click for sound

drumming links

djembe mailing list

headphones for drumming

compose and play rhythms audio

random rhythms

"The Creator wants us to drum. He wants us to corrupt the world with drum, dance and chants. After all, we have already corrupted the world with power and greed....which hasn't gotten us anywhere - now's the time to corrupt the world with drum, dance and chants."

--Babatunde Olatunji

Drumming Music Notation - Hand Drum Lessons with Easy Rhythm Instruction for African Drumming Music, Latin Drumming and other Hand Drum Rhythms.

free music education resources and drumming tips for beginning or advanced drummers...or anyone just wanting to groove with world beat and alternative music - including Roots Jam: hand drum rhythms & lesson book

How to read the notation (bottom of page)

Listen to rhythms with mp3 files or RealAudio

Or download and save mp3 files (compressed to .zip files) to your computer.
Or play streaming RealAudio files live while online.

Click here - - to download free RealPlayer

IE 5: Tools/Options/Advanced/Printing...uncheck "Print background colors and images."

This Week's Lesson:

Basic Hand Drum Rhythms and Practice Exercises

...in easy notation for African drumming beginners or advanced drummers...

Practice Exercises

BREATHING:

40 bpm (beats per minute): 10 times counting:
1-2 (inbreath), 1-2 (out)
5 times counting: 1 2 3 4 (in), 1 2 3 4 (out)

HAND DRILLS:

Paradiddles (176 bpm):

• RLRR LRLL
• RLRLRR LRLRLL
• RLRLRLRR LRLRLRLL

Rumba   (D - g g): 108 bpm. Switch hands (G - d d).

rR lL rR lL : 116 bpm.

4 + 3:  Play four notes, then three in same time span; then both together. Switch hands, vary loudness:

TIMING: 176 bpm:

YIN-YANG:

(D, G = left, right bass; d, g = left, right rim)

_____ _____ _____ _____
| | | | | | | | | | | |
d g D G d g D g D g D g
D G d g D G d G d G d G

KIDI VARIATIONS, both hands, @ 208 bpm:

_______ _______ _______
| | | | | | | | | | | |
- - x - x - x - - - - -
- - x - - - x - - - - -
- - x x x x x - - - - -
- - x x x x x x - - - -
- - x x - x x - - - - -
- - x x x - x - - - - -
- - x - x x x - - - - -
- - x x - - x - - - - -
- - x - - x x - - - - -

Basic Rhythms

_____ _____ _____ _____
| | | | | | | | | | | |
G d g D g d G d g D g d    basic 6/8 time: Yanvalo
D g d G d g D g d G d g    (switch lead hand) 

_______ _______ _______ _______ 
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 
D   g g D   g g D   g g D   g g    rumba  

_______ _______ _______ _______
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 
D   g d G   d g D   G   d g d g    Ethiopian walking rhythm


Ethiopian rhythm -  Click for sound:  MP3 or RealAudio: Track2-17 

_______ _______ _______ _______
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |    Moon Bear: parts
G   g d g d G   P                
G   P   G   P           g   d    
G   P T   P T   G   P   g d      

_______ _______ _______ _______
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |    Duncan: parts
G     P G     P G     P G     P  
G   P   G   P   G   P   P        
g d g   T   P   g d g       P    

_______ _______ _______ _______
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |    Duncan: parts
P T g   P T G   P T g d g d G    
                   (P T P T)     
P T G   P T G   P T G   P T P T  
P     T T     T T     d          

The rhythm notation . . .

The following notation can be easier for drummers and percussionists to use, compared to the usual notes and lines of conventional sheet music. Because drum notes aren't sustained but struck once, it makes sense to show the timing for these beats as single and equal. Rests are measured by the same, single-beat units.

All the rhythms at this site, and in the book Roots Jam, use the following notation for drum beats--primarily those played on the west African djembe.

D: Dun ("Doon") = bass beat with left hand
G: Gun ("Goon") = bass beat with right hand

d: do ("doe") = rim beat with left hand (tip half of fingers)
g: go = rim beat with right hand


T: Ta = slap beat with left hand: sharp glancing stroke
P: Pa = slap beat with right hand

- = space

About left and right hand notes:

Though the majority of the rhythms displayed here (and in the book Roots Jam 1) will show leading with the left hand, the handing can be reversed (and is for most rhythms in Roots Jam 2). In fact it makes sense to play both ways equally well, or to alternate for balance.

If you're just starting out and want to play a pattern starting with D/d/T with a dominant right hand, you can treat D's, d's and T's as right-hand beats, and G's, g's and P's as left-hand beats.

Additional Notes:

X = low note on bass drum or two-tone bell or percussion
x = any note on monotone percussion, or high note on two-tone percussion. [Another way to show hi/lo notes is hi on first line, lo on second; or by H and L]
k = bell note when played with bass drum (jun-jun)
x = underlined (or bold) note means stressed or accented.
(d) = parenthesis means optional note(s) or way to play a given note(s)
d__g__d: = triplet, with three notes played within 2, 4 or 8 beat measure.
d_g: = two notes played as if two ends of a triplet (d_-_g)

Notation Example:

_______ _______ _______ _______
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
D - d g - g d g D - D - d g d g

Click for sound: MP3 or RealAudio - Track1-2

The notation form above, with the bars over the notes to aid in counting, is used in the book Roots Jam (vol. 1). It's easy to use either by handwriting or typing.

A variation, the so-called "box notation" method, is easier to follow visually, and is used in my second rhythm collection, Roots Jam 2. Notice also that the example below switches handing to lead with the "G":

Alternative Culture Magazine

Subscribe to CatScan newsletter
-- free updates by e-mail:

home
nature & wilderness - books & reviews - drum rhythms
- alternative literature - alternative spirituality

Nowick Gray - email