Talk:Djembe

message: I have a full size djembe, constructed in the traditional way. The shell was carved in Guinea, and the goat skin came from the Ivory coast. I also have a 3/4 size djembe; both the shell and goat skin came from Guinea. I made these at drum-making workshops. I'll take photos and change the photos in the article. Bruce 22:25, Sep 12, 2004 (UTC)
:[comment deleted by user]
::Loosely defined, any of these drums can be called a djembe because of the shape and construction. However, anything smaller than about 12" will generally not produce the range of sounds that a "real" djembe can. This is an important distinction -- the djembe is traditionally used in an ensemble, and occupies a certain part of the melodic line in a song, so a player of traditional music must be able to play in that range. The djembe has become so popular that it is used in many ways that are out of the traditional context, so these smaller drums can fit in many other places.
::I am a musician and have played with West Africans since the mid 80's, and have bought, sold, and otherwise interacted with dozens of djembe drums in that time. Nearly every one of them was between 24 and 25" tall, and between 11 and 14" across the top. This is pretty standard. I don't think there's any point in disparaging the size of another guy's drum, but for the purposes of the article,  if "size matters" to the definition, I'd say that's what should be used. 
::The smaller drums that are being produced these days are mostly made for tourists, and many africans make them for the huge U.S. market. At lest the bodies of the drums pictured probably originated in Senegal. Just like any other instrument, some djembes are considered better than others by musicians. Those produced in Guinea, Mali, and Ivory Coast top the list, while those from Ghana and Senegal are not considered as good. Of course, there are exceptions - good and bad drums are made in all of these places, but the djembe is not native to either Senegal or Ghana -- they got into the game later on. I play with som Ghanaians now, and they use djembes from Ivory Coast, not Ghana. (It's also important to note that the way these modern countries are divided up bears little relation to the cultures and ethnic groups that originated the drums.)
::I changed the disputed paragraph so it would be more NPOV. I made it clear that traditional djembes are twelve inches and the djembes pictured are not full sized. I think the pictures are fine. I mean, they still look like djembes.
::Ccj
I edited the section to specify the most common size ranges (12-15 in diameter and 23-25 in high). That captures 99% of all djembes that are used for "real" music, traditionally or contemporary. The range excludes toys and oversized djembes that are created for their curiosity value. MichiHenning (talk) 02:02, 11 January 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: Size

message: I would like to add an external link to my site www.djembefola.com, but it would be preferable if someone else were to deem it appropriate and add the link.
We hope to help connect djembe players around the world, facilitating learning from each other and to help those eager to learn but have no access to teachers. 
We also provide learning reseurces, such as articles and videos for those interested in learning djembe and related instruments. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Djembefola (talk • contribs) 
:Wikipedia's "external links" sections are for additional reference information, not for directing users to non-reference resources or related communities. You might consider submitting the link to the Open Directory Project at http://dmoz.org instead. — Saxifrage ✎ 18:33, 20 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Adding and external link

message: The picture in the upper right hand corner shows a traditional djembe, which is in fact quite basic.  The djembe does not have a wrap on it, which is present in many high-quality, authentic, traditional djembes.  
Would anyone mind if I replaced this with a picture of an authentic, West African djembe?  This would be done in order to give the reader a better idea of what a high-quality, authentic, traditional djembe looks like. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Dougtremblay (talk • contribs) 05:49, 4 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Replacing Picture 

message: I believe a much needed addition to the external links section, or even added content into the main body, would be reference material on selecting wooden shell djembe drums that are manufactured using legally certified timber that is environmentally sustainable and the importance of doing so. In today’s age of worldwide deforestation and global warming it’s important for people to understand that their buying decision could be contributing to unhealthy environmental ramifications. Unfortunately, there are many drums being imported into this country that are made using timber that was harvested illegally. We should all be made aware of the differences and knowing the right questions to ask is part of the solution.
unsigned comment added by Nscommission (talk • contribs) 20:02, 4 September 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  External Link Ad/ Body Content 

message: These links were in the see also section, but have no articles. Aleta (Sing) 04:54, 24 December 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Red "see also" links

message: Does anyone know the wikipedia rule for external links to comercial sites? User [Wwdrums] has reverted the deletion of a comercial external link at least 6 times in the past few months. If this is ok then I'll let it go but I don't think it is.-Crunchy Numbers (talk) 19:23, 28 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  external links to commercial sites 

message: The explanation of the name by native informants appears to be a "folk etymology". Perhaps this should be indicated? Or should we mark it as "needs attention from an expert on the subject"?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rulatir (talk • contribs) 20:25, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Etymology? 

message: The D’jembe drums are also called: D’jimbe, Jenbe, Jymbe, Jembe, Yembe or Jimbay, but in Susu they call it Sanbanyi. They named this drum D’jembe because, according to the Bamana people in Mali, the name D’jembe comes from the phrase “Anke dje, anke be” translates to “everybody gather together” so that means in the language Bamanakan (the Bamana’s language) the dje at the beginning of D’jembe means gather and the be at the end of D’jembe means everyone so D’jembe = gather everyone.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.104.91.175 (talk) 18:35, 12 November 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  drum names 

message: This list of artists is a mess. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to fix it? I think most of the artist examples need to be removed, unless the band/artist features the djembe it seems like it would be more useful to the reader to provide specific examples of songs that feature the djembe. Thoughts? Xixtas (talk) 16:45, 10 January 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Western Music Section - List of Artists 

message: The list is entirely too long with no references or indication of notability for most of the drummers. I am moving all of the redlinked ones here. Individuals can be moved back into the article's list if it can be shown that there is a reason for inclusion.
*Abdoul Doumbia (Mali)
*Adama Dramé (Burkina Faso)
*Adama Diarra (Ivory Coast)
*Adama Bilourou Dembele (Bukrina Faso)
*Alex Bottoni (Italy-South Africa)
*Fode Mohamed "Akra" Soumah (Guinea)
*Aly Sylla  (Guinea)
*Austin Holliman  (USA)
*Babara Bangoura (Guinea)
*Bruno Genero (Italy)
*Fode Seydou Bangoura (Guinea)
*Harouna Dembele (Burkina Faso)
*Ibrahima "Kolipe" Camara  (Guinea)
*Jaraba Jakite (Mali)
*Kassoum Diarra (Burkina Faso)
*Laurent Camara  (Guinea)
*Mito Camara  (Guinea)
*Mady Keita (Mali)
*Mahiri Keita   (Guinea)
*Mangue Sylla  (Guinea)
*Mare Sanogo (Mali)
*M'Bemba Bangoura (Guinea)
*Mohammed Bangoura  (Guinea)
*Rosenfeld Victor DR (USA)
*Sam Lightsey (Russia)
*Sekou "Pablo" Dembele  (Ivory Coast)
*Sekou "Maoulenden" Sangare  (Mali)
*Tahirou Djembe (Burkina Faso)
*Tonton Sylla  (Guinea)
*Thomas Guei (Ivory Coast)
*Ibrahima "Boka" Camara (Guinea)
*Fadouba Oulare (Guinea)
*Gbanworo Keita (Guinea)
*Papa Ladji Camara (Guinea)
*Walter Leniton (USA)
*Ousmane "Zoumana-djan" Sidibé (Mali)
*Abdoulaye Sylla  (Guinea)
LadyofShalott 17:29, 29 January 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  List of djembe drummers 

message: Ok, obviously anyone who knows a bit about djembe will know that any old factory made Remo lug djembe isn't exactly proper, but seeing as these are what many people new to the instrument might see as good for their simplicity, or what have you, I feel that the Tuning section should be split into Key and Rope. Perhaps the key tuning section could, in addition explaining the tuning method, mention what makes it different from/functionally inferior to rope tuning. On an unrelated note, there are certain parts of the article that seem to lack encyclopedic tone (e.g. "too many jazz bands to mention.") Also, I think the first sentence under Origin qualifies for "weasel words". I'm not exactly a  Wikipedia editor, though, so I'll leave it up to someone who isn't going to have his edits reverted. 72.209.197.236 (talk) 01:09, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Key Tuning 

message: Not everyone who ever plays the djembe is notable. The following people were listed in the article as djembe players, but have not been shown to be notable. If/when someone is shown to be notable enough for an article, the name can be moved back into the article. LadyofShalott 22:52, 23 October 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Notable? djembe drummers 

message: The construction of the djembe has changed significantly over the past half-century. The use of industrialized materials, such as steel hoops, nylon-core rope, and rubber tires, began with the advent of the West African Ballets, and has become the norm. As djembes are increasingly exported to foreign shores, some take advantage of overseas markets by cutting corners, while others push further development and refinement of djembe construction. In the mid 1990s furniture makers in Ghana took note of the commercial success being experienced by traditional djembe drum carvers. The craftspeople in Ghana, where the kpanlogo and oblenten drums are the most well known traditional drums, began to carve and sell djembes from Tweneboa, a soft wood. Using soft wood required a much thicker shell that fails to produce the resonant and explosive sound of a hardwood djembe.
All of this is irrelevant, except maybe the first two sentences. The rant about djembes made in Ghana, low-quality djembes, etc doesn't belong here. If anything, the paragraph should explain how the construction was done prior to the modern method.  MichiHenning (talk) 23:22, 30 November 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Irrelevant content in Origin section 

message: The caption on the sound clip "Djembe pattern" is probably inappropriate, especially since the term is not used or explained elsewhere on the page. The uninformed reader does not know that djembes play accompaniment and solo parts, and that the accompaniments play a repeating pattern. A better caption would probably be "Djembe accompaniment", together with a mention of that term in the body of the article.
The sound clip is nice, but has several problems, IMO:
* The drum in the clip is tuned quite low, effectively a bass djembe. A more representative sample would use an accompaniment djembe with medium pitch (neither bass nor solo pitch)
* The pattern in the clip is not a traditional pattern but a modern invention. A traditional pattern might be more appropriate.
* There is no call in or out of the rhythm.
A more representative sound clip should present a traditional accompaniment, such as binary passport. The problem with this is that it doesn't include a bass note. The other obvious option would be to use the Malian version of ternary passport:
1..2..3..4..
s.ts.bs.ts.b
This would illustrate all three basic sounds and also be a typical and traditional accompaniment pattern. The standard Soli/Konden/Mamaya call could be used to start and  end the clip.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by MichiHenning (talk • contribs) 23:00, 30 November 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: I’m sry but I don’t understand 2A02:C7C:FA22:8700:2C7F:F131:9CA7:E02E (talk) 20:17, 25 April 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Sound clip 

message: The term "djembefola" should probably be mentioned in the article. A link to the Djembefola documentary on imdb.com would also be appropriate because this documentary is probably the most significant cause of the rise in popularity of the djembe during the nineties. MichiHenning (talk) 23:38, 30 November 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Nomenclature 

message: The comment on the image is wrong. That person is not wearing Kente cloth, but something else. Kente cloth is patterned differently.
Even if it were Kente cloth, I do not see the relevance. Kente cloth originates with the Akan people in Ghana, which have nothing to do with the Malinke.
The image otherwise does not add any value. There is nothing interesting or relevant about two people sitting in a park playing djembe.
I believe the image should be removed. MichiHenning (talk) 21:44, 10 January 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: Western Music section, image

message: Why do we have the information on spelling variants? It seems irrelevant to explain the finer points of spelling (djembe vs jembe). The remark about the cultural (in)sensitivity of the spelling with "dj" also seems irrelevant.
Regardless of whether to preserve this or not, why is this information in the Origin section? It certainly does not belong there. MichiHenning (talk) 02:06, 11 January 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Spelling variants 

message: The explanation of how to fit a skin does not belong in the Tuning section.
As an explanation of how to really fit a skin, it is woefully in adequate. It is questionable whether heading techniques should be mentioned at all. There are dozens of ways of doing it, most of which work, and none of which seem relevant to someone who looks up the term "Djembe" on Wikipedia.
It would probably best to remove this remark. MichiHenning (talk) 02:31, 11 January 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Tuning 

message: Some links in the further reading section seem inappropriate.
*The Healing Drum is mostly autobiographical and not written by a notable djembe player. There is lots about the philosophy and spiritual aspects of drumming in the book (as well as quite controversial views on women and drumming), but little that is specific to the djembe or that someone wanting to learn about the djembe would find interesting. [Edited to add: Oops, sorry, I confused this with Sule Greg Wilson's book "The Drummer's Path", so ignore this bit.]
*The Drum with a Thousand Faces article contains too little information to be considered further reading. (Most of what is in that article is already present here.)
*Teach the Children is cute, but has zero relevance to the topic of this page and will not inform a reader more about the djembe.
I believe that these three links should be removed because the are not relevant. MichiHenning (talk) 04:12, 15 January 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Further reading 

message: I think it would be useful to add a "Selected recordings" section that lists few hallmark recordings. The list should be short, no more than five titles, I think.
I'm thinking of adding Famoudou Konate's "Rhythmen der Malinke", because that is  hallmark recording of the traditional style, and still considered one of the best djembe CDs in existence.
I'm also thinking of adding the self-titled "Les Ballets Africains" CD from 1990 because that is an outstanding example of ballet style, and from the historically most significant ballet company.
Finally, I'm thinking of adding "The Art Of Jenbe Drumming: The Mali Tradition Vol. 1" because that is the most prototypical example of the Malian village style I am aware of.
I'm looking for suggestions for one or two more CDs of similar calibre and historical significance.
I deliberately did not include any of Mamady's CDs (no disrespect to Mamady) because there are many CDs of similar style around from other masters, and I don't want to get into arguments about who is the best or most deserving.
What I'm looking for are hallmark CDs that contribute something unique and of historical significance that is not already presented by three I listed. MichiHenning (talk) 04:24, 15 January 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Selected recordings 

message: The article by Polak about Feel as Meter should probably referenced from the Study section, rather than appear as further reading, together with a short discussion on notation systems and their inadequacies. Same for his 2005 article "A Musical Instrument Travels around the World" and Frieedberg's radio interview with Famoudou.
This would get rid of the further reading section altogether.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by MichiHenning (talk • contribs) 04:42, 15 January 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Notation 

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thread_title: File:Mali Village Dance.ogv Nominated for Deletion

message: kwami: You mentioned on my page that 'As for the pronunciation,  does not occur at the ends of words in English, except in a few interjections such as "meh"'. So, the way it is pronounced is with a short "e". The "e" in the second syllable sounds just like the "e" in the first syllable. The second syllable definitely doesn't sound like "hay" or "pain". I don't think the non-occurrence of  is relevant here, seeing that djembe is a Malinke word. MichiHenning (talk) 05:46, 16 August 2015 (UTC)
replies: text: The issue remains that short e does not appear at the end of words in English. If we're super freaked out by that for some reason, we can indicate the word's original pronunciation separately. This is identical to the issue of the Dalai Lama's name, whose name is actually supposed to be dalɛ. However, short e does not appear at the end of words in English. Ogress smash! 06:46, 16 August 2015 (UTC)
replies: text: I agree that it doesn't. But how to best then indicate the correct pronunciation? "Djembe" is not an English word to begin with, and people who've spent any time with the instrument pronounce it , not . (That is also how it is pronounced in Malinke.) By the way, Collins also shows it that way: []. So, how best to resolve this? No matter how grammatically correct, I don't think it makes sense to show an incorrect pronunciation. MichiHenning (talk) 07:11, 16 August 2015 (UTC)
replies: text: The problem is that you were giving it as the English pronunciation. People may use the Malinke pronunciation while speaking English, but that's not an English pronunciation. If you know the actual Malinke, we can provide that too, or give it instead if there is no English pronunciation. If you don't know the Malinke, we can say "pronounced something like X". But it's problematic to give an English pronunciation that's not English. — kwami (talk) 16:39, 16 August 2015 (UTC)

text: In Malinke (Eastern Maninkaka), a drum is jembe or jimbe. That's the French é, not è as you've been saying. Transcription of jembe would be approx.  (tone unknown, since it's not written). — kwami (talk) 23:03, 16 August 2015 (UTC)

text: Yeah, that's Cartman's pronunciation of "authoritay". — kwami (talk) 01:40, 18 August 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Pronunciation 

message: Power is ur best friend but don’t overuse it. 2A02:C7C:FA22:8700:2C7F:F131:9CA7:E02E (talk) 20:14, 25 April 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Power