Djembe ( jem-bay ) n. a goblet shaped hand drum traditionally played by the peoples of Guinea, Mali, Senegal and many other people of West Africa
Also known as the healing drum.
Usually carved from a single piece of wood.
It originated in West Africa and is generally considered to have roots in the Manding people of the early Mali Empire
It stands approximately 20-30" high and is covered with goat or antelope skin, usually held on and tuned by lacing of cord in a pattern called the Mali weave.
Drumming
Anyone interested in drumming should see me in my room or e-mail me at smccamley@westbranch.org
If your in the building after hours from late October until the end of the school year you might very well hear the sound of djembe's bouncing down the halls. Feel free to stop in. I am by no means a professional drummer, but I do drum with members of an African dance troupe from State College. Many of the rhythms you hear us playing are actual African rhythms. I'm more than willing to teach anyone to play....it's FREE! ( drums are provided!!!! )
-Mr. M
Some links if you'd like to learn more!
www.jimdonovanmusic.com Jim Donovan is the person most responsible for my interest in drumming. You will find lots of information at his site...you can also order a drum.
www.rustedroot.com Jim Donovan is the drummer for the band Rusted Root. If you know me at all...this link is no surprise.
http://www.drums.org/djembefaq/ Also a great site, I found my drum teacher from this one.
Stressed? Angry? Unhappy? TRY DRUMMING!!!!!!!
(an excerpt) reprinted with permission
...That drumming, part of shamanic traditions for thousands of years, heals the body is a contention science has started to measure and verify. Results of the most recent study, authored primarily by Dr. Barry B. Bittman, medical director of the Mind-Body Wellness Center in Meadville, Pa., was published in January of this year. Bittman studied the effects of drumming on 111 average, healthy people.
"What we know is that one hour of group drumming facilitated by a music therapist changes people's cellular biology in a positive direction," said Christine Stevens, director of music therapy and wellness at Remo Inc., a drum company.
The Bittman study showed rhythms boosted the drummers' circulating white blood cell count, according to Professor Barbara J. Crowe, director of music therapy at Arizona State University. These natural killer cells seek out and destroy cancer and virus cells.
"We know sensory input, particularly hearing, activates emotional states and that positive emotional states are good for the immune system," Crowe said. "Drumming circles promote a positive emotional state by enhancing people's sense of belonging and helping them release repressed emotion." One effect of such a state is an increase in Interleukin-2, a protein made by the body that causes infection-fighting cells to multiply and mature.
Psychologically, drummers in the Bittman study reported feeling less stress and less depression, as reflected on two psychological tests - the Beck Anxiety Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory.
