Added: 4 years ago
From: IcepalAdrian
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  • this is a lesson? noob

  • Awesome stuff, that's a Remo alright ! May not be exactly African drumming, but none of mine is, and she looks to be white on my screen... Most of us from any part of the world other than West Africa will have to work long and hard to really play AFRICAN DJEMBE. Give her a break guys, she can sit at our fire and drum in the cirle any day. I love the rhythms. hope her and the hubby are drumming, and the kids dancing....

    Peace

  • Great rhythms! :)

  • What size djembe is that? Thanks.

  • Ahhhhhh!!! Slow down please? Lol. Just starting out and love these rhythms.

  • Potentially cool... but it desperately needs tuning

  • Remo djembe are the baddest sound ever...you cant learn on this kind of instrument. This ladie knows about rythm but what she is palying has nothing to do with what playing the djembe is. Rythms have names, beginnings and ends ...this is just jamming with a little technique but please dont call it djembe drumming.

  • @robertdaignault What makes you sustain that they are bad? Just asking. Is this a fyberskin patch or an animal skin one?

  • This is Shelly from Nova Scotia. Would you be interested teaching me how to play? shellyhipson@eastlink.ca or 637-1560 Thanks! Shelly

  • oh wow, this is insane!! I used to watch this video often when i first started playing a few years ago, and never had money for lessons... at the time I thought I'd never figure this shite out. And now that i watch this video i realize how my beats are mostly built off of what is shown in this video... I owe this girl some thanks, cos these are sick beats to build a foundation off of. Too bad her drum is not tuned properly in this vid though....

  • Supernice job. One of best videos. Thank you so much.

  • thanks so much. im trying to practice for school. so thanks again

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  • Figure the odds of that! I live in a small place called Atlantic, population 6! in Shelburne County. And where do you live? There are a few of us who have djembes and want to learn. This woman is so inspiring! LOVE it!!! At the Black Loyalist Society there are 10 djembes and I'd love to sign them out and get an instructor. :-)

  • Love it! THANK YOU!!! Trying to learn how to play and have fun with the djembe in rural Nova Scotia Thanks for sharing.

  • @shellybytheseashore where abouts? I'm from NS too!

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  • one of the best!!! seriously needs to make a djembe how-to available to the public.

  • If you can provoke that kind of negative reaction, then you must be doing really good. Why? because they are envious of you . I listened to this a second time, really the rhythms are tight and the sounds are very good. I can really see how it would fit into a church band.

  • Yeaaaa... if all the drum would sound the same there would be no harmoni in music.. That is y tone and rythm are created!

  • to mamadykamara hey marmaduke... do we all have to drum and sound like you? Have you heard about evolution? I don't believe the young woman said anything about playing African rhythms or playing an African djembe. Lighten up dude... this is some of the best stuff that I have heard.... goes to the heart. Not to many people offering anything better for free. How about you?

  • What does getting married have to do with it? Has she given up drumming? How long does it take to throw some tips out there?

  • lol okay, ill email her and ask if she's interested in posting comments, i don't know if she has a video camera to add more video content though.

  • Yeah sorry about that man. This is just good stuff so I want more. You know...

  • Nice sounds!!! as for her getting married and moving on this CANNOT happen, shes got smoothe skillz she needs to continue to make beautiful sounds from drums for the world to hear and learn from ^_^

  • Simple rhytms and good view, you can see exactly what she makes with her hands. I couldn't find better video for start. Thanks a lot.

  • open tone=no space between fingers

  • Nice job. Some of the best Djembe on youtube!

  • I LOVE those noisey hands,

    very nice tips

  • Can I get more rhythm lessons from this talented lady in youtube??????????Please

  • Unfortunately there will be no additions from this young lady, she's moved on and gotten married and such =)

    Hope you can find more advanced lessons elsewhere!

  • Nice playing! Just learning worship djembe beats, and these are great for me to start - thanks for sharing!

  • Great playing, what size is this drum as i want to buy one myslef??

  • Thanks for posting. I'm working on learning rhythms on my djembe and this video is the best on youtube.

  • I think this is great. Thanks for posting.

  • Very nice. This is, to date, the best video tutorial that I have found on YouTube. Keep up the good work.

  • I've seen videos from "experts" that exhibited far worse timing. This student was talking about different rhythms she uses and the terminology around them. I sense no hubris. To the contrary, she seems a little shy about the whole thing. I think she has a nice feel for the instrument, and I will bookmark this video so I can learn some difference patterns.

  • the "sincopated rythem" sounds like Break beat...

  • I believe that's what break beats are based upon (syncopation)

  • Pretty hands

  • Nice video and skills. Is that a 14" or 12" Remo Djembe???

  • People who criticize should take a long look in the mirror and ask why would they need to do so? To feel superior does nothing for you but hurt you. Check your self before you wreck your self. I think she was fantastic! You can see she was talked into being filmed. I'd like to see more regardless of right or wrong, good or bad!

  • btw good video

  • the term djembe means something like "everyone gather" or something to the effect of that...so please people, don't bastardize this...Sure there is technique, but those are guidelines. Same as any musician, there's technique, then there's their own interpretation..

  • The question is whether it is appropriate for someone with no technique whatsoever to post a "lesson".

  • it was a rhythm lesson, not a lesson on djembe technique. There is always something people can learn from any video. Maybe she isn't using traditional technique, but that doesn't mean she can't express ideas and play the drum the way it suits her.

  • I see your point though. Maybe if it was titled "modern rhythems on a djembe" or "non traditional djembe drumming" than people may not misinterpret things

  • you don't have to be a snob dude. I know you understand that this isn't a lesson in technique. So bottom line, like I stated before, maybe people like who wouldn't be bugged so much if the word lesson wasn't in the title. Instead of that, people like you would find something else to bash the video about. It makes no difference.

  • O and of course as the saying goes on youtube: "where's your video?". Show me your proper technique.

  • @rhythmatheart Look for "Soko - Solo Original" on YouTube for an example.

  • Tune that drum, please!

  • technique shmechnique!...Alright ok, the technique's bit off but I've seen way worse Djembe players,...this is really good.

  • Yeah! and whether it sounds like a djembe or not, is not the point. Does it sound like music?

    IMO if it sounds like music it's good, and this sounds an awful lot like music to me...

  • Are there other videos or learning sources that you could point to as a better example of djembe instruction? Otherwise, your comment just seems hurtful.

  • There are a number of good instructional DVDs around. Check out Michael Taylor's "Remembering How To Drum". That is excellent for beginners. For more advanced material, look at Mohamed Bangoura's "Traditional Rhythms From Guinee", volume 1 and 2. And for soloing ideas, "Akaran Iko Iko" is excellent. Finally, there are the three DVDs by Mamady Keita "Guinee: Les Rhythmes Du Mandeng", which are also excellent. All of these will tach you proper technique, and provide good cultural background.

  • hi,new to djembe,she sounds fine to me.what do you consider she is doing wrong?cheers

  • You don't hit a djembe that way. The hands and fingers are in the wrong position, and she is not getting tones and slaps at all. See Mamady Keita's DVDs for proper technique.

  • So what is wrong with the sound she is getting? Is the tone quality bad?

  • chazinmo, It sounds like that because it is a Remo djembe..the skin is actually not skin but artificial nylon or fiber..it gives that funny sharp sound. a real djembe made of wood with goat skin sounds very different.

  • A well tuned Remo sounds better than a badly tuned goat skin drum any day and most people just don't know how to tie the weave or pull the vertical's ropes in a naturul goat skin jembe to bring em up to tune.

  • Yes, unfortunately that is true. It is exactly like being a guitar player who does not know how to tune a guitar. Learning how to tune a djembe takes ten minutes. There is no reason not to learn it.

  • There' all kinds of way's to play a drum. If u wanna learn traditional west african rhythms' you've got to listen to Mamady Keita' and other great west african drummers' also learn dunun 'n' bell parts as well to those rhythms. But 4 jamming with other musicians in a rockband type of setting' that tradition technique doesn't work well' unless u base the song around those kind of rhythms. What this young lady's playing work's very well in a rockband setting. I say its good to learn both styles.

  • A djembe player must be able to clearly enunciate slaps and tones, otherwise he or she is not using 80% of the instrument's potential. And playing clean slaps and tones requires good technique.

  • If I typing in french' then I would spell it' djembe' but this is in english' so its spelled' jembe ' and while I do play one' I also play kenkini' sangban' and dununba with bell as well. But if I'm playing a funky urban style rhythm in 4/4 on guitar'' bass' or keyboard (yea' I play those too) and I have somebody on jembe playing along' I would prefer a groove like this young lady is laying down' as to appose to a west african rhythm like Kassa' Koko or Madan. U see' I've been there already.

  • Can I say thank you!!! as a fellow christian and fellow worshiper, this is very helpful to me!

  • I'm having trouble with now using my right hand into a roll on the rim of the drum. Origanlly i started the roll with my (left) dominant hand but during play when i want to start off with my left like normal i confuse it with my right more or less which i began to use for more rolls in a hi-hat then bring back down to bass or main rythm. It hurts x]. how do i control this? how do i get back to using my other hand like normal being that i use it the most. thankyouu

  • Actually, she does quite well on the djembe drum...! Good hand co ordination and rythms. IF she were to do all this on a Real African Djembe it would sound ....So Good..!

  • really great!!

  • wow, I haven't heard of NET in a long while :O when r u guys going back to chapleau? (it was in french last time u showed up :P)

  • Its not west african' but its cool' I been playing along with this video clip and learning' so thanks. I play dunun and sometimes guitar/bass with this good woman drummer in the D.C. area' but sadly she's starting to get a 'big head'( she would probably have something negative to say about you're playing) but Adrian' if ever in the D.C. area' I'd love to hook up.

  • hey any tips on buying a djembe i want to get one to play for youth worship

  • Don't listen to these people Adrian, you sound great on this. Don't your hands get sore the way you play though?

  • Keep up the great work. I play in my church as well. Congas and Djembe. I mainly a drum set player, so I play like you - and it fits the music. Can't apply traditionl style to contemporary worship. As you know, its not about us, but about serving the needs. Others don't get that - they are thinking more worldly. Nice Job!!!!

  • hey 'adrian', thanks for posting this video. i just got a djembe to use at church and this helps... thanks again

  • just a thought, i don't think anyone who was trying to teach proper djembe technique would use a remo. traditional playing is beaurtiful, it just doesn't work well for playing contemporary music.

  • Nice rhythms. I think some of the comments saying you don't know how to play properly have points though. For example, you get a much better sound if you have the djembe tilted or suspended above the floor so that vibrations can escape through the bottom properly.

  • Once again, inregards to these consistant comments from the 'experts' of Djembe, we don't claim any sort of expertise, just want to share simple beats we use in contemporary Christian worship, its not an expert account on how to perform the 'religious celebrations of africa,' nor is it a presentation on the million and 1 different ways of using a djembe to get different sounds. While you raise a good point on different sounds and techniques, please share, don't add to the criticism, thanks

  • I'm sorry. I really am. I'm a prime example of what's wrong with the world. I took your video, made my assumptions and totally criticized you for whatever I could find. I'm so sorry. Your friend is a wonderful drummer and she's got great rhythm. If she wants to use a Remo djembe then cool!! It's all good.

  • you really shouldn't be trying to teach people how to play the djembe properly if you don't how. You're going to do more damage than good.

  • Define what 'properly' means and then explain the 'damage' that this improper or uneducated lesson may do and then you can post comments like this, otherwise they aren't useful or welcome. Thanks

  • Don't be stupid. It's obvious she doesn't know how to properly play a djembe. I'm not saying she doesn't know how to play a rhythm. Just don't go claiming something that it's not.

  • 'Don't be stupid.'? Interesting comment, did you even read the title? It is called a 'Rhythm Lesson on a "Remo Djembe"' I've had too many posts of people complaining about the 'improperness' so I've very respectfully changed the title to properly describe it... it is a Rhythm lesson nothing more, I don't recall claiming anything more than that, nor do I see anything more in the text

  • First of all, thanks so much for posting this. I really dig some of these rhythms.

    I was wondering if you could possibly post or email me some of these rhythms... specifically the syncopated ones. I am currently taking some trance drumming lessons with a djembe and think this would go awesome with the stuff we are already learning. Thanks again

  • i like your rhythms and finger work

    very nimble!

  • Hey man

    thx that was good

    btw what is your djembe tuned to. and what is it suppost to be. thx

  • You do not use the slap sound, but strike the wooden edge instead to produce a high sound. Although effective, it is quite damaging to the finger joints...

    Rhythms are enjoyable, I like this video very much.

  • VERY VERY NICE,

    i'm going to buy a djembe myself too after watching this :D

  • i useually play the drums but ocasionally i use a djembe and you've some me some good Rhythmns Thanks =)

  • you`re playing rock beats on a djembe drum??, why?? get a drumset //djembe player from sweden

  • I don't understand why so many people, like yourself, continually ask questions like this. If we are doing it this way, there clearly must be a reason. For example, NET is a travelling ministry, it is kind of difficult to haul around a drum kit, so we use something a little more practical.

  • But what about holding the drum correctly? You should dry holding the drum in a seated postition with the head between your knees and the base of the drum resting on the floor tilted to allow the sound out of the bottom (much better for a full bass tone) and your will get a better angle for your hands which will allow for much more freedom as well as control.

  • Well, you don't have to play african rhythmn.

    I really enjoyed watching the video /Another djembe player from Sweden.

  • i think people should dont give a shit about what rhythms you play on it.if it sounds good it is good

  • She can play on pots and pans if she wants...lay off Sweeden boy!!

  • This is the best djembe lesson on youtube!

  • It's the only one I have favorited.

  • How did you learn how to play?

  • Also...Do you have any clips of you using your rhythms in contemporary worship?

    Or does anyone know of any clips of these rhythms in worship?

  • Look at some of my videos, Joe Zambon releasing his CD has a djembe in the background, not quite these beats but it may help

  • You are so awesome, your my new idle, ive watched your movie 7 times so far prcaticng and perfecting there beats

  • u have an exellent skill, and exquisite hands! thank you for posting. this will help alot.peace/love

  • awesome...this vid is really refreshing after watching the idiots at "expertvillage" completely massacre different beats...keep it up, sounds awesome :)

  • Thank you, sweetie!

  • that's pretty sweet. it's amazing the range of sounds you get out of that thing!

  • what kind of djembe is this? i want to buy one.. there are a 12" and a 14" .. i'll buy from internet and no chance to see them closely so the information is important for me.

  • i belive it is a Remo Paul Mattioli Djembe Drum

  • Don't buy a Remo!

  • you rock girl..hope to see you faCE TO..

  • Girl plays?? She is great!!

  • I've scowered all over youtube looking at rhythm drum, and you are my favorite, great style.

  • nice rythm !

  • sounds like break beat.. well a couple of em... you like break beat? i just got a ghana djembe today....WOOHOOOOO...sounds like a TURBINA hahaha

    buena onda hermano

    and hey...listen to "propellerheads" :P

  • Smooth Rhythm, Thanks.

  • I think this was great - well played. I've been learning the djembe for a few months now with some West African rhythms - Kuku, Djole, Kassa etc. They're great, but if you want to play along with a pop song or modern church worship song you need rhythms like the ones on this video. Thanks - let see some more - I really like the little trills with your fingers, been trying to copy them - not easy - further video please!

  • nice rhythms

  • Yeah I actually used one of these for a rock gig once in a venue where there wasn't much space... XD

  • oh shit....

  • yous is playing straight beats...nice but nothing too great

  • Where can I get this rhythms?

  • what djembe is this?

  • it's a remo

  • what's with all the ahole comments here, A Djembe from Africa is no better than one from anywhere else.

    The Guitar was invented in India, does that mean that all non-Indian guitars are crap, hell no.

  • you get quality and assurance in a product from africa, you buy something from walmart you can expect it to sound worse than something genuine, settle down

  • very cool and very helpful video...thanks a bunch

    PEACE and LOVE

  • Great sound on this drum. Great playing too.

  • You are a great drummer! Thanks for sharing. I would love it if this video were titled "rhythm lesson" instead of "djembe lesson".

    This is good music you are playing. Do not confuse it with a djembe lesson. This is a good rhythm lesson being taught on an instrument that resembles a djembe in shape only. Not in construction or sound. The djembe, along with the music, singing, and dance that it is connected with, is as important and sacred to Malinke and Bamana people as your worship.

  • =o those are kool i wanna get one but then id get bored with it becz ill never be able to play it right

  • If you had one and a good friend or someone to play with I think you would find that you would do ok. Go try it.

  • I don't care how many friends wanted to play, I wouldn't touch a Remo. Or should I say a Ringo. Rinnnnnnnnnng, Rinnnnnnnnng

  • Im confused?? I thought it was a djembe...what is it?? And is it sittin on the floor or sumthin??

  • it is a djembe...just a Remo djembe which is different from some of the african djembes out there but it has basically the same concept and yes it is sitting on the floor which doesn't give it the same tone as if it was up.

  • So we dont like those? Only rope tuned drums??

  • well i like them better personally, they're the same as rope tuned ones, except instead of ropes, they use bolts to tune and hold the head on the drum. so it's the same kind of thing.

  • Yeah mines a bolt tuned djembe too...I was just wondering if they were any better. Happen to know where to get cheap rope tune drums??

  • nope, can't say that i do...sorry.

  • Its allllll god man! Just wonderin...

  • you can find the cheap bali and ghana rope-tuned djembes in music stores; there's a ton of em online and on ebay. they don't sound better or worse because of the way the head is attached; it's that the older remos like this one, especially the 14-inch diameter and larger ones, have that terrible hideous ring and are capable of being played so loudly that they drown out everything else. i shudder whenever i see someone dragging one of these freakin church bells into my circles.

  • Right on man! Preciate cha!

  • no, it doesn't mean that, but learning the beats can give an appreciation of where the instrument comes from, and can also inspire creative improvisations of those beats.

    Don't be an ass.

  • im sorry but i didnt mean to be an ass, there was just sooo many people bitching because theyre not the beats that matches the hand drum. I just meant you can play whatever you like on hand drums, who cares, they all sound different and that's what's nice.

  • Im not completely stupid or dont know a thing about music either. I do know each hand drum comes from somewhere and has its traditional music, which is nice. But that doesnt mean you have to only play that because its where your drum comes from. (didnt fit on one msg)

  • TIMBER !!!FTW

  • this awesome, definitely helpful for contemporary worship! keep it coming

  • I think that as a new djembe drummer myself technique is important , however all the culture offending talk and all this rediculous agruing over a video is absurd.. If your really here to find lessons then you take what you can from each vid you watch.... i am a white single mom and i play a djembe in church, i dont even think about the culture it originally came from. Should I? would it make a signifigant differance in someone elses life?????.... peace and GOd Bless.

  • it might make a significant difference in your life. or it might not. culture and art and history and language are all bound up inseparably. getting involved with them offers some fascinating stories and insights into other people. and ourselves. for instance, if you want a fresh take on literacy, study a culture that does not keep written records.

  • Right on!! I will check some of the history out, might even let me in on some of the ways they use the head of the drum in certain,(lack of a better word) rituals or celebrations.. I am very interested in getting the wide range of sounds out of it... such a beautiful drum.. have a great day and thaks for the insight!!

  • laught out loud

    why did you post this

  • Hey, where can I learn to play like her? I like the rhythms that she is doing. I tried listening to some traditional stuff, they don't sound as nice.

  • this woman has good rythm but calling this "djembe lesson" is the same as playing guitar on a plastic violin and calling it "violin lesson".

    It's about getting the wrong idea.

  • two amazing things in the comments: one, that anyone would find her trap set phrasing exotic, and two, that anyone who knows what to listen for would consider djembe technique easy to learn. i can get six consistent pitches out of a guitar the first time i ever pick one up; see how long it takes you to develop three consistent pitches on a djembe

  • reminds me of the old incubus. RIP. :*(

  • Only three?

  • in Africa, they use them as ashtrays, planter boxes, and I even saw one holding up a car as a jack. Don't give me the sacred shite......

  • Sacred instrument!O.k. djembe police, have you traced the first caveman guy to ever beat on an animal skin stretched over a hollowed out log and asked his intent and technique. I believe your speaking from a position of assumption and ignorance. The shape of a drum does not make it sacred. Beat on it, you get a sound. If you like it, hit it again, if it hurts, don't do it anymore. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, which is I think the intent of this video.

  • Honestly, who cares if she's playing cool rhythms and having fun, if she's not using proper technique, she should stripped of her djembe priveledges, just as John Bonham should have been executed for using his hands to play a Ludwig kit. Blasphemy! Play whatever you want, however you want! It's music, and it sounds great to me and I've been playing drums for 30 years..

  • So ignorant--you have just disgraced a sacred instrument, an entire culture, music in general, yourself, my family, and a Shaolin temple. And you're going to hurt your hands.

  • No way you're going to do this with the african drum,

    and we're not snobs, or racists...this djembe tradtion is offering you gold and you preach pebbles.

  • You sound just like the opponents to gay marriage. Her "colonial attitude" is not harming you in any way. You are free to continue playing and listening to the music you like. She's free to play what she likes with the drum she chooses. Get over yourself. Your platitudes are tiresome. Or should she be arrested and forced not to play? You sound like a moron.

  • Its a djembe style drum. What's she supposed to call it? I could see your point if the video were called "West African Drum Lesson" or "Traditional Djembe Drum Techniques". You're being hyper sensitive and critical. She's not even playing an African drum. It has nothing to do with "respecting another's culture". They used to say the same thing when African Americans started playing Jazz on classically European instruments--or when the violin was used for "fiddle" music.

  • I guess you're right. She should have entitled it "A demonstration of watered-down, hegemonic, western colonial rhythms played on a manufactured drum that slightly resembles a djembe which could hurt your hands and offend black people".

  • Well with this attitude, you'll never understand why 'djembe lesson' might offend some. You probably think it's just a skin colour thing right?

    If this were an argument about fiddles and violins, she's not playing either, so same with calling it djembe lesson. Any professional and schooled hand drummer of any family of drums will tell you that this will hurt one's hand.

    She should have entitled it 'drum demonstration' instead of 'djembe lesson'.

  • Pidza it's not worth the bother, trying to explain any concept to him. He obviously doesn't want to learn anything.

  • I'm seeing that really quickly. you're right.

    too sad man,too sad.

  • What's sad is all the misdirected and gratuitous negativity, contempt, and self-righteous criticism--most of which serves no purpose other than to toot one's own horn, and "illuminate" us all to the ignorance of this shameless heretic who has dared to defile a sacred instrument . . . on YouTube.

    This is frickin' YouTube. Give it a rest or make your own video demonstrating the "proper" treatment and repsect of a Remo djembe.

  • Man , I thought I was bitter.

  • here's a thought: Point me to somewhere where there are "proper" lessons.

    instead of griping and moaning like a child, try being constructive and pointing us to a place where we can find out what you're trying to tell us.