When you’re learning how to play the djembe, the best way to get started and have fun is to learn some djembe rhythms! This section of the African Drumming Online Sampler shows all the rhythms available to learn inside African Drumming Online. All of the djembe rhythms on this page are broken down into a series of lessons, each designed to progress you through understanding and mastering the rhythm.
Additionally, while all African drumming is sometimes thought of as ‘djembe drumming’, there are lots of styles other than just djembe rhythms. African Drumming Online also includes rhythms played on Ewe drums (with sticks) rhythms played on Ghanaian kpanlogo drums, and has some footage from our time spent in Senegal and The Gambia studying sabar drumming. Further, djembe rhythms also require other musicians to play bells, dun duns, and other instruments – all of these parts, as well as technique for each of them, are taught in the full site of African Drumming Online.
So take your time to look through these preview videos of each of the djembe rhythms, see if you can get a feel for which ones you like the most, then sign up to African Drumming Online to get started!