How to play African drum

How to play the African drum is as follows:

1. Bass playing method: First, straighten the four fingers together and relax the arms, then open the arms so that the arms and wrists are in a straight line. Place the entire palm on the center of the drum head. When hitting, the drum will bounce up quickly and fall down. The center of gravity is in the palm of the hand. After hitting the drum head, be careful not to let your hands stay on the drum head.

2. How to play the alto: The hand shape for playing the alto remains the same as for the bass. First place it on the bass, then move your hand outward so that the roots of your fingers are aligned with the edge of the drum, and then use the four fingers of your palm to hit. When it bounces up quickly, the center of gravity when it falls is on the fingertips.

3. How to play high notes: When playing high notes, open your fingers naturally, but don’t open them too wide. When striking, use the pads at the base of your fingers to hit the rim of the drum. While impacting, your fingertips hit the drum surface. The area between the root pads does not touch the drum head. Only the fingertips and the root pads are in contact with the drum head.

Sitting style: Hold the African drum between your legs, sit up straight with your waist, tilt the drum outward, open your shoulders, and place your hands naturally on the side of the drum. Because the African drum is a single-sided drum-skin instrument, the purpose of tilting it is to Let the sound release from the bottom of the shell.

African drum is a common name that usually refers to the Djembe from West Africa. It is a representative musical instrument of the Manding culture in West Africa. Traditionally, Djembe is played with bare hands and mainly has three notes: low, medium and high. It also needs to cooperate with Dunun to play drum music related to specific life scenes to accompany dancers and singers.