our community, colleagues and strangers from all over the world.
The connection between words and music can also be used to remember and to
describe drumming patterns - many places and cultures use their own drum language
that imitates the sound produced by the drum and tells you where on the drum to play
it.
The following example shows the three basic hand positions used on djembe drums
and the sounds associated with each of them:
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Using mnemonics can make it much easier to remember the sequence of hand
positions and drumming tones in complex rhythms.
Chunking (breaking down) complex longer rhythms into shorter sections (phrases)
using mnemonics or word patterns can enable us to remember, replicate and perform
complex rhythms we never imagined possible. Transforming messages, phrases and
even company slogans into rhythmic patterns helps to remember them.
Learning from the Master
Traditional West African drumming rhythms are
taught by rote and learned from a master
drummer or passed down from drummer to
drummer. The oral tradition remains the most
important and frequently used. In order to make
these patterns accessible and easy to
remember, some people find it easier to use
mnemonics or simple word patterns or phrases.
Our preferences for patterns of learning will
mean that different people learn rhythms in
different ways. For example, the visual learner
may watch the rhythms performed and copy the
hand patterns, the kinaesthetic learner may feel
the different hand positions and learn the
rhythm through touch, whereas the auditory
learner may listen to and copy the different
sounds of drum strokes. Combining these
learning styles and using word patterns and
mnemonics increases our range of learning
strategies enabling us to perform the rhythms
ourselves.
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How to play the drums :
Most drums are played by hand though some times sticks are used to play some few types of
drums.
When you play the drums, you need to first of all relax your hands and fingers. Then hold your
fingers close together and then strike the top of the drum. You must not hit the drum too hard
because that will hurt your hands.
Once you have hit the drum you must let your hands bounce off the top of the drum head and allow
the drum to resonate. If you do not bounce your hand off the drum, it will produce a dead sound.
When you hit the top of the drum you must try to produce 2 major sounds. The bass sound which is
achieved by striking the drum in the middle, especially if it is a Djembe and an open sound which
is achieved by striking the drum between the centre and the edge of the drum.
The other sound that can be obtained is the slap sound which takes a lot of practice to be produced.
This is obtained by slightly cupping the hand and then striking the drum with the fingers. The slap
sound can sometimes be obtained by resting your weaker hand in the middle of the drum and then
striking the side or open sound position of the drum with your other hand.
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Gun (pronounced "goon")
The gun stroke is the base note. Using the weight
of your arm, strike the center of the drum with
your open palm and feel your hand rebound off
the skin to call out the voice of the drum. Keep
your hand open and relaxed while playing the
gun stroke.
Go Do (pronounced "go-doe")
Hold your fingers together as you strike the
edge of the drum to create a resonant open
sound. The edge of the drum should contact
the fleshy part of the base of the fingers
between the two joints closest to the hand.
Careful attention to this method will help you
avoid injury to your hands!
Pa Ta (pronounced "pah-tah")
Pa ta is a bright, clear stroke. With your fingers
firm but a little more curved and relaxed, strike
the edge of the drum with the fleshy part of the
hand, just below the fingers. Keep your thumbs
up and allow your fingers to pop down and
quickly rebound off the drum.
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Položaj
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Uspravno sjesti na rub stolice. Uspravno držanje
tijela vrlo je važno zbog pravilnog disanja i opuštenog
sviranja.
Staviti djembe između nogu i nagnuti ga prema
naprijed (ovo je važno zbog rezonancije basova).
Prirodno spustiti ruke na rub djembea.
Primaknuti djembe tijelu tako da su ruke u udobnom
položaju na rubu.
Dobro je vezati djembe oko pasa tako da smo
slobodniji (i osim toga, nogom možemo pratiti ritam).
Jednu nogu "omotati" oko donjeg dijela djembea, a
drugu nogu ostaviti slobodnu da možemo držati
ritam.
Važno: Tijelo, ramena i ruke moraju biti opušteni jer
sviranje ne smije biti naporno!
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Ako promatramo opuštene ruke na rubu djembea:
laktovi su u ravnini ili malo iznad (nikako ne
ispod) ravnine kože djembea i odmaknuti od
tijela,
prsti su usmjereni prema sredini djembea,
ruke su postavljene simetrično.
Savjet: Kozja koža je na hrptu najdeblja (na koži je
vidljiva pruga) i zato je dobro postaviti hrbat u
okomitom položaju tako da čini simetralu
između obje ruke.
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Osnovni tonovi
Tri osnovna tona:
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Gun / Dun
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Go / Do
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Pa / Ta
Gun / Dun (en: bass, fr: la basse)
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Gun se svira jačom rukom, Dun se svira slabijom rukom.
Gun / Dun se svira otvorenim dlanom tako da cijela ruka udari u kožu.
Palac je prislonjen ili podignut i ne sudjeluje u udarcu.
Dovoljno je da cijeli dlan udari u kožu iza ruba djembea (nije potrebno udariti baš u sredini jer nas to može usporavati kod složenijih ili bržih
ritmova).
Pokret je iz lakta, a zglob je ravan.
Ruka se spušta na kožu i odmah (bez zadržavanja) odbija (kao na trambulinu).
Zvuk dolazi iz bubnja, pri čemu tijelo bubnja djeluje kao rezonator ("GUUUUNN..."/"DUUUUNN...").
Pri udarcu, ne pomicati ruku ili dlan lijevo-desno, naprijed-natrag niti kliziti dlanom po koži. Također, nije potrebno visoko podizati ruke ili
pomicati tijelo naprijed natrag jer time samo nepotrebno gubimo energiju.
Savjet: Neka slabija ruka "kopira" jaču, odnosno, neka izvodi jednak pokret. Međutim, jača i slabija ruka imaju različite "boje" tonova što predstavlja
dodatnu kvalitetu.
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Go / Do (en: tone, fr: la tonique)
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Go se svira jačom rukom, Do se svira slabijom rukom.
Go / Do se svira ravnim, čvrsto skupljenim prstima na rubu djembea tako da ruka udara u rub na mjestu između dlana i prstiju ("mesnati" dio, a
ne zglobovi prstiju!). Cijela površina prstiju dodiruje kožu. Budući da su prsti ravni i čvrsti (ne kruti, nego čvrsti), nakon udarca se odbijaju od
kože i dobija se jasan ton.
Palac je podignut i ne sudjeluje u udarcu.
Pokret je iz zgloba.
Zvuk dolazi iz kože ("GOO"/"DOO").
Nakon udarca, ruka ostaje na rubu djembea ili odmah nakon toga slijedi drugi udarac iz zgloba.
Savjet: Vježbati udarce "jedan po jedan" (odnosno, sporo – približno svakih 5 sekundi), slušati, gledati ruke i ispravljati udarce.
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Pa / Ta (en: slap, fr: le clacque)
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Pa se svira jačom rukom, Ta se svira slabijom rukom.
Pa / Ta se svira maksimalno opuštenim prstima na rubu djembea tako da vanjski dio vrhova prstiju (dio okrenut prema malom prstu) udari u
kožu u pokretu poput zamaha bičem.
Palac je podignut i ne sudjeluje u udarcu.
Rub djembea se nalazi na istom mjestu kao kod udarca Go/Do.
Pokret je iz zgloba i ovaj udarac "nema snagu već brzinu".
Zamahnuti tako da se u zglobu podigne dlan s opuštenim i blago savijenim prstima. Malo "spustiti" zglob u odnosu na rub djembea.
Neposredno prije udarca malo (sasvim malo) zakrenuti dlan tako da vanjski rub dlana i mali prst budu bliže koži.
U tom položaju, vrhovi prstiju proizvode kratki i reski zvuk ("PA!"/"TA!").
Nakon udarca, blago (sasvim blago) saviti prste, kao da želimo uhvatiti i podići djembe, u smjeru prema "suprotnom ramenu".
Savjet: Pa / Ta nisu glasni Go / Do. Ovi udarci se razlikuju po boji tona i oba mogu biti glasni ili tihi. Dobro je uz Pa / Ta zajedno vježbati naglašene Go
/ Do.
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Gun / Dun
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Go / Do
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Pa / Ta
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Slap taken from a video clip
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