*You’re logged out. Log in to un-hide this content.
Quickly Improve Your Accompaniment
50 Views0 Comments57 Likes
Broadly speaking, there are two areas of djembe playing that we can always improve on so that the music just keeps getting better and better all the time: Accompaniment Solo. We discuss solo in this...
The Endangered Three – Oldstyle Djembe
99 Views0 Comments35 Likes
Think of "Roots" djembe music like Roots Reggae, Classic Rock, or Oldies. It's old-style music from a few generations back. Djembe music is changing. Today, younger people usually play modernized djembe music ...
A Theme-Based Approach to Soloing
60 Views2 Comments29 Likes
The difference between a phrase-based and theme-based approach to djembe is profound. It may be one of the biggest reasons why many students will never sound like their African teachers - no matter how long or har...
Don’t Force Your Entire Repertoire
29 Views0 Comments27 Likes
One of the main things you can do to improve the quality of your solo is to decrease the quantity of different solo phrases. Forcing Your Repertoire Many people try to sound better by running through a larg...
Intro to Hand-Over-Hand
19 Views0 Comments23 Likes
Keep Your Hands Moving Hand-Over-Hand is a technique where you keep your hands moving while you play. Your hands move up and down constantly, alternating back and forth, sometimes even pitter-pattering on...
5 Ways HOH Technique Can Help You
31 Views0 Comments21 Likes
Adopting Hand Over Hand takes a bit of work, but for us it’s been WELL worth the effort. In the long run, it saves you time and energy, and helps you spot commonalities you might not have noticed before. ...
Solo Meditations
26 Views0 Comments21 Likes
A solo meditation is a practice exercise in which you focus on one single solo theme, represented by a root solo phrase. Meditations help to develop an intimate relationship with the rhythm. Here's a great...
The Soloist’s Progression: Theme-Based Soloing
27 Views0 Comments18 Likes
The soloists progression is a basic formula for a good solo. It's not to be followed rigidly. In fact, the whole point is to increase fluidity and let your solo progress organically. The concept of the soloist...
How To Anchor Yourself To The Beat
18 Views0 Comments13 Likes
Once you understand where the beat is, then you can move on to apply proper swing to your playing. Did you know there are a couple of musical elements you can easily look to when you want to find and anchor you...
Tips For Playing Active Accompaniment
23 Views0 Comments12 Likes
We introduced the idea of Active Accompaniment a while back, in this post. Here are some simple tips to get you started playing Active Accompaniment quickly. Start Playing Active Accompaniment A Word Of Ca...
How To Play More Fluidly
21 Views0 Comments11 Likes
Here's an idea: To play more fluidly, try thinking of your role in the music as that of a conduit - not a container. Then work on yourself to become the most conductive conduit you can be. In other word...