Unlock Bougarabou drum groove with tips to improve rhythm skills
As I prepare for my comprehensive online educational drumming course, (which I’m really excited to share with you once I have completed - real soon) I’ve been on the search for a few more African drums to include in the course.
With this in mind, I’ve been researching variety of hand drums like the djembe that originates from Guinee or Mali (depending who you speak to), to help demonstrate the many segments and modules included in the online drum course.
I already have some student resources available to you, however this course will be an in-depth learning videos, audios, PDFs material (with great BONUSES) for those who are on the search to increase musical confidence and timing, feel, improvisation and ensemble rhythms to take either into community drum circles or classroom percussion, even for those working in the wellbeing sector who use rhythm to increase community wellness.
Increase musicality with variety of hand drums
By exploring variety of djembe drum pitches we can serve the music making for more intricate rhythmical dialog that showcase the importance of the roles that each drum pitch plays.
After living West Africa in the mid 20s and studying African drum and dance my eyes opened up to the wonderful variety of African drums to play. For many years I have had my eye on the beautiful West African percussion instrument the Bougaraboo. I was introduced to this wonderful African drum by a friend over 20 years ago (I’ve been waiting a while to get my hands on one…)
The Bougarabou drum, also spelled as "Bugarabu’ or “Boucarabou ", it’s a traditional West African percussion instrument. It hails from the Mandinka and Jola ethnic groups in Gambia, Senegal, and Guinea-Bissau. As you can see from the video the Bougarabou drum is characterized by its distinctive shape and sound.
Typically played with hands the Bougarabou drum can be played both as a solo instrument and as part of an ensemble, making it a versatile drum to play in all kinds of settings, such as drum circles, the classroom percussion music, traditional West African music and dance traditions, and lots more… there are no limits.
The drum produces a rich, resonant sound with a relatively deep bass for the size of the drum with clear, melodic overtones. Its unique shape contributes to its distinctive tonal qualities.
This particular Bougarabou is small, however I love the tone and size and weight as its not heavy like some traditional djembe drums. I need to think about weight of things when lugging gear around at my age, so a light weighted drum suits me down to a tee.
The Bougarabou has a cylindrical shape, usually carved from a single piece of wood. It has a narrow base and a wider top, often with a flared or slightly curved shape. These drums are traditionally made from hardwoods such as iroko, lenge, or mahogany.
What are your thoughts on this drum? Please leave a comment below.
Develop listening skills with drum circle game
Quite often the simpler the task the quicker results? Don’t over think things - Learning drum circle games that empower groups and the drum circle facilitator, is the rhythm game Call and Response. The whole idea of this game is teaching rhythms in a fun non-threatening way which empowers people.
By starting off the call phrases as simple rhythms and playing one sound from the drum, such as tones, this results in success. The more we progress with simple rhythms we then move towards the wonderful combination of sounds from the drum, such as bass, tones, slaps and flams.
Learning to listen to rhythm, plus the different sound combinations of the drum we can develop our ear, resulting in increased musicality for self-expression, compositions, improvisation and lots more.
At the end of the day, we want to play with freedom! Play from our heart not the head … yes? The gift of true self-mastery, expressing what is in our hearts without judgment. It takes time, intention, trust and faith in ourself to get to the stage of playing with freedom.
It can be done, though it does take effort. Having someone such as a personal coach or mentor to help guide us through times of doubt we can build up our self-empowerment, that self-belief to reach our goals and dreams on your rhythmical journey.
What’s holding you back from reaching your potential?
I’ve got the spark you need!
I have helped countless students like yourself discover a path in wellbeing and creativity through music. Don’t let your skills go to waste. This is your opportunity to make a difference while doing what you love.
There are just two spots that have opened up in December for new students with my online personal coaching and mentoring.
Please contact me if you are interested in elevating your musical creativity.
If you found this post helpful, please help support my blog and music-making by purchasing from the store, student resource, or music and please leave a comment in the comment box below, so others can find this post helpful. Every bit helps.
A little gift for you as you continue to build your djembe drumming skills.
I want to help you out as much as I can so I’ve added some great hand drum beats for beginners and ensemble drums that accompany the djembe, called 7 Easy Steps to Develop Rhythm, Technique, Timing and Feel PDF.
It’s filled with lots of tips on technique and how to improve your timing and feel, to really take your playing to the next level.
This is my gift to you and something that can accompany you on your drumming journey.
Get your instant copy for absolutely free!! Price $15 - FREE today!!
Download your FREE Djembe Drumming PDF Now
Thanks so much for your love and support, it means a lot and inspires me to continue helping people like you.