Free Course
Got a djembe and no idea how to play it?
Take our free beginners how to play djembe course of 11 short and EASY lessons to get you started. It's completely free and you'll learn the basics of how to play djembe in about an hour.
Starting with a brief discussion of rhythm, we look at posture, the notes on the drum, hand exercises and end with a few simple rhythms.
Then, if you know the basics and are looking to expend your range, have a look at Playing Techniques for some cool new sounds and rhythms.
The Basics in 6 Lessons
Rhythms & Songs
Song 1: Albongo - Easy
Song 2: Kuku - Intermediate
Intermediate Techniques
Lesson 7: The Roll
Lesson 8: The Flam
Lesson 9: Paradiddles
Lesson 10: The Muted Tone
Lesson 11: The Shuffle (Swing Timing)
GET GOOD ON THE DJEMBE
Download this free 5 minute audio training song for the djembe. It's a simple way to improve your playing and build confidence in your djembe skills.
By subscribing, you'll also get more easy strategies to improve, delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday. Don't like it? No prob, you can unsub in one click. Here's our Privacy Policy.
Hi. Came across your web site and thus far very impressed. I have been playing hand drumming patterns with a class at a senior center for a bit over a year, and for about 8 months have been learning from a “Learn The Djembe Book” which has been highly useful.
I live in a condo apartment and my upstairs neighbor is being a whiner about my playing, despite ceasing to play my large djembe at home, and practicing with a smaller djembe of which I have a cloth head, purchased through the site ETSY and a wash cloth underneath this.
It hasn’t hampered my technique too much, as I practice just about every day for about an hour or so (he is trying to limit it through the condo board to 40 minutes) but feel I might not be able to reach my full potential having to practice this way. Any thoughts or tips you can share are greatly appreciated. During these summer months, I can go to a park, lot, etc, near my home to practice, but the climate in my city won’t allow that for the most part from late fall into the Spring.
Hi, this is a great question and probably deserves a whole post about it.
You’ve got the right idea covering the head with cloth. A towel works well too. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than nothing.
The longer term solution is to get out and play as much as you can elsewhere.