How to Use Individual Fingers to Play the Djembe

The African djembe drum is one of the easiest percussion instruments to play. It's fun to play alone or with a group of friends in a drum circle. While generally played with the flat of the hand or the palm, you can experiment and make a totally new sound on the djembe by using the tips of your fingers. Read on to learn how to use individual fingers to play the djembe.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Drum with your fingers on the djembe just as if you were nervously drumming your fingers waiting for important news. It gives a pleasing rat-a-tat sound that adds some variety to your rhythms.

2. Notice the different sounds you can produce by using the fingertip method on different areas of the drum. The edge of the drum will produce a different sound than the middle of the drum head.

3. Experiment with a different combination of fingers. You can use three or four fingers to produce two slightly different rhythms.

4. Keep your fingers drumming in contact with the drum head for a more muffled sound, or rebound your fingers off the drum head for a crisper tone.

5. Try different speeds of the finger-drumming or a combination of finger-drumming with one hand and drumming with the palm of the other hand.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure you remove any jewelry from your hands before drumming with a djembe. Rings and other jewelry can scratch or tear the skin of the drum head. Consider keeping your fingernails short for the same reason.

Resources

• African Music website for an overview of the djembe
• Expert Village video of the finger-drumming technique