Hand Drum Lessons Notation for Djembes, Dununs Bells
and other class notes I’ve resumed teaching djembe in live local classes, and as always, the starting point, especially for beginners, is the “passport” rhythm, so called because it’s the entry into most 4/4 territories of West African rhythm. Easy to play once you get it, but notoriously difficult to learn (or teach) at first. [ ] The post Renewing Passport appeared first on Djembe Rhythms from…
Do you know the feeling of a rhythm that knows you so well it always shows itself when you sit down to play? So you can’t shake it, as if it doesn’t want to let you go. You might call it your song. At least until the next one comes along. Lately (like, the last [ ] The post Sunu Jams, and other exercises for handing and timing appeared first on Djembe Rhythms from West Africa .
At a weekly market in San Pancho, Mexico (a small town up the coast from Puerto Vallarta), a musical trio called Caravan provided the live entertainment for the day. A talented flamenco-style guitarist, a versatile female singer, and a conga player. The drummer had an improvised kit of sorts, as he sat on a cajon, [ ] The post Latin Meets African appeared first on Djembe Rhythms from West Africa .
This past Halloween, the samba band I play with, Samba du Soleil, got to take part in the annual Parade of Lost Souls event in Vancouver. We were stationed at the entrance gate to open the festivities, playing for half an hour before the city’s own Carnival Band came marching up with horns blaring and [ ] The post Candomble and the Parade of Lost Souls appeared first on Djembe Rhythms from West…
With four volumes of Roots Jam already covering the map of world beats from the African tradition and beyond, it s time for a Best of album er, book! No more thumbing through separate indexes, choosing from too many variations, or deciding which book fits your focus. Now you can have it all, distilled into one [ ] The post Best of Roots Jam appeared first on Djembe Rhythms from West Africa .
Last spring, after a couple of years off from playing West African music, the local dance teacher reached out to see if we could start some regular practice on traditional dundun rhythms. Yes! So we began, with a few others trying out until we settled on a core study group of four to six players. [ ] The post How We Practice appeared first on Djembe Rhythms from West Africa .
Though this website already has a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, today I received an email with some more unanswered questions. So I will attempt to answer them here. I found your Youtube channel and came across your website. First, thank you for providing free and very helpful information on both your YT channel and [ ] The post FAQ Update appeared first on Djembe Rhythms from West Africa…
Last weekend I had the opportunity to play in two drum groups for a young friend’s going-away party at a community hall. Our fledgling West African drumming practice group got invited to kick off the festivities, followed later by the established batucada group, Samba du Soleil. The former group consisted of three dundun players and [ ] The post Performance Debrief appeared first on Djembe Rhythms…
The following excerpt from Flutes Jam: A Guide to Improvisation addresses issues that apply to group music in any context, whether playing a drum or flute or other instrument. It could apply as well to the daily performance (or jam) we call life. How to Get into a Jam: Four Stages of Personal Evolution Unconscious self-absorption Not [ ] The post How to Get Into a Jam appeared first on Djembe…
The following exploration is an excerpt from Flutes Jam: A Guide to Improvisation. In this section I compare the rhythmic pattern for the Brazilian rhythm Reunion, with the intervals for the Hindu scale I ve been enjoying on flute. At the last samba practice, the band leader called for the “Six Eight” rhythm. Lately we’ve been learning an [ ] The post Reunion and the Hindu Scale appeared first on…