The djembé is a Musical instrument composed of a part of Bois in the shape of chalice covered with a skin with Chèvre or Antilope and with a system with tension (cord, metal rings).

It comes us from the Empire Mandingue (West Africa), set up by Sundjata Keïta at the 13th century, which extended from the Guinea in the east of the Mali, and at the north of the Ivory Coast while passing by the Burkina Faso.

He is played, at the origin, full hands to accompany by the very precise social facts such as the marriages, baptisms, circumcisions, harvests, etc This with particular and specific rates/rhythms to each occasion and each ethnicity.

Djembé belongs to a unit polyrythmic, and only gets along very seldom only, even never. The members of this instrumentarium are the Doundounba, the Sangban, the Kenkeni, several djembés of accompaniments and one djembé soloist (in general). Moreover, it is indissociable Danse whose sentences of the soloist mark times.

It is in the Années 1950 that djembé starts to export itself apart from Africa, thanks to Fodéba Keita the African and ballets then thanks to Guinea and its president Sekou Touré, who set up the national ballet of the Republic of Guinea like window of his mode.

But they are truly in Years 1980 that djembé conquered the world, thanks to large djembefola resulting from ballets national (Mamady Keïta, most known among them, but also Amadou Kienou, Famoudou Konaté, François Dembélé, etc) which play regularly, and training colleges founded, in Europe, with the the United States and the Japan.

The great current popularity of djembé in occident and its manufacture with large scales for export have serious effects on the populations of Cordyla pinata (gasoline known locally under the names of dimb or will dougoura ), one of the trees from which djembé is carved. Indeed, with the current rhythm of exploitation, Cordyla pinata will disappear from here a generation, and this in spite of the policy of protection of the Senegalese, political government however little or badly applied and easily circumvented by the loggers.

Other wood turpentines are regularly used in the manufacture of djembés, such as the iroko, linké (red wood), the goni and the khali (wood of vene), etc

Sounds of Djembé

From a general point of view, one can associate the serious sounds with the center of the skin of Djembé and the acute sounds with the periphery of the skin.

Four principal sounds can be carried out with Djembé, and depend on the one hand on the place where one strikes the skin and on the other hand, of the part of the hand which strikes the skin:

; the “tonic”: It is a sound beats and dry, obtained by striking the edge of the skin with the whole of the fingers.
Pour this sound, one works with the first two phalanges of the fingers on the periphery of the skin and more close possible of “round” (the zone of the wood barrel where the skin rests which is also often called striking ). The sound must be dry and short: a problem of structure is often identified (bad profile of striking, higher hoopings nonparallel with the involving barrel of the irregularities of tension of the skin…) or of tension of the skin when the " tonique" sound long: generally metal Harmonique S are perceived.

; the “opera hat”: It is the acutest sound but especially most powerful, obtained by claquant the skin on the edge with the palm of the hand and the end of the fingers.
La skin is vigorously struck skew on the level of striking (round-off) with the edge of the palm (to be precise, with the zone of the articulations between the palm and the third phalanges); for this sound, it is the palm which strikes but in fact the fingers produce the sound: the fingers must be flexible, so as to come to strike the skin in their race (because of their “dash”). It results a powerful sound from it characterized by this effect of “opera hat”. This is why it is very much used at the time them solos to bring noise rises of level, revivals and dynamism at the rate/rhythm.

; the “low one”: It is the serious sound, obtained by striking the center of the instrument with all the hand.
Pour this sound, it is the base of the palm which strikes (on the level of the base of the inch). The low one is the sound which makes it possible to print the rate/rhythm when one plays.

; “matte”: It is the choked sound, obtained by preventing the skin from vibrating. The skin is maintained by the weak hand placed at the low then skin is struck by the strong hand. There thus exists the matte snap and the tonic matte.

External bonds

• the manufacture of the djembe in 40 photographs
• Mandingue Culture: School of traditional percussions of West Africa
• Site dedicated to the traditional cultures of West Africa, vidéos, course, sale and répartations of djembé and dumdums
• Site speaking on the traditional side like how to choose its instrument
• Site on the history, the culture and the musics of Guinea (vidéos, forum)
• French-speaking Site
• Slowed down vidéos free of djembé (publishes also the method (CD and DVD) for beginners the most diffused which contributes to the actions of UNESCO for education the culture and peace).
• Djembe resource site
• taikipercu.free.fr, djembe and dununs (rates/rhythms, discography, diary, forum)
• Partitions of the most known rates/rhythms
• Webzine of all the percussions

Random links:

ATC codes N04 | Marie Merchant-Arvier | Dune: Spice Operated | Échez | Dérocher