Learning the tamani

[komadich]

Hello!

I was wandering if any of you ever tried learning the talking drum. If so, how difficult is it?

Thanks!

[Carl]

I've had a couple of lessons, the hardest thing for me in the beginning was the left hand. The one without the stick.

There is a bit of a trick to how you use that hand. Mostly it is about relaxing. The left hand hangs at a strange angle that made me want to tighten up.

I found that rotating the left wrist, instead of coming straight at the drum made the difference. (after re-reading this, it doesn't really get the idea across... you have to see and do it a few times to get the move...?)

I started by sitting in front of the TV with the drum muted against the back of the chair, and just did alternating strokes. This got the motion down to a more sub-conscious level. This freed me up to start working on rhythms etc.

As with any other instrument, I strongly recommend finding a teacher and getting some classes under your belt. I've only had 3 private lessons, quite a few years ago, that paid off immensely.

There are many vids on youtube of tama players, some good some less so. Look around to get the feel of it. I've done a little research in the repertoire, but not enough to be able to steer you beyond that.

See this discussion for more info...
http://www.djembefola.com/board/technique/ntama-technique-instruction-t700.html

[bubudi]

[e2c]

Thanks so much for the vids, bubudi!

The 1st and last are my faves - the gent in the 1st one has chops to spare, but he's using them as part of the overall sound. Very nice. And I love the two-handed technique that the player in the last vid is using.

Had never seen anyone use a piece of fabric tied around the drum in order to tune it (or create a base pitch), but it makes sense.

I am *so* tempted to order a drum from a good supplier *now,* but I'd better wait a while...

[e2c]

There's a really nice recording called "Tama Walo: Keepers of the Talking Drum" that was recorded back in the early 90s in Senegal.

It's available directly from the label, Village Pulse: http://www.villagepulse.com - be sure to check the audio samples.

I've got most of their releases, and am impressed with the quality ... just wish each was a 2-disc set!