The Djembe Slap

[@dsomlit]

Thank you so much Master for explaining great technique in full detail

[@kristapsbungo]

This is the best video on the djembe slap, period. Both in terms of the teaching content, and production quality.

[@djembesolo]

Hahaha Thank you so much +kristapsbungo. Just missing the +100000 views!

[@kristapsbungo]

Now, how about the tone? Good tone is harder than the slap, I think.

[@TheBassHeavy]

Brilliant video and exactly what I was looking for!

[@76boromir]

This is most comprehensive and also cool looking video I have seen on art of playing djembe slap. Bravo! Would love to see your learning aproach on how to play good tones. Tones are often times so much neglected with beginners, as they tend to concentrate mainly on producing slaps.

[@djembesolo]

Thanks 76boromir, I will probably do something about the open tones once.

[@de3675]

Today I played Djembe at my brother's house and I remembered his work! Now you have more fans here in Brazil! Happy New Year!

[@djembesolo]

Cool, thank you happy new 2017

[@kraaberts]

This. Is. Everything. I thought my djembe was out of tune because I was getting tin-can ringing when I did my slap. It's all in the technique, baby! THANKS!

[@nezantak]

This video has helped me.a.lot! Thank you for sharing!

[@olowasegun6829]

Thanks for the informative video. Best explanation of the slap I've seen so far.

[@djembesolo]

Thanx Olowa.

[@jeetray11]

"You don't need to kill the goat a scond time!" at 3:53. I already enjoyed the video thoroughly and then I saw that humor. Brilliant punch line!!

[@MrAliasdd]

Thanks so much for this lesson. You are an amazing player and great teacher!

[@doumbe.ewande]

Thanks

[@thomasvahle]

super demo de technique et meme au ralenti! bravo LC!

[@doumbe.ewande]

+thomas vahle yep

[@bedamorstein4975]

Thanks a lot for this video. It's really a functional tutorial on the Internet. I did not find any other. Thomas Gui told me, that the only difference between slap and ton is the change in tension between the index finger and the middle finger (they will touch slightly). It works for me. :-)

[@djembesolo]

Thx for your comment. The understanding of the explanation you describe must be part of a bigger one because this is absolutely not a difference of tension between fingers which makes the slap sounding differently than a tonic. It's because of the contact points in the hand which are completely different. This difference can be very subtle to eye catch and this is very common to hide the difference as a joke to impress beginners. In one of his DVD Mamady Keita pushed the limit of mystification saying that when he thinks tonic his hand sounds tonic, he thinks slap, his hand sounds slap... Fortunately things are way less fantastic and can be explained very clearly (I don't state the practice is easy): With the tonic a large surface of the fingers touch the skin, with the slap the hand contacts the wood and only the finger tips touch the skin. This is why it slaps. Looks like giving a tension between index finger and the middle finger could be a way to achieve this... First time I hear this one.

[@petervad]

@@djembesolo great explanation, thank you.

[@sallymalnar4625]

excellent video, thanks

[@TheGrimjerk]

I have a lot of conga habits to turn off when I play the djembe.

[@dertyberty]

Why not use them too in your arsenal? I think don't forget your roots you put the work in learning to do it. .

[@amarsodnompil7136]

Thank you for this video very helpful for me.

[@hoshumberry]

Wonderful video and great tips. However, my fingers are way to stiff to " fall" let alone slap against the palm of my hand to make that slapping sound, impossible unless I do some special type of " hand yoga" or use curare to get the muscles to completely flop to enable me to get that to happen. I work with my hands for a living, therefore they are very strong but not flexible.... so then what? I had my wife try the same exercise.. sorry no finger slapping or flopping even though her fingers are very flexible and touch her palms. Did you skip a step?

[@doumbe.ewande]

hoshumberry if when using the opposite hand to help you can make your fingertips touch the palm, then you can do it. Letting the fingers “fall” and “go” may take a certain amount of time.

[@doumbe.ewande]

hoshumberry the #Tip 1 is the most important step. This is where you learn to let the fingers fall rather than closing your hand.

[@hoshumberry]

@@doumbe.ewande Merci Louis,, I will try what you say every day and see what comes of it, I " think" I understand what you trying to get at.

[@doumbe.ewande]

@@hoshumberry Good. Letting the fingers fall is easy when you know how to do it. When you don't it takes some time to feel how it works. The weird thing is you have to not do anything to let the fingers fall :-). But then you will feel their weight when doing it. Throwing them in the skin will be far easier after that. Good luck, keep me posted about your progress !

[@hoshumberry]

@@doumbe.ewande Hi again, ok after carefully listening and watching Mamady Keita and listening carefully to his introduction.. it is much easier with the actual Djembe to do this and seems to be the " key" to getting the " ton"..which I find the most difficult to reproduce. He says" we don't make " noise" with the djembe but need to learn how to speak its language. A dedicated Djembefolia student will work on this" language " assiduously" each day . When practicing with the djembe, then your technique makes complete sense!

[@mylesthompson5804]

Brilliant tutorial.

[@marcdedouvan]

Bravo. je pense que les "mauvais clichés" viennent du fait que trop de gens pensent que toutes les percussions digitales (frappées par les doigts) se jouent de la même manière alors que cela doit changer avec la forme et le son, pour exploiter le potentiel de l'instrument (et du corps humain) au lieu de le brider. Donc c'est assez logique. Le claqué "plaqué" est une technique de conguero adaptée aux congas (compte tenu de la forte résonance naturelle et grave de l'instrument). C'est expliqué sur mon site avec photos. En darbouka, le jeu se faisant avec les doigts en général sur un instrument délicat (peau de poisson sur terre cuite à la base), le claqué est plus harmonisé en étant étouffé (plaqué, empêche la résonance), mais c'est pas obligatoire: le contraste c'est pas mal aussi) On peut comparer la technique du claqué à un trébuchet (arme de siège du moyen âge mélangeant concept de la fronde et de la catapulte pour décupler la force du tir, à énergie égale). Infaisable avec baguettes (pas souples). Cela montre que les baguettes ne représente pas un "progrès" moderne obligé (un autre cliché courant je pense très mal compris en conservatoire français souvent). On peut aussi comparer avec le coup de fouet (qui n'a rien avoir avec la technique "Moeller" comme le disent certains). Pour info je viens de voir tes vidéos et j'en ai intégré quelques unes sur mon site à ta page (comme illustration et démo promotionnelle) en tant que "grand batteur" (selon moi) aujourd'hui traduite en anglais. Je conseille le visionnage de toutes tes vidéos sur youtube.

[@djembesolo]

Marc De Douvan Merci Marc.

[@territmoderitmo9190]

Alex89 already said everything. 👏👏👏

[@mikeleza]

Brilliant

[@djembesolo]

Thanx

[@djembesolo]

@Kevin Pereira thanks for your comment. About the "use that difference to make interesting combinations of sounds"… well it's difficult to don't agree with the concept. But in real world, people who take the ugly slap as a standard do it just because they don't know how to do it properly - different approaches still co-exist about which part of the hand should touch the wood - They don't even realize how much contraction reduces the resonance of the instrument (please check the vid again). Inappropriate contraction does not only affect the sound, it affects phrasing which is even worse when it comes to play a pattern.

[@76boromir]

Totaly agree on that. One question that puzzles me with those kind of players is; where is the main reason for wrong technique. Not being able to play it or not being able to hear it? And I am talking about the people who are playing djembe on regular basis for ower 10 years, not beginners or occasional players....

[@djembesolo]

76boromir Well, using lots of energy to do something new is normal and in a way I prefer this attitude rather than waiting for students to engage more, physically and emotionaly. I think those over-ten-years-of-practice players you are talking about were not teached properly on the technical side and by a matter of fact didn't learn to feel the difference. In this case people tend to practice mistakes and built something on them. On the other side I would not say teachers, especially african teachers are responsible for not giving enough informations. Most of them don't feel comfortable to break in pieces a process they internalized globally by imitation in a context were they were surrounded by examples of how things work and where impregnation is the master plan. It becomes a problem when players teach wrong techniques.

[@CristianContreras-fw3dh]

Excelente !!!!

[@djembesolo]

thanks

[@Pelleditamburo]

Hi nice video and nice approach for the explanation. I think it's good to keep hand relaxed and that is not necessary to be loud, but actually I don't agree completely on the wirst point, I think you can't play slap or open tone correctly without moving wirsts and this is more evident at high speed (rolls etc). I'd say to use more the arm at low speed and more the wirsts at high speed. Even in your slow motion is possible to notice your wirst is bending. Also I think the slap movement change a bit on every drum and with different hands, anyway I think there is no particular secrets in a good slap, just lot of practice to get the right sounds...cheers

[@doumbe.ewande]

+Pelleditamburo Thanks for your comment which give me the opportunity to clear up things.What you said is a common misunderstanding. We don't play without wrists like if there were no articulation at all but power comes from arm weight and elbow articulation. Wrists just follow the movement they don't initiate it. Keep in mind this video is about the straight slap. When playing embellishment techniques like rebounds and rocking hands we have to put more wrist in the action which is the case in the free style at the end of the video. If you experiment some snare technique on the djembe you have to use wrists too, but as I mentioned it before this is out of the topic of this vid.

[@MrAmisto]

I wouldn't say contracted sounds ugly, it sounds different, and sometimes you can use that difference to make interesting combinations of sounds. Very nice vid though.

[@doumbe.ewande]

+Kevin Pereira You are right, but the topic of the video is about getting a straight slap not about how to expand sonic possibilities. Much people are stuck with the ugly/different slap without a clear explanation about how to do it in the conventional/traditional way :)

[@Koropokel]

3:12 :D

[@thednv9971]

I broke my wrist

[@pjotarendewolf2195]

But with your closed tones you do stick

[@doumbe.ewande]

Well... Yes. You will stick to the skin with any muffeld sound. Is this what you are talking about?

[@oooSoundOfLifeooo]

Sorry, but I have to strongly disagree with the first point. Using the arm from the elbow is slow, and much less precise with regards to timing. than the wrist. Plus, it costs much more effort = makes you tire and harden much quicker, up to the shoulder (or even further!), giving you an even less smooth ride, and shortening considerably your endurance. The volume variation is in the attack velocity, in my experience, not in the 'leverage'. With the rest I agree... ;o)

[@doumbe.ewande]

Interesting. Could you share a link pointing to a video showcasing your technique ?

[@oooSoundOfLifeooo]

@@doumbe.ewande Sure... kzbin.info/www/bejne/j2amY2lsrK5jf9k Observe how this master very clearly varies the sound in the middle of a roll just by slightly changing what his hand does, never varying the amplitude of his arm stroke, everything coming from his wrist.

[@johnhawkinshawkins1284]

more analysis, more BS

[@djembesolo]

more analysais, more BS.... see how easy it is to write words? Playing is another story, let me hear your sound. BTW if for you it looks like an analysis... ok, for me it's just a description.

[@OL9245]

This video was of no help to me. He describes perfectly what a true slap is, but not how to get there. Example: he says do not play loud, you do not need to play loud to make a good slap’. Perfect! But you have to start somewhere, and the point where to start is to try to get a slap at any price. Only after a year or two you will be able to get a better sound and by using less force. Example 2: clap your fingers in the palm of your hands: this useless skill is the consequence of years of practicing the djembe. It is not in any way something you can or should practice to improve your slap. The tips that could help a beginner do not deal with ‘what to do’ but ‘which feeling you should be looking for’. My best advice to improve your sound: 1 put a teeshirt on your djembe to mute the sound and avoid harming yourself before you got a steady, consistent, move. This advice may look weird, but actually, this is how I could improve my sound the best. 2 Practice one hand at a time. This is the only way to focus at your sensations. Play slap slap tone tone with one hand, and a metronome. Have in mind the speed. Speed of the tips of your fingers is everything. This is why you have to relax your wrist and fingers: to use your hand as a whip. Your arm is the handle, and your hand is the whip 3: never practice slap without practicing tones at the same time. Slaps and tones are almost the same move. Actually, they are 100% identical from the arm to the wrist. The only difference is in the fingers. Not convinced? Then Play in slowmo any djembe video on KZbin. You hardly can make a difference between slap and tone, The reason why? Because you cannot see the fingers in a video, and all the rest is the same. In a word, good tone is as hard a good slap to get it well.

[@doumbe.ewande]

BTW A tone is not as difficult as a slap.

[@OL9245]

@@doumbe.ewande Thank-you for responding to my comment. Actually, many people think that the tone is easier than the slap, even among great players like you, but beginners should not be encouraged to think that way. The first difficulty of the tone is the sound. The tone must be about as loud as the slap, and definitely as crisp. The only big difference must be the pitch of the note. This is very difficult to achieve because when one try to get a stronger tone, the pitch tends to become higher, and vice versa. The second difficulty is that the tone is, like the slap, a whipped movement. But where the slap is a whipped swing with the whole hand, (so with wrist and fingers relaxed), the tone is a whipping of the wrist alone, with the wrist relaxed but the fingers firmly tightened. It is not possible to achieve this without specifically training one's tone. People who have disregarding working on their tone for years will find very difficult to improve it.

[@doumbe.ewande]

Olivier Planchon ok so I am definitely talking with someone who doesn’t know what he is talking about. The fingers during a tone must absolutely not be maintained tight. This is a complete beginner mistake. Stop commenting please. If you still want to share your point upload a video demonstrating your beliefs.

[@OL9245]

@@doumbe.ewande kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYuuhmeimJWGqLs is an interesting comparison of tone vs slap that might be very helpful to beginners.

[@djembesolo]

@@OL9245 This guy is completely tense and both his sound and playing are awful. I saw some videos where he demonstrates stupid exercises that will just make people waste their time. I understand now what are your references. Stop posting on my channel or I will ban your account.