Djembe Players

A djembe or jembe ( ; from Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa.
According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe comes from the saying "Anke djé, anke bé" which translates to "everyone gather together in peace" and defines the drum's purpose. In the Bambara language, "djé" is the verb for "gather" and "bé" translates as "peace."

The djembe has a body (or shell) carved of hardwood and a drumhead made of untreated (not limed) rawhide, most commonly made from goatskin. Excluding rings, djembes have an exterior diameter of 30–38 cm (12–15 in) and a height of 58–63 cm (23–25 in). The majority have a diameter in the 13 to 14 inch range. The weight of a djembe ranges from 5 kg to 13 kg (11–29 lb) and depends on size and shell material. A medium-size djembe carved from one of the traditional woods (including skin, rings, and rope) weighs around 9 kg (20 lb).

The djembe can produce a wide variety of sounds, making it an extremely versatile drum. The drum is very loud, allowing it to be heard clearly as a solo instrument over a large percussion ensemble. The Malinké people say that a skilled drummer is one who "can make the djembe talk", meaning that the player can tell an emotional story (the Malinké never used the djembe as a signaling drum).

Traditionally, the djembe is played only by men, as are the ''dunun'' that always accompany the djembe. Conversely, other percussion instruments that are commonly played as part of an ensemble, such as the ''shekere'' (a hollowed-out gourd covered with a net of beads), ''karignan'' (a tubular bell), and '' kese kese'' (a woven basket rattle), are usually played by women. Even today, it is rare to see women play djembe or dunun in West Africa, and African women express astonishment when they do see a female djembe player.

Origin

There is general agreement that the origin of the djembe is associated with the Mandinka caste of blacksmiths, known as '' Numu''. The wide dispersion of the djembe drum throughout West Africa may be due to Numu migrations during the first millennium AD. Despite the association of the djembe with the Numu, there are no hereditary restrictions on who may become a ''djembefola'' (literally, "one who plays the djembe"). This is in contrast to instruments whose use is reserved for members of the ''griot'' caste, such as the ''balafon'', '' kora'', and '' ngoni''. (The djembe is not a griot instrument.) Anyone who plays djembe is a djembefola—the term does not imply a particular level of skill.

Geographically, the traditional distribution of the djembe is associated with the Mali Empire, which dates back to 1230 AD and included parts of the modern-day countries of Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Gambia, and Senegal. However, due to the lack of written records in West African countries, it is unclear whether the djembe predates or postdates the Mali Empire. It seems likely that the history of the djembe reaches back for at least several centuries and possibly more than a millennium.

The goblet shape of the djembe suggests that it originally may have been created from a mortar. (Mortars are widely used throughout West Africa for food preparation.)

Recent history

Prior to the 1950s and the decolonization of West Africa, due to the very limited travel of native Africans outside their own ethnic group, the djembe was known only in its original area.

National ballets

The djembe first came to the attention of audiences outside West Africa with the efforts of Fodéba Keïta, who, in 1952, founded Les Ballets Africains. The ballet toured extensively in Europe and was declared Guinea's first national ballet by Guinea's first president, Sékou Touré, after Guinea gained independence in 1958, to be followed by two more national ballets, the Ballet d'Armee in 1961 and Ballet Djoliba in 1964.

Touré's policies alienated Guinea from the West and he followed the Eastern Bloc model of using the country's culture and music for promotional means. He and Fodéba Keïta, who had become a close friend of Touré, saw the ballets as a way to secularize traditional customs and rites of different ethnic groups in Guinea. The ballets combined rhythms and dances from widely different spiritual backgrounds in a single performance, which suited the aim of Touré's demystification program of "doing away with 'fetishist' ritual practices".

Touré generously supported the ballets (to the point of building a special rehearsal and performance space in his palace for Ballet Djoliba) and, until his death in 1984, financed extensive world-wide performance tours, which brought the djembe to the attention of Western audiences. Other countries followed Touré's example and founded national ballets in the 1960s, including Ivory Coast (Ballet Koteba), Mali (Les Ballets Malien), and Senegal (Le Ballet National du Senegal), each with its own attached political agenda.

Emigration

In the United States, Ladji Camara, a member of Ballets Africains in the 1950s, started teaching djembe in the 1960s and continued to teach into the 1990s. Camara performed extensively with Babatunde Olatunji during the 1970s, greatly raising awareness of the instrument in the US.

After the death of Sekou Touré in 1984, funding for the ballets dried up and a number of djembefolas (who were never paid well by the ballets) emigrated and made regular teaching and performance appearances in the west, including Mamady Keïta (Belgium, US), Famoudou Konaté (Germany), and Epizo Bangoura (France, US, and Australia). A number of other djembefolas—M'bemba Bangoura, Abdoulaye Diakité, Bolokada Conde, Mohamed "Bangouraké" Bangoura, and Babara Bangoura, among others—followed their example, establishing a sizeable population of expatriate performers and teachers in many Western countries.

Film

The 1991 documentary ''Djembefola'' by Laurent Chevallier depicts Mamady Keïta's return to the village of his birth after a 26-year absence. Upon release, the movie won the Wisselzak Trophy and Special Jury Award at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, and the Audience Award at the Marseille Festival of Documentary Film, and brought the djembe to the attention of a wide audience.

A 1998 follow-up documentary, ''Mögöbalu'' (also by Chevallier), contains concert footage uniting four master drummers (Soungalo Coulibaly, Mamady Keita, Famoudou Konaté, and Doudou N'Diaye Rose) on stage.

The Oscar-nominated 2007 drama '' The Visitor'' ensured that the djembe was noticed internationally by mainstream viewers.

Western music

The djembe has been used by many modern artists, including Paul Simon, Cirque du Soleil, and Tool, raising awareness of the instrument with western audiences.

Recordings

Recordings of the djembe far surpass the number of recordings of any other African drum. Beginning in the late 1980s, a slew of djembe-centric recordings was released, a trend that, as of 2014, shows no sign of abating. This is significant because these recordings are driven by the demand of western audiences: there are almost no djembe recordings within African markets.

Educational material

Among the earliest educational resources available to a student of the djembe were an educational VHS tape by Babatunde Olatunji released in 1993, as well as books by Serge Blanc, Famoudou Konaté, and Mamady Keïta. In 1998, these were supplemented by a three-volume VHS set by Keïta and, in 2000, by a VHS tape by Epizo Bangoura. Since then, the market for educational materials has grown significantly. As of 2014, dozens of educational books, CDs, and videos are available to an aspiring player.

Tourism

Starting in the 1980s, a number of Guinean djembefolas (Epizo Bangoura, Famoudou Konaté, Mamady Keïta) started hosting study tours to Guinea, allowing djembe students to experience Guinean culture first-hand. Many other djembefolas followed suit; as of 2014, a potential visitor can select from tens of djembe tours each year. Djembe tourism created a market for djembefolas in Guinea that previously did not exist. Young djembefolas try to emulate the success of their predecessors and cater to the needs of the tourists, leading to change and commodification of the original djembe culture.

Commercially produced instruments

Most djembes from Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Senegal are still hand carved from traditional species of wood, using traditional tools and methods. In the 1990s, djembes started being produced elsewhere, such as in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and Indonesia, often using modern machinery and substitute species of wood, such as tweneboa ('' Cordia platythyrsa'') or mahogany (''Swietenia mahagoni'' or ''Toona sureni''). However, these woods, being softer and less dense, are not as suitable as the traditional woods. A number of western percussion instrument manufacturers also produce djembe-like instruments, often with fibreglass bodies, synthetic skins, and a key tuning system.

Women djembefolas

The traditional barriers against women djembe and dunun players have come down over time.
* In 1998, Mamoudou Conde, director of the ballets '' Les Percussions de Guinée'', ''Les Ballets Africains'', and ''Ballet Djoliba'', began to explore the idea of including women djembe and dunun players in ballet performances, against considerable initial resistance from male performers. Despite this, he included two female djembe players in the 2000 American tour of ''Les Percussions de Guinée''. Based on positive feedback from that tour, Conde decided to form an all-female ballet group called ''Amazones: The Women Master Drummers of Guinea'' (renamed ''Nimbaya!'' in 2010). The group first toured the US in 2004 and continues to perform, with tour dates scheduled out to 2014.
* There are several notable female djembefolas, including Salimata Diabaté from Burkina Faso (lead djembefola of ''Afro Faso Jeunesse''), Monette Marino-Keita from San Diego (winner of the 1st National "Hand Drum-Off" Competition in 2001), Anne-Yolaine Diarra from France (djembefola with ''Sokan''), and Melissa Hie from Burkina Faso (lead djembefola of ''Benkadi'').

Sound and beating technique

For its size, the djembe is an unusually loud drum. The volume of the drum rises with increasing skin tension. On a djembe tuned to solo pitch, skilled players can achieve sound pressure of more than 105 dB, about the same volume as a jackhammer.

Djembe players use three basic sounds: ''bass'', ''tone'', and ''slap'', which have low, medium, and high pitch, respectively. These sounds are achieved by varying the striking technique and position. Other sounds are possible (masters achieve as many as twenty-five distinctly different sounds), but these additional sounds are used rarely, mainly for special effects during a solo performance (''djembe kan'', literally, "the sound of the djembe"). A skilled player can use the sounds to create very complex rhythmic patterns; the combination of rhythm and the differently pitched sounds often leads an inexpert listener to believe that more than one drum is being played.

The bass sound is produced by striking the drum with the palm and flat fingers near the center of the skin. Tone and slap are produced by striking the drum closer to the edge; the contact area of the fingers determines whether the sound is a tone or a slap. For a tone, most of the area of the fingers and the edge of the palm contact the skin whereas, for a slap, the contact area is limited to the edge of the palm and the fingertips. The basic sounds are played "open", meaning that the hands rebound immediately after a strike, so the contact time with the skin is as short as possible.

Acoustically, a djembe is a Helmholtz resonator: the frequency of the bass is determined by the size and shape of the shell and independent of the amount of tension on the skin. In contrast, the pitch of tones and slaps rises as the tension of the skin is increased. The bass has a frequency of 65–80 Hz. Depending on the size of the drum and the amount of tension on the skin, tone frequency varies from 300 Hz to 420 Hz and slap frequency from 700 Hz to 1000 Hz, with audible overtones reaching beyond 4 kHz.

File:Drum_vibration_mode01.gif, alt=zero-one vibrational mode created by a bass or tone, (0,1) vibrational mode created by a bass or tone
File:Drum vibration mode11.gif, alt=one-one vibrational mode created by a tonpalo, (1,1) vibrational mode created by a tonpalo
File:Drum vibration mode21.gif, alt=two-one vibrational mode created by a slap, (2,1) vibrational mode created by a slap
File:Drum vibration mode02.gif, alt=zero-two vibrational mode created by a slap, (0,2) vibrational mode created by a slap
File:Drum vibration mode12.gif, alt=one-two vibrational mode created by a slap, (1,2) vibrational mode created by a slap
File:Drum vibration mode03.gif, alt=zero-three vibrational mode created by a slap, (0,3) vibrational mode created by a slap

The difference in pitch of the sounds arises because the different striking techniques selectively emphasize specific vibrational modes of the drum head. A tone emphasizes the (0,1) mode while suppressing the bass (Helmholtz resonance) and higher-order modes as much as possible. A slap emphasizes the (2,1), (0,2), (3,1), (1,2), and (0,3) modes (as well as higher-order modes) while suppressing the Helmholtz resonance and the (0,1) and (1,1) modes. Skilled players can also produce a medium-pitched sound (between a tone and slap) that is variously called ''third slap'', ''tonpalo'', or ''lé''; this sound emphasizes the (1,1) mode while suppressing all other modes as much as possible.

File:Djembe_bass_spectrum.jpg, alt=Spectrum analysis of a bass. The big hump at 75 Hertz is the Helmholtz resonance., Spectrum analysis of a bass. The big hump is the Helmholtz resonance.
File:Djembe_tone_Spectrum.jpg, alt=Spectrum analysis of a tone. The pair of spikes at 343 Hz and 401 Hz are the zero-one mode., Spectrum analysis of a tone. The pair of spikes at 343 Hz and 401 Hz are the (0,1) mode.
File:Djembe_tonpalo_Spectrum.jpg, alt=Spectrum analysis of a tonpalo (third slap). The tallest spike at 568 Hertz is the one-one mode., Spectrum analysis of a tonpalo (third slap). The tallest spike is the (1,1) mode.
File:Djembe_slap_Spectrum.jpg, alt=Spectrum analysis of a slap. The spike at 812 Hz is the two-one mode, followed by higher-order modes., Spectrum analysis of a slap. The spike at 812 Hz is the (2,1) mode, followed by higher-order modes.

By slightly varying striking and finger position, skilled players can selectively emphasize different slap harmonics and create melodies of differently pitched slaps.

Role in the traditional ensemble

Traditionally, the djembe forms an ensemble with a number of other djembes and one or more dunun. Except for the ''lead'' (or ''solo'') djembe, all instruments play a recurring rhythmic figure that is known as an ''accompaniment pattern'' or ''accompaniment part''. The figure repeats after a certain number of beats, known as a ''cycle''. The most common cycle length is four beats, but cycles often have other lengths, such as two, three, six, eight or more beats. (Some rhythms in the dundunba family from the Hamana region in Guinea have cycle lengths of 16, 24, 28, or 32 beats, among others.) Cycles longer than eight beats are rare for djembe accompaniments—longer cycles are normally played only by the ''dununba'' or ''sangban''.

Each instrument plays a different rhythmic figure, and the cycle lengths of the different instruments need not necessarily be the same. This interplay results in complex rhythmic patterns (''polyrhythms''). The different accompaniment parts are played on djembes that are tuned to different pitches; this emphasizes the polyrhythm and creates a composite overall melody.

The number of instruments in the ensemble varies with the region and occasion. In Mali, a traditional ensemble often consists of one dunun (called ''konkoni'') and one djembe. The konkoni and djembe are in a rhythmic dialog, with each drum taking turns playing accompaniment while the other instrument plays improvised solos. If a second dunun player is available, he supplements the ensemble with a ''khassonka dunun'', which is a bass drum similar in build to a konkoni, but larger.

In Guinea, a typical ensemble uses three djembes and three dunun, called ''sangban'' (medium pitch), ''dundunba'' (bass pitch), and ''kenkeni'' (high pitch, also called ''kensedeni''). If an ensemble includes more than one djembe, the highest pitched (and therefore loudest) djembe plays solo phrases and the other djembes and dunun play accompaniment.

An ensemble may have only two dunun, depending on whether a village has enough dunun players and is wealthy enough to afford three dunun.

A djembe and dunun ensemble traditionally does not play music for people to simply sit back and listen to. Instead, the ensemble creates rhythm for people to dance, sing, clap, or work to. The western distinction between musicians and audience is inappropriate in a traditional context. A rhythm is rarely played as a performance, but is participatory: musicians, dancers, singers, and onlookers are all part of the ensemble and frequently change roles while the music is in progress.

Musicians and participants often form a circle, with the centre of the circle reserved for dancers. Depending on the particular rhythm being played, dances may be performed by groups of men and/or women with choreographed steps, or single dancers may take turns at performing short solos. The lead djembe's role is to play solo phrases that accentuate the movements of the dancers. Often, the aim is to "mark the dancers' feet", that is, to play rhythmic patterns that are synchronized with the dancers' steps. Individual solo dances are not choreographed, with the dancer freely moving in whatever way feels appropriate at that moment. Marking a solo dancer's feet requires the lead djembefola to have strong rapport with the dancer, and it takes many years of experience for a djembefola to acquire the necessary rhythmic repertoire.

The lead djembefola also improvises to a rhythm at times when no-one is dancing. While there is considerable freedom in such improvisation, the solo phrases are not random. Instead, individual rhythms have specific key patterns (signature phrases) that the soloist is expected to know and integrate into his improvisation. A skilled soloist will also play phrases that harmonize with the background rhythm (''groove'') that is created by the other instruments.

Construction

Shell

Traditionally crafted djembes are carved from a single log of hardwood. A number of different wood species are used, all of which are hard and dense. Hardness and density are important factors for the sound and projection of the djembe. The most prized djembe wood is ''lenke'' (''Afzelia africana''), not because it necessarily sounds better than other woods, but because the Malinké believe that its spiritual qualities are superior. (Malinké traditional wisdom states that a spiritual energy, or ''nyama

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases