- Wed Jun 17, 2009 7:39 pm
#5199
Hi there everyone,
I have had my djembe for approx two weeks now and I'm really enjoying discovering all the sounds that can be produced from this one drum.
Last weekend, my stepson stayed with us and he likes to play African style music on a nylon strung classical guitar. Normally it would be myself on guitar but on this occasion this was a great opertunity to try out my djembe drumming as an accompaniment to his guitar playing. I must say, it is a lot more rewarding to be playing with another instrument rather than just practising on my own.
Anyways, whilst this was going on I was making a conscious effort to see and hear what I was doing to get all the different sounds. I wanted to ask about one or two finger slaps almost right on the rim. This is really a very quick flick, not hard but fast and it is surprisingly loud. The second stroke is a kind of slap made by flicking down very fast with the flat side of the thumb but usually damped at the same time by the other hand.
My question is: are these existing djembe techniques or am I borrowing this from other kinds of drumming. I have a set of Tablas and maybe this is influencing the way I'm approaching the djembe. I also have about 40 years experience of drumming on desk tops and I'm sure this helps in coaxing different sounds from the djembe.
Thanks for any answers. I know there is nothing new under the sun and I'm not trying to break new ground here, I was just wondering if anyone else has found themselves using these two strokes kind of without even realizing it.
Gordon.
I have had my djembe for approx two weeks now and I'm really enjoying discovering all the sounds that can be produced from this one drum.
Last weekend, my stepson stayed with us and he likes to play African style music on a nylon strung classical guitar. Normally it would be myself on guitar but on this occasion this was a great opertunity to try out my djembe drumming as an accompaniment to his guitar playing. I must say, it is a lot more rewarding to be playing with another instrument rather than just practising on my own.
Anyways, whilst this was going on I was making a conscious effort to see and hear what I was doing to get all the different sounds. I wanted to ask about one or two finger slaps almost right on the rim. This is really a very quick flick, not hard but fast and it is surprisingly loud. The second stroke is a kind of slap made by flicking down very fast with the flat side of the thumb but usually damped at the same time by the other hand.
My question is: are these existing djembe techniques or am I borrowing this from other kinds of drumming. I have a set of Tablas and maybe this is influencing the way I'm approaching the djembe. I also have about 40 years experience of drumming on desk tops and I'm sure this helps in coaxing different sounds from the djembe.
Thanks for any answers. I know there is nothing new under the sun and I'm not trying to break new ground here, I was just wondering if anyone else has found themselves using these two strokes kind of without even realizing it.
Gordon.