Tag: Pillar 2: Prioritizing Musicality
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What Style Do You Play?
Some people say that a true Djembe Master is required to play all styles and rhythms. Don’t be fooled by this statement. There may be some truth to it, but it’s misleading. If you misunderstand it, you’ll tend to want to skip directly from point A to point Z. People who have bought into this idea like to study a vast […]
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Don’t Force Your Entire Repertoire
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 large repertoire of phrases when they solo. In just a few minutes, they play everything they’ve learned for the rhythm, and […]
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A Theme-Based Approach to Soloing
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 hard they’ve been studying, or how hard they’ve been practicing. If we want to advance leaps and bounds in our djembe playing, […]
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Pillar #2: Prioritize Musicality
Good-feeling music before technical tricks and showmanship is the second of “The Endangered Three” – a group of three qualities that, when combined, embody Roots Djembe. And unfortunately, it’s becoming rare to find them all together in modern djembe music. Playing musically is mostly a mindset. It has to do with our priorities. Technical ability is […]
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The Endangered Three – Oldstyle Djembe
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 with a whole different set of tastes and motivations. The classic style is dying along with the old masters who grew up playing […]
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The Soloist’s Progression: Theme-Based Soloing
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 soloists progression should be understood, and then used as a guide. Don’t underestimate it’s power. Using the soloists progression will, in […]
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Solo Rides
Solo Rides are solo phrases that are like accompaniment patterns. In modern ensembles, they sometimes become “accompaniment #2,” “accompaniment #3,” or “accompaniment #4,” but they were originally played by the soloist. There’s history with these phrases. As a soloist, you can relax when you play one, because it’s trusted and familiar, so you don’t have to try too hard; […]
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The “Ripping” and “Shredding” of Traditional Djembe
Originally published August 2004 by Jeremy Chevrier on his Djembe Essays Blog. People play djembe for a variety of reasons. Some play for fun. Some play because they want to show off. Some play to attract a mate. Some play because they just love the sound. The fact is, the djembe is a very powerful drum […]
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The Need for Speed
Originally published August 2004 by Jeremy Chevrier on his Djembe Essays Blog. In the past, speed was only one skill or facet of being a good djembe player. Today it has become one of the most important criteria for judgment of a djembe player. Most rhythms today are played much faster than they were in the […]
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Series: Jeremy Chevrier’s Djembe Essays
We’re happy to republish a handful of articles originally written a decade ago by Jeremy Chevrier, founder of Rootsy Records as well as The Djembe Hotel in Bamako, Mali. Jeremy, and the recordings he released on his Rootsy Records label have been an inspiration to many students of old-style djembe music over the years. These […]