(According to the Bambara people in Mali, the origin for the name of the djembe drum comes from this saying.)
“Anke djé, anke bé”
Recently I picked up a djembe drum. I didn’t know what to expect. I just had access to one and I wanted to get away from doing drums in the computer. I played drums in college and high-school and I wanted to actually play percussion again. What I discovered changed the shape of my entire musical journey so far.
Djembe?
The djembe is a goblet shaped drum. It can be as loud as a jack hammer, (for real ..105 db or so). It has three sounds, essentially, (but you can be creative there). Bass, tone, and slap. I’ve discovered it to be crucial, not just fun. Those 3 tones are all I need. It’s like a three piece kit in my lap.
There’s loads of patterns to look up and get familiar with. It’s also fun just to beat on the thing ‘til you find something cool. 2 areas I did not know I would enjoy so much getting into this are simply the playing of and the recording of the thing.
Let the sessions begin..
I generally sit down to djembe for several minutes to a good while. My djembe sessions are not short. When I get on a good rhythm, my mind starts to wander. I’m thinking about bass, guitar, vocals. I am actually writing a tune in my head while my hands hit the drum. Pretty neat, to me.
The second thing I did not expect to enjoy is recording it. But when I looked into it, I found a lot of fun stuff to do. The bass comes out the bottom of the djembe, so put a bass drum mic or 57 mic on it. The top has sophisticated sounds with the skin head and my pounding in different places and different volumes. I’ve gone to a good condenser on the top mic. 2 tracks, simultaneous. But that’s not all..
Do it again..and again
The djembe shines with multiple tracks. Reverb and all that is situational, but nearly always 3 tracks. They could play the same thing sometimes. Sometimes they play different things. Not sure it matters, what matters is the subtle differences in tracks. The feel of that, what I go for.
Mix it up
As far as mixing? I put all the bass drum mics on a kick drum type bus. I put all the top condensers everywhere. Kick in the middle, spread out the top. If you want to get fancy, throw a mellow subkick on the kick drum bus.
Doing this has kept me from even considering computer drums. The difference in feel and vibe, no comparison. It’s not meditation, what I do when I’m thinking about music while playing a steady rhythm, but it’s close to it. Not only all that, it’s opened up avenues in writing and other instruments, playing along to djembe. It’s a great thing in my life today.
The magic of one drum
Magic in music can happen any time, any place. No telling. I heard Uncle Tupelo in a grungy truck-stop and it changed my life. I’m open to these things. The djembe is like that. Game-changer. Good luck, musicians.
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