Djembe technique - making good sounds

[komadich]

as Dugafola said, dont put tape on any part of the skin that vibrates - you'll get rid of the overtones but you will loose the sound depth. it is used to protect the skin only.

why don't you put on a short video so we can see and hear the sound?

but the reason for i'm writin the post is:
i think a newbie has to understand that you can make tones and slaps just with the same position of the hands (no finger or hand moving is required between the two). every movement is there just for adding a little bit of a collor to the sound.

[bubudi]

a lot of djembe players i have seen put electrical tape around their djembe and i made it a point to see how they placed it. in nearly every case they overlap it (going twice or 3 times around - e.g. once in each colour of the guinean flag) so that the edge of the topmost layer of tape extends a couple of milimetres into the vibrating area. it gives a dryer sound. you do have to be careful not to go too far onto the playing surface. if you kill all the overtones you will end up with a very unnatural sound, so you need to find the balance. some drums sound better with tape, some better without. it also has to do with personal preference. the good thing with the tape though is it's not permanent. you can always adjust the overlap or remove it altogether.

[Dugafola]

a lot of djembe players i have seen put electrical tape around their djembe and i made it a point to see how they placed it. in nearly every case they overlap it (going twice or 3 times around - e.g. once in each colour of the guinean flag) so that the edge of the topmost layer of tape extends a couple of milimetres into the vibrating area. it gives a dryer sound. you do have to be careful not to go too far onto the playing surface. if you kill all the overtones you will end up with a very unnatural sound, so you need to find the balance. some drums sound better with tape, some better without. it also has to do with personal preference. the good thing with the tape though is it's not permanent. you can always adjust the overlap or remove it altogether.

did they tell you the reason why they put the tape there is to make a dryer sound? if you want a dry sound, dry shave your drum after you mount it. even dryer if it's a white skin.

i've seen more djembes with tape just on the part of the rim where a majority of the playing is. this is typically what i do in the summer months when it's hot and i sweat a lot. i've seen a couple of Famoudou's drums like that as well.

actually the only 'folas who i've seen constantly put tape on their drums are the dudes with super sweaty/moist/clammy hands and/or the dudes that sweat like a pig when they play.

another way to protect the skin from wearing quickly is to put a layer of super glue along the edge. one of my teachers does this.

i'll aks around when i'm in afrika.

too much overtone is def bad...a little is good and can be great in the hands of a Master. one teacher refers to that sound as "Nyang."

[James]

This is all very interesting, keeping my eye on this...

[kapitan]

What is interesting is that even though Famoudou Konate is using tape on those drums in the youtube video I posted in this thread, his drums still ring. That is a very similar sounding ring that I have, and was expressing in this thread, and he is a master drummer, so it's just something that is a combination of wood, skin, and tuning. I am drifting more toward congas, as I am developing a preference for a warmer, richer tone... oops, did I just say that out loud. More and more I am running into guitarists that want to jam and I am having a difficult time meshing the sharp bright sounds and deep bass of my djembe with the warmth and subtlety of the acoustic guitar. The contrast, while characteristic of a djembe, just ain't working for me.

[jteskie]

2 tips I was given by a Malean drummer when I asked him why all the drummers from Mali that I knew had less ring in their drums and always a nice dry slap:

1. More verticals - decrease the amount of space between knots when roping your top and bottom rings. He said you'll get more consistent tension this way, which helps ring and other undesirables in general.
2. sharper edge where skin wraps over top edge of drum - you don't want a thick flat top that the skin can vibrate over the top of - the thinner and more consistent the edge, the less vibration between skin and wood.

That's what he said, and the drums he made always sounded great even if the shell was so-so.