signature slap

[Dugafola]

Silly remark maybe but I've known djembe masters to play 2 djembe's at once. Since it is a CD, how do you rule that out?

If you listen to Sofa on that CD, it's clear that he's doing this on a single djembe. The slaps are played on a single drum, and he varies their overtone spectrum, producing three distinct pitches. If he used two djembes, it would sound totally different.

Cheers,

Michi.

i've also seen Fams do basically the same intro for sofa on video.

[bubudi]

just been listening to thomas guei's new disc, guelassemou. right on track 1 at 2:59 he's doing a few of those topalo slaps, then on pretty much every track after that he sprinkles topalo on the sauce like pepper!

[michi]

Here is Mamady on the third slap during the Mini-Guinea camp in Singapore, September 2010. I apologize for the poor recording. I didn't remember to adjust the recording level until halfway through. You can still understand everything if you turn the volume right up.

Cheers,

Michi.

Third slap.MP3

Mamady on the third slap

(7.35 MiB) Downloaded 104 times

[Djembe-nerd]

I couldn't understand much. Did he tell anything about the technique/hand position, or was he just showing.

I am getting a strange sound sometime by accident which resembles this.

I am not sure but I think Kahlil Cummings also played this in Mamady DVD-4 in an improvised solo in some rhythm

[michi]

I couldn't understand much. Did he tell anything about the technique/hand position, or was he just showing.

He was demonstrating. Mamady said that the technique is too subtle to explain and that you have to find it yourself.

I am getting a strange sound sometime by accident which resembles this.

At the Mini-Guinea camp in October last year, I asked Mamady about this and he said that, quite often, people find the sound by accident, so it sounds like you are on the right track Try striking with different parts of your fingers at different distances to the rim, and also strike with only two or three fingers instead of all four. For me, the technique is closer to a tone than to a slap; the impact is closer to the rim than a slap, but with only two fingers, using the mostly the first and middle joint when I strike.

Once I'm better at this technique and can produce the sound more reliably, I'll post a better explanation. Keep in mind though that this is simply how I personally do it. I have no idea what other people do to get this sound, and it's well possible that there is more than one way to do it.

I am not sure but I think Kahlil Cummings also played this in Mamady DVD-4 in an improvised solo in some rhythm

Yes, Kahlil can play the third slap, as can Monette. I have never heard Mohamed play it though, at least not as an isolated sound the way Mamady does. However, when you listen to Mohamed, you can sometimes catch a third slap somewhere in the middle of a series of slaps. It seems that Mohamed never worked on developing the sound as a separate pitch that could be used alongside the normal tone and slap.

Cheers,

Michi.

[dununbabe]

and whats the second slap?

[michi]

and whats the second slap?

Big slap and little slap.

Michi.

[Djembe-nerd]

In the beginning of the discussion it was explained as :

1st slap = normal slap
2nd slap = muffed slap
3rd slap = what has been discussed here (Le/tonepalo)

Big slap and little slap.

Michi.

Whats this now ? We need to finalize the djembe vocabulary

[Dugafola]

what about the one handed mute/muffled slap that's common in Mali?

would that be the 4th?

[e2c]

I think it depends on who's doing the counting...

(But then, most of you know how I feel about this whole "elusive 2nd/3d slap" thing anyway: Spend time playing and you'll end up being able to create many sounds.)

[michi]

Big slap and little slap.

Whats this now ? We need to finalize the djembe vocabulary

Little slap is a normal slap. Big slap is a slap that is a bit louder and has an extra high-pitched ring to it because it excites the next harmonic up from the little slap, so it has a richer overtone spectrum and sounds a bit higher. (At least that's what I always thought is meant by big slap and little slap...)

Cheers,

Michi.

[michi]

Here is a clip of Famoudou Konaté's recording "Rhythmen Der Malinke". This is from Sofa (track 17). You can hear three distinct pitches of slaps about 15 seconds into the clip.

Famoudou - Sofa.mp3

Famoudou Konaté, excerpt from Sofa

(1.06 MiB) Downloaded 93 times

Cheers,

Michi.

[Djembe-nerd]

OK, thanks for the explaination.

I call them the accompaniment slap and the solo slap. because when I generally play accompaniment its the small slap and when I solo I play the big slap. For me its just the intensity/force of the attack that changes it from small to big.

[Waraba]

Here is a clip of Famoudou Konaté's recording "Rhythmen Der Malinke". This is from Sofa (track 17). You can hear three distinct pitches of slaps about 15 seconds into the clip.

So, where can I find this recording? Not on Amazon or iTunes. Is there an MP3 version, or only hard disk?

BTW, the whole discussion is great.

[michi]

From Famoudou's website:

The CD is available at the Berlin Völkerkundemuseum's shop at Berlin-Dahlem. You can order it online at the Museum shop's website. Click here to go to their website.

Cheers,

Michi.