Djembe
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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A djembe also known as djimbe, jenbe, jembe, yembe, or sanbanyi in Susu; is a skin covered hand drum, shaped like a large goblet, and meant to be played with bare hands. 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. "Dje" is the verb for "gather" in Bamanakan, and "be" translates as "everyone" in Bamanakan.
It is a member of the membranophone family of musical instruments: a frame or shell (in the djembe's case it is a shell) covered by a membrane or drumhead made of one of many products, usually rawhide. The djembe also has metal rings, rope, and skin Djembes are commonly about 12" (30 cm) in diameter and 24" (60 cm) in height, varying a few inches. They can also be found at many smaller sizes, from 5" (13 cm) up to 18" (46 cm) in diameter. As a result of the goblet shape, the density of the wood, the internal carvings, and the skin, there is a wide range of tones that can be produced by the djembe. The rounded shape with the extended tube of the djembe body forms a device known in physics as a Helmholtz resonator, giving it the deep bass note. The primary notes are generally referred to as "bass", "tone" and "slap", though a variety of other tones can be produced by advanced players. The slap has a high, sharp sound and the tone is more "round" and full. The bass is the lowest.
Some consider the ashiko to be male and the djembe female.
Modern usage
The djembe first made an impact outside West Africa in Paris of the 1940s and more widely in the 1950s and 1960s with the filming and world tours of Les Ballets Africains featuring a young Papa Ladji Camara and led by Fodeba Keita of Guinea. The "national ballet" movement, in which a number of drumming/dancing companies have adapted traditional African drumming/dancing events to the Western-style stage, has resulted in a surge of interest in African drumming, especially djembe drumming.
Beginning in the late 20th century, the djembe became very popular in drum circles all around the world. In proper form, however, it's played in ensemble with the "dunun" drum (dununba, sangban, kenkeni), bells, with individuals playing different parts that lace together intricately to weave a delicate rhythmic tapestry. Dancers are accompanied by djembe and dunun drummers, including a lead djembe player, or soloist, who will play rhythms which align with the dancer's movements as they make them, and whose playing will signal changes in the dance steps, as well as the beginning and end of a piece.
The Djembe In Western Music
The djembe plays a key role in modern music that needs a highly percussive rhythm section. It has been used by such artists as Ben Harper, Paul Simon, Grateful Dead, Bedouin Soundclash, Incubus' Brandon Boyd, Gruvis Malt, Brian Rosenworcel of Guster, Dispatch and Micheal Cross, of bands such as Some State and The Swamp Monsters. An American manufactured version of an African djembe was played on main stage with a New Zealand Maori fire twirler in a show produced by the Canadian circus company, Cirque du Soleil, called Allegria, which was filmed in Australia in 2000. In 2008, the djembe was featured in the American film "The Visitor", directed by Thomas McCarthy, depicting a university professor's unlikely introduction to drum circles through the instruction of a young Syrian drummer. The djembe is very popular in drum circles, and in many circles is the primary instrument, most likely for its easily portable size, wide range of sounds, and its distinct tones. In certain songs that use the djembe it replaces a drumset to give it a different feel, such as "Burn One Down" by Ben Harper.
Iannis Xenakis composed Okho for three djembes.
