What in the World is Djembe?

What in the world is Djembe? Well.....simply put, Djembe is is a goblet shaped hand drum with an authentic goat skin playing surface which is held down by rope runners. According to the Bamana people in Mali, the name of the Djembe comes directly from the saying "Anke dje, anke be" which literally translates to "everyone gather together" and defines the drum's purpose. They come in different styles & sizes....and so on and so on.

Djembe drums are commonly used in drumcircles where people gather together in groups and everyone just kind of plays from within. The main objective in a drum circle is to share rhythm and get in tune with each other and themselves. If you haven't taken part of a drum circle yet, I highly suggest you check one out! It is truly a moving experience! I guarantee you'll be forever changed! To find a drum circle event near you, go here ---> http://drumcircles.net/circlelist

There are different techniques and ways to hit the djembe. One uses different parts of their hands to produce different sounds. Those sounds can also differ when you hit a different part of the playing surface.

Here is a great instructional video on the djembe made by solo artist/teacher Jim Donovan. Jim is one of the best and his music has been featured in major motion films such as Ice Age, Twister, Mathilda as well as on various network television shows such as American Idol, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Party of Five and the PBS "Web of Life" documentary.

This guy is awesome!!!! Check it out!

Diddle's Drum Shop has gone live!

Well, sort of.....LOL. Last night Diddle's gave the "thumbs up" to go ahead and launch the shop's NEW main webpage.

Can you tell that Diddle's is super excited to get this thing rollin? He told us, "Get the site up! Tell them who we are and what we're about. We 've got stuff to do!"

So, we setup a homepage telling the world who we are - what we're about and what they can expect to see from DiddlesDrumShop.com. I can't reveal everything here, but I can tell you that Diddle has many projects in the works for the shop. New products are being offered, some very cool local projects to help the community happening.

What Can You Expect 2 See at DiddlesDrumShop.com?

• Diddle's Drum Blog - Diddles loves drums and everything related to drumming. In his blog, he will share the latest news, reveal how to do the coolest tricks, share helpful drumming tips.......and more. You can check out his current blog HERE.

• Diddle's Drum Forum - Diddle's is going to have a forum where percussionists from all over the world can get together and discuss about drumming. You'll need to register, but It will be FREE to participate.

• Diddle's Outreach Programs - Diddle's loves his community. He enjoys helping people, specifically those in need. Stayed tuned to see what he's involved with.

• Diddle's Online Drum Store - Yes, Diddle's will have an online store. He plans on providing percussionists with the tools they need to have fun with their drumming! He plans on providing products such as:
  

1. Marching Percussion (Drums, Carriers, Sticks, Practice pads)
   
2. Hand Percussion (Bongos, Congas, Cajons, Darbukas, Doumbeks and Djembe)
3. Kid's Percussion (Drum Sets, Drumsticks for kids, Beginner programs and more!)
   
4. Accessories (Bags, Cases, Drum Sheet Music, DVD's, Drum Music Downloads)

So as you can see, there is quite a lot of things Diddle's has in the works! Stay tuned as we make it all happen! We're stoked!

The" Diddle" Exercise

Well, I was just sitting here thinking about what drumming exercise to post. I couldn't think of a more appropriate exercise than the "Diddle" exercise. So, with that said........I would like to say that this exercise is one the the core drumming exercises a percussionist can learn. There are many variations of this old drumming exercise, but the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) method works!

First off, what is a "Diddle?"

It is nothing more than 2 consecutive notes played rapidly one after the other on the same hand.


Simple exercise. Use alternating R then L sticking pattern. DO NOT accent the diddles! Alot of drummers have the tendency to accent the diddles. This is incorrect for exercise purposes! Try to play the "diddles" at the same volume at the same level as the other notes. If you wanna have some fun at accenting this: Try accenting the diddles in this exercise as an ADDITIONAL excercise to your daily routine. Exaggerating the diddles.


Give this a shot. Start out slowly - then build up speed! ALWAYS practice with a metronome......

If you get bored with this drumming exercise, or just wanna add some flare to this, try adding some "spida" movements or tosses to the check pattern.

HAVE FUN MAN!