Djembe Essay Blog

My teacher always emphasizes the value of good accompaniment. Accompaniment is number one. If a djembe player cannot play really good accompaniment solo is not possible. All good soloists have exceptionally good sounding accompaniments. Theoretically one should be able to recognize a Master djembe player from the sound of his accompaniment only. One should temper ones soloing ambitions on a rhythm if one doesn’t have the accompaniment clean yet.

So many people these days are so eager to play solo that they want to skip accompaniment. I have played with people so many times where they played a weak and cheap accompaniment just so they could save their energy to solo. When you play accompaniment you should put your heart and soul into it. If you do this the soloist will have the support he needs to play well. If you give the soloist this respect he will give you the respect of a good accompaniment when it is your turn to solo. We should all be supporting each other and not be so anxious to solo. We cannot be like the man who wants so badly to run that he cannot tie his shoes. Do not be jealous of another djembe players soloing. If someone is soloing well, be happy and enjoy it – that’s what it’s all about.

Abdoulaye has told me that if someone really can’t control themselves and they just want to solo, he lets them go. This is his chance to relax and enjoy playing a sweet accompaniment. When they are finished they will come back down to earth and then he can have a chance to solo himself. A master will never fight for the chance to solo because he simply has nothing to prove. Bitter competition and jealously has no place with the djembe. Masters do not compete, they joke and have fun with each other.