How to Play Djembe [With CD]

by Betsy Sansby, Alan Dworsky, Alan L. Dworsky

Book Overview

This book is a complete, step-by-step, user friendly course on how to play djembe. Right from the start, in addition to learning how to make all the basic strokes, you'll be learning interlocking... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0963880144
• ISBN13: 9780963880147
• Release Date: July 2000
• Publisher: Dancing Hands Music
• Length: 100 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 8.6" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

How To Play a Djembe with CD

Was looking forward to receiving this book with CD. The book was in good shape but the CD was missing. Very disappointed.

Worthwhile purchase

This book is geared towards the beginning drummer. Instructions are clear and lessons well written, and it includes a CD for audio learners. If you can't learn to drum with this handbook, give up! It's well worth the purchase price.

Simple, Understandable

Great intro book. Easy to understand. Great practice drills that you can start playing in very little time.

Great for the basics!

This book/CD set has given me a couple of things I could not get from taking drum classes. First of all, it documents--in written notation and in sound--the basic rhythms. Even the best drummers are not always the best teachers, so before I got this book, the rhythms were kind of a mishmash in my head. Now I am getting to the point where I can hear & identify them.I also could not produce a slap tone at all until I saw the drawing of the hand/finger positions for it in this book--again, because people cannot always explain things well, or different people tell you different things. This book is a great SUPPLEMENT to lessons and drum circles--I'd say you need both the book/CD and drumming with others to really learn and retain the information.Oh, and the section on "How to Tune Your Djembe" is really a great thing to have.

Great jumping-off place

I have the Conga Book by the same authors and have been pleased with both. Their system of notation makes learning rhythms easy, and their helpful hints and comments enhance the learning experience. The CD is what truly makes this book 5 stars. It has a multitrack feature. You can adjust the balance on your stereo to hear one drum part at a time. I like to play one part while my stereo plays another. In addition, the tracks go for about five minutes so you can really get into the rhythm, build stamina, and maybe practice soloing!Happy drumming!

A Great Way to Get Started on Djembe

If you are trying to learn to play the djembe "in a void", i.e., by yourself - then this book & CD are for you. They won't substitute for a flesh & blood teacher BUT they are good, second-best form of instruction.The book is well laid-out, uses layman's vocabulary, and notation is easy to use and interpret, though I am still figuring out triplets and 12/8 time (! ). Instructions include playing position and posture, the "handing" of the three basic sounds: bass, tone/open, and slap, as well as how to tune your rope-strung African djembe. A nice feature for actual practicing is that the book will lay flat on the floor and the musical notation is printed large enough that you can see it from a standing position. Dworsky and Sansby start you off learning syncopating parts to Kuku, a very popular West African rythm, as well as Djole, Kassa, Suku, Madan and a couple others. The accompanying CD, is perhaps the key element to this instruction. The CD contains the djembe artistry of Sidi-Joh Mohammed Camara, a master drummer from Bamako, Mali. This is what makes the whole process really come alive. You learn the parts by reading and practicing, then playing what you hear on the CD with Sidi. You also hear Sidi-Joh playing the parts ensemble with others so you know what the whole sound and rythm are like. In the instructional tracks, usually two parts are played. You can separately listen to either part by turning your CD players balance either full left or full right, and play along with Sidi.I am an enthusiastic beginner on djembe having only started 4 months ago. I'm only able to get personal intruction sporadically. Considering that the book and CD are about the same cost as an hour's private lesson with a djembe artist, it's a good buy. Heartily recommended.