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Basic rhythms * 4/4 rhythms

On these pages you will find an extensive set of rhythms for the djembe. They were all taken from the book by Mamady Keita, A Life for the Djembe. This is one of the standard books, unfortunately without solo patterns. The basic rhythms from Balakulandja I have called B and S, after their first beat, a Bass or a Slap. They are the basis of most 4/4 rhythms, and either or both are played with most other rhythms given below. For the exactcombinations, see the book.

Rhythm groups
I have tried to group the rhythms into categories, but in many cases a rhythm could fit in more than one group or even be a category on its own. The first two groups follow some very common doundoun bell patterns, and the third group is fully off-beat and follows a standard off-beat Kenkeni pattern.

MP3 Rhythm files
Jan Fennis has put a lot of effort into creating MP3 files for each rhythm.Thanks a lot Jan! The rhythm files start with a call, and present the rhythm together with a bell pattern, to make it a bit more interesting and to help you keep time. The rhythm is played for 8 times 4 bars (8 patterns) and then a call is played to end it. Click on the rhythm name to play it!

(C) These MP3 files are copyright by Jan Fennis! They are free for private use only. For any kind of public use,please link to this page instead.

4/4 Djembe basic rhythms

Note: If you see things like 4b.tt4..s. then you must install the Yankadi font in order to see the music!

The print-version of this page is compressed to keep everything on one sheet.