How to Do a Solo on the Djembe Drum

While you can play for hours with your djembe drum by yourself, most people eventually like to evolve to play in a drum circle. It is a great feeling to be part of the rhythm in a drum circle. Once you have the beat down, you can experiment with solo riffs. Different drummers have varying ways of breaking into solos.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Get comfortable with the rhythm first. You must absolutely be willing to play with the group and follow the rhythm that has been set for a certain time.

2. Talk to the members of your drum circle to find out how they feel about solos. Each member of the circle may be willing to share the time on soloing. Other groups defer to a lead soloist who is chosen ahead of time and the other members remain on the rhythm.

3. Keep your solo time to a respectable minimum amount. If you want to be invited back to a drum circle, you cannot hog the solo parts.

4. Follow your inner spirit to play a solo when you feel it strongly and you have dancers awaiting a step. By staying within the melody established by the rhythm, you can double time or add extra beats, always returning to the rhythm. Solos are defined by the rhythm, so you'll need a good rhythm section to be behind your solo play.

5. Take lessons to learn traditional solos and how they fit in the scheme of the entire music. Just as there are written, traditional rhythms that are played in the djembe, so there are established solos. You also can use your creativity to perform a solo. Ideally, you will include both in your djembe career.