- Basics and further reading for both teachers and non-music specialists
- History and cultural background
- The Djembe and playing techniques
- Warm-up exercises
- Call and response
Some teachers may wish to dig a little deeper in order to feel fully confident, or may wish to read around the subject and choose key areas to develop further in their lessons, but not be entirely sure what information should be classed as relevant. This Teacher Guide is for them!
Richard McKerron and Dr Liz Stafford have prepared a series of introductory articles utilising information from Andy Gleadhill’s books as well as information from further afield. These provide enough information to answer the trickier questions that may be put to you in a lesson and a strong starting point for further reading.
The sections in the Guide (below) can be read in isolation, but are presented in the download in their collected form, to give you a full overview.
Music of West Africa
A. Historical and Cultural Background
Context and Delivery
Tribal Influences
Influences on Other Cultures
West African Music Today
B. The West African Djembe Drum
Classifications and Descriptions
How Djembes are Made
How to Play the Djembe
C. Introducing West African Drumming into your School or Setting
Different Ways of Introducing Djembe Drumming
Teaching Approach
Useful Hints and Techniques
Available Teaching Resources
A series of videos has also been uploaded in support of the article, designed to help you develop the basics with confidence, and these are shown below also embedded in the PDF documents.
You may also be interested in our Downloadable Schemes of Work and one-page lesson plans which benefit from these supporting documents, and are also based upon the information and techniques found within Andy Gleadhill’s Teaching Guides.
