How To Play Djembe

Learning how to play the djembe seems like it ought to be a fun process. The djembe is a joyful instrument with a full sound and just the right amount of intricacy to keep you interested but to allow a beginner djembe student to enjoy playing right away. The problem though, with learning to play djembe, is that there is a limited number of qualified djembe teachers. Live in Nebraska? Good luck finding a djembe teacher nearby.

Well, LessonFace is out to end this sort of geographical issue. There’s no better place than here on LessonFace.com to learn how to play the djembe online, thanks to both our star teachers and top audio/video experience.

Learning To Play Djembe

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a beginner djembe student looking for your first djembe classes or an intermediate djembe player looking for the perfect djembe teacher to help you become an expert, opportunity is key. The beautiful thing about the djembe is it’s a relatively inexpensive and extremely portable instrument.

An average sized djembe, which will be perfect for the djembe beginner, weighs in at around 20 pounds or so. It’s an instrument that can easily be practiced alone, but is generally best served in gatherings or at least played with a djembe teacher. The name, after all, comes from the Bambara language, native to Mali, and is the combination of "djé" and "bé," which mean "gather" and "peace," respectively.

That means that one of the essential strategies for learning to play djembe is learning how to play djembe with others.

Buying A Djembe

If you don’t yet have your own djembe, here’s a quick list of available djembes online. For as little as $20, you can buy your starter djembe today.

Djembes from their native region - Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Guinea, primarily - generally remain of the highest quality. Djembes crafted in that region often still come hand carved from traditional sources with time-tested methods and tools that have been around for thousands of years. Many western-made djembes, as well as djembes produced in other parts of Africa, are created utilizing modern machinery and inferior materials, so keep that in mind when making your purchase.

For the djembe beginner, be he or she a child djembe learner or an adult student looking to enjoy the benefits of learning music, this may not be the most essential aspect of buying a djembe. But, for an intermediate djembe player and especially an expert djembe player looking for an upgrade, materials and original quality are of the utmost importantance.

If you’re looking to purchase a djembe at your local shop, make sure to become friends with the shopkeepers - as LessonFace drum teacher Kevin Lopez suggests - and ask them about the process that brought your potential djembe to their store.

“Chances are, they'll be able to cut you deal if you're friendly and approachable,” says Lopez.

Online Djembe Classes

Once you’ve got your djembe in hand, the next step is clear: start learning to play djembe with a great djembe teacher. Online djembe lessons are a great way to save time and money, and a real dream-saver if you can’t find a local djembe teacher, no matter how much you plan to practice your instrument.

Russ Sternglass not only teaches djembe, but he’s also well versed in the bongo and conga, as well as the drum kit. He’s a Berklee College of Music grad with half a dozen years of teaching experience and 17 years of playing under his belt who also teaches audition prep lessons.

According to Berklee drum professor Dave Weigert, Russ is one of the most talented drumming minds he’s ever taught - the type who knows how to keep music practice fun and interesting.

“Russ is very talented, smart, highly disciplined and open minded as a musician,” he said. “Having Russ as a teacher will be an experience where the student will receive an effective, focused, and open-minded approach to the student's individual musical needs and interests.”

So, the question is, are you ready to learn to play djembe? If the answer is yes, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a beginner, an intermediate, or an expert djembe learner, book an online djembe lesson with Russ today.

Question or comments? Tweet us @lessonface.

Click here to book an online djembe lesson or here to learn more about how LessonFace works. You can also check out our blog here to read more about LessonFace and our teachers.