Instruments
Find the sound that fits you - Drums, guitars, percussion, vocals and more....
-SHD can help you experience it all-
Djembe
The djembe can produce a wide variety of sounds, making it a most versatile drum. The drum is very loud, allowing it to be heard clearly as a solo instrument over a large percussion ensemble. The Malinké people say that a skilled drummer is one who "can make the djembe talk", meaning that the player can tell an emotional story. (The Malinké never used the djembe as a signaling drum.)
Traditionally, the djembe is played only by men, as are the dunun that always accompany the djembe. Conversely, other percussion instruments that are commonly played as part of an ensemble, such as the shekere (a hollowed-out gourd covered with a net of beads), karignan (a tubular bell), and kese kese (a woven basket rattle), are usually played by women. Even today, it is rare to see women play djembe or dunun in West Africa, and African women express astonishment when they do see a female djembe player.
Congas and Bongos
While both congas and bongos are played with the fingers and palms, the resulting sounds differ, in that bongos produce a high-pitched percussive sound and congas produce a deeper bass sound, unless they are slapped, creating a flat, crisp beat. Conga drums are easily identified by their tall, tapering shapes. The size of their "bellies" determines the amount of bass produced when the instruments are played. Bongos, on the other hand, are shorter and squat. The smaller bongo of the side-by-side pair is called the male or "macho"; the larger is the female or "hembra."
Dundun
A dundun is a rope-tuned cylindrical drum with a rawhide skin at both ends, most commonly cow or goat. The drum is played with a stick. Depending on the region, a plain straight stick, curved stick with flat head (similar to the stick used for a tama), or a straight stick with a cylindrical head attached at right angles near one end may be used to strike the skin.
Traditionally, the drum is played horizontally (placed on a stand or worn with a shoulder strap). For a right-handed player, the right hand plays the skin and the left hand optionally plays a bell that may be mounted on top of the drum or held in the left hand. The latter style is popular in Mali and originally from the Khassonké people.
Bass and Acoustic Guitar for Beginners
Sometimes even one lesson with a good bass teacher can put you on the right path and approach to learning. Take the time to ask around or look up teachers. Don’t just choose someone because they live 3 houses down from you. If you have to drive 45 minutes each way for good bass lessons, so be it. Don’t be afraid to try out a lot of teachers and see whose style you like best.
If you can help it, make sure you study with someone who is really into bass and has spent a lot of time studying it. There are a lot of guitar teachers who will gladly teach you bass, but they're not really bassists at heart. Even though they share similarities, guitar and bass are not the same instrument. The role and the approach to playing them are very different.
Acoustic Guitar
Simple lessons, tips and tricks to play along with anyone. Chord notation, progression, technique and harmonies. Learn simple songs and develop your own. Form a jam with drums, percussion, bass and vocals.
Percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater (including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles); struck, scraped or rubbed by hand; or struck against another similar instrument. The percussion family is believed to include the oldest musical instruments, following the human voice.
In almost every style of music, percussion plays a pivotal role. In military marching bands and pipes and drums, it is the beat of the bass drum that keeps the soldiers in step and at a regular speed, and it is the snare that provides that crisp, decisive air to the tune of a regiment. In classic jazz, one almost immediately thinks of the distinctive rhythm of the hi-hats or the ride cymbal when the word "swing" is spoken. In more recent popular music culture, it is almost impossible to name three or four rock, hip-hop, rap, funk or even soul charts or songs that do not have some sort of percussive beat keeping the tune in time.
Because of the diversity of percussive instruments, it is not uncommon to find large musical ensembles composed entirely of percussion. Rhythm, melody, and harmony are all represented in these ensembles.