AFRICA is a continent of rhythm and dance. Before it was
colonised by the European nations in the 17th and 18th
centuries, it was divided into different empires and kingdoms.
Each had their own traditions, songs and drums. The DJEMBE
(jem-bay) was the drum of the the Mandinke people, from the
great West African Mali Empire of the 12th century, situated in
the present-day countries of Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Cote
d'Ivoire, Senegal and Gambia. It has become the most widely
played of all African instruments.
Today, as before, it is used to celebrate times of importance in
village life such as baptism, weddings, full moons, harvest etc,
and through the popularity of world music, it's appeal is
spreading on a daily basis.
The DJEMBE is a "goblet" shaped drum with a skin (usually
goat) stretched over one end. It is played with the hands as
part of a group of drums. The other drums in this group are
cylindrical and have cow skin heads. Played with a large stick,
they come in three sizes and are called the kenkeni (smallest &
highest), the sangban (middle) and the dundunba (biggest and
lowest). A bell is played at the same time, completing the
ensemble.
Traditional West African Rhythms are normally "polyrhythms".
This means that there are 4 or 5, and sometimes even 6 or 7
different parts that go together to make each rhythm, and they
are often accompanied by singing and a dance. Most rhythms are
played for specific occasions, some are mask dances - others are
played only at football matches!
Rhythms include: Kakilambe, Liberte, Dimbadun, Soko,
Soca, Koukou, African Rhumba, Tiriba, Babobo, Yankadi, Kpanlogo,
Yole, Cassa, Sorsonet, Mandiani, Doundounba, Fanga, Diagbe,
Fankani, Marakadon, Soli, Abondon. - Plenty to learn, you see!
Other drums from Africa include: Sabar, Bougarabou,
Frontonfrom, Atumpan, Apentema, Apetia, Bobo, Brekete, Atsimevu,
Sogo, Kidi, Kagan, Kroboto, Totodzi, Kpanlogo, Oslama, Kete,
Kurukutu, Sakara, Togo, Bada, Bata and Talking Drums.
For additional information on Drum Circles, click to visit the
Natural
Flow Drum Circles Page.
How to play the djembe.
There are three main notes played on the djembe.
1) The BASS, played with the flat of the hand in the middle of
the drum - a deep "booming" sound. 2) The TONE, played with the
bottom pads of the fingers towards the edge of the drumskin,
fingers outstretched - a "thick" note. 3) The SLAP, played by
striking the edge of the drum with the palm of the hand and
allowing the fingers to "flap" into the drumskin - a "sharp,
dry, cracking" sound. Like the tone, this takes a while to get
right.
Most West African djembe rhythms are a combination of these
three notes. The arm bends at the elbow and not at the wrist.
This gives more power and greater control. Don't forget to take
rings off first!
The CALL is played by the lead djembe player. As the name
suggests, it calls everybody into the rhythm, shows them where
to start and at what speed they should play. It is also used to
draw the song to a close, and sometimes to bring a change of
rhythm in the middle of the song.
The other thing to bear in mind is the tempo, which can change
dramatically during the song. Usually, we start slowly and speed
up either gradually or at a given point. This is called the
échauffement (literally "heating up"), and can result in some
very fast playing towards the end!
Above all, the most important thing about African Drumming is to
have FUN. You hardly ever see someone playing drums without a
big smile on their face. It's something you can do on your own,
or in a group (or "circle"), loudly or quietly, fast or slow -
it doesn't matter. Once you get the knack of playing, you won't
want to stop. And the more you play, the better you'll get.
So ENJOY YOURSELF!!
Rhythm Notation.
Traditionally, West African rhythms were passed from generation
to generation by word of mouth. More recently, various ways of
writing down rhythms have been devised. All show the order the
different notes are played in, but my favourite shows which hand
to use as well. If you are left-handed, just change left for
right. Here's an example.
African Rhumba.
B - Right hand bass b - Left hand bass T - Right hand tone t -
Left hand tone S - Right hand slap s - Left hand slap x - Gap
Djembe 1 b x T t B x S x b x T t B x S x
Djembe 2 x x S s x x S s x x S s T t S s
Dunduns - Only Dundunba and Sangban in this particular song.
D - Dundunba S - Sangban ☺ - Bell
D x x x S x S x D x x x S x S x
Bell x ☺ x ☺ x ☺ x ☺ x ☺ x ☺
x ☺ x ☺
Call - Djembe Ss x S s x S x s S x T t T t x x
Simon G Spare C/o Northfield Bungalow Farnham Lane Langton
Green Tunbridge Wells TN3 0DJ 01892 862452 07905 469295
simon.spare@virgin.net
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