Describe your Dundun playing

[James]

How would you describe your dunun playing?

[BobF]

I play more dunun than anything.. I don't even bother taking my djembe to performances any more, I'm either on duns or bala. Guess that says something about my djembe playing! or my dunun playing.. Hopefully the latter.

[Dugafola]

I can play anything traditional style with a bell.

I have been in ensembles playing ballet style as well, but prefer traditional.

i love playing duns on funky rhythms i.e. djaa, mendiani, dunun rhythms, kassas, dansa, sunu, solis, kawa, tiriba, mane, yoki, sinte, maraka etc etc etc.

[Djembe-nerd]

I can play the dununs individually or ballet style for most part, have difficulty in some rhythyms with the bell pattern, but I have less oppertunities of playing dununs and more Djembe, so I am currently focusing on Djembe.

[Dugafola]

but I have less oppertunities of playing dununs and more Djembe, so I am currently focusing on Djembe.

usually it's the other way around...

[James]

I'm really beginning to realise that there's so much more to dununs than meets the eye! Haven't played them in ages, seen some great dununs being played here by Pierrot and Amara Kante.

Really looking forward to some dundun workshops at Mama Africa on Saturday and Sunday.

[Hilde]

I am quite new in the world of drumming. I am curious, what is Dundun?

[michi]

I am quite new in the world of drumming. I am curious, what is Dundun?

I was going to put a link to the glossary here and, to my surprise, found that there is no entry for "dunduns". Neither are there entries for "sangban" and "kenkeni" (but there is one for "dundunba").

Here is an excerpt from an information leaflet I wrote for our students. (Corrections welcome!)

Cheers,

Michi.

Traditional Malinké rhythms use three (sometimes two) drums collectively known as dunduns. (The “d” is not voiced, so the pronunciation is “dununs”.) Dunduns are cylindrical drums carved out of a solid log of timber. The choice of wood is less critical than for djembes. Bois Blanc, a white medium-density wood, is a popular choice due to its low weight. Dunduns are covered with cow skin at both ends. (In Mali, goatskin is used; the Malian version is called konkoni.)
Dunduns are played in three sizes. The largest (bass) drum, called dundunba, is approximately 60-70cm long and 40-45cm in diameter. (“Ba” means big in Malinké, so “dundunba” literally means “big dundun”.) The medium dundun, approximately 50-60cm long and 30-35cm in diameter, is called sangban. The smallest dundun, approximately 45-50cm long and 25cm in diameter, is called kenkeni and has the highest pitch. As for many Malinké instruments, the names of these drums are onomatopoeic, meaning that the name sounds like the instrument it names.
Traditionally, dunduns are played placed horizontally on a stand, with the right hand striking the skin with a stick, and the left hand playing a bell (called kenken) that is attached to the top of the drum. In some regions, no bells are used and, in Mali, the bell is held in the left hand and played with a steel ring around the thumb. This means that, traditionally, playing the three drums required three musicians, one for each drum. The convention of placing the dunduns upright and having a single musician play all three drums without a bell arose only in the sixties, when touring ballets were looking for ways to save money.
Each dundun plays a different pattern composed of two different sounds: an open stroke that allows the skin to vibrate, and a closed stroke where the player presses the stick against the skin instead of letting the stick rebound. The closed stroke produces a higher pitch. Together, the three drums make a rhythmic melody that is unique to each rhythm. In contrast, accompaniments played on djembes are the same for many rhythms. Therefore, it is the dunduns that identify a rhythm and give it its particular character.
The sangban (medium-pitched drum) is considered the “heart of a rhythm”. If only one dundun (or only one dundun player) is available for a ceremony or celebration, he inevitably plays the sangban part, even if the drum is a dundunba or kenkeni—most rhythms can be identified solely by the rhythm that is played by the sangban. The dundunba (bass drum) gives a rhythm its foundation and power. The kenkeni (high-pitched drum) accents a rhythm with highlights that add “spice”.
The pattern played by the kenkeni does not vary throughout a rhythm; the player simply plays the same pattern without variation for the entire rhythm. Depending on the rhythm, either sangban or dundunba (but not both) may play variations that deviate from the basic pattern for short intervals.

Dunduns

dunduns.jpg (228.26 KiB) Viewed 298 times

[michi]

I can play the dununs individually or ballet style for most part, have difficulty in some rhythyms with the bell pattern

For a challenge, try the sangban patterns for Wassolonka and Soboninkun (as notated in Mamady's book). They drove me nuts for weeks...

Cheers,

Michi.

[e2c]

Dununs are one of my favorite things about this style of music. I love the crosstalk between them, the "conversation" - along with their melodicism and full, rich sound.

and dare i say that without them, the djembes might tend to sound a little on the thin side?

(Chalk my fascination up to this being my 1st real encounter with playing double-headed drums; the 2nd head makes for an incredible difference in resonance and richness of tone...)

[Djembe-nerd]

and dare i say that without them, the djembes might tend to sound a little on the thin side?

the dununs are the soil from where the djembe tree grows, and solo is the flower....that completes the relationship

[e2c]

the dununs play the melody.

Personally, I like to practice dunun parts on djembe, and also like to hear others play them on djembe. it can be refreshing; a veering away from playing dat-dee-dat. (Especially for folks like me, who play a lot of accompaniment parts on djembe.)

I'd love to flip the script and see what happens with djembes playing dunun parts and vice versa. Or maybe some djembes on the dunun parts, some on bell parts, and the duns playing djembe parts and soloing. Could be a very interesting teaching exercise, among other things.

[Carl]

Not that I've had time to practice lately, but my latest thing for dununs is working on all 3 parts in a IvoryCoast/ballet style.

I've been doing that for Mendiani/Djaa II and a few others for a while. Getting into the dununba rep has been interesting... I'm beginning to think that I need a foot pedal to play the kenkeni for those!

I also have some sick variations for sangba and dununba that Mahiri has been giving me... not too complicated, except that the feel is crazy!

hmmmm.... dununs...


C

[bops]

Since you know how much I love to play the role of avocat du diable...I doubt there's anyone who can play anything. Dunun is a language, and advanced playing involves a lot of improvisation. Different people play different things. One person won't necessarily play the same thing as the next person.

That said, I can hold onto most dunun parts, at least for a while. I am familiar with the basic dunun parts for a lot of rhythms, IMHO. I can improvise on some rhythms. My stamina on jembe is better than on dunun, though.

[Garvin]

I doubt there's anyone who can play anything. Dunun is a language, and advanced playing involves a lot of improvisation.

Good point Bops. I felt a little self-conscious, and will confess to clicking on the "I can play anything" option. I really do feel that way though because dundun was what I started with, and I basically learned how to play this music in the context of the dundun parts. I know I haven't retained everything I've ever learned or played (far from it). But if I'm plopped into a dance class, or even a last minute performance, I'd run to the duns first. I would humbly go so far as to consider myself confident and competent on dundun.

I think that ones comfort level with the language, and improvisation on duns (within the context of the rhythm) is a good way to determine where you are with the instrument(s) overall.

Ballet style in IMO is "easier" on the brain and more open to improv, though more physically demanding.

Traditional style has always been the sexier, more classy and (sangban/dundun) more complex stuff once you get all 3 parts with the bells going. Man, I wanna play Takosoba right now.

Overall, I know there are loads of things I DON'T know, and I'm fine with that and would be the first to say so in a playing situation. But at this point it is rare to get hit with something I haven't at least played once, or a few times (of the common Guinea/Mali stuff) unless it is someones original rhythm.