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Bass and Bell Notation
The djembe notes can also be used for Bass Drum notation...
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= Doundoun
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= Sangban
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= Kenkeni
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...as well as Bell notation:
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= Low Kengele
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= High Kengele
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If you play only two bass drums and one bell,
you can use any of the following character combinations:
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D = Doundoun
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S = Sangban
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K = Kengele
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D = Doundoun
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K = Kenkeni
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k = kengele
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B = Big bass
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S = Small bass
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C = cow bell
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(All characters which can be used for each note are listed in
the presentation of the Djembe
Font on the Freeware page)
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Instrument Symbols
In order to separate the notation of djembe, bass and bell parts,
you write the corresponding instrument symbol next to each line:
The symbols that can be used for each part are all listed in
the presentation of the Djembe
Font on the Freeware page.
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The Notation Line
The support bars on the note line represent an implicit common
pulse, with which all parts that are played together relate.
The time between the pulse beats equals the shortest
interval
between two basic strokes when all parts are played together.
There are no time signatures
in Djembe Font notation
African drum
rhythms do not adhere to the Western classification
of accented and unaccented notes. All strokes are equivalent
in
this respect, which makes it possible to catch several different
pulses in one single part. To specify a certain meter for
a rhythm
would therefore be misleading as well as pointless.
It is rather
the length of the stroke patterns that is important when
we describe the African drum rhythms. We cannot repeat a
stroke
pattern - i.e. play it as a rhythm - until we have grasped
its length.
The numbering
of the support bars should consequently not be
seen as a time signature, but only as a means to estimate
the
length of the stroke pattern.
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Each support bar is numbered with a one-digit
figure:
This means that notation lines with 12 support
bars
are numbered as 6 x 2 (see above) and notation lines
with 16 support bars are numbered as 8 x 2 (see below).
If a stroke pattern is longer than 18 support
bars it should
be divided into two (or more) notation lines of equal length.
The continuing notation line is marked with
an arrow-head
at the end of the line:
If a stroke pattern is shorter than 10 support
bars
it is repeated on the same line to
make it easier
to relate it to any longer parts of the same rhythm.
There are no tempo signatures
in Djembe Font notation
African drum
rhythms can be played at any tempo,
depending on the context and the circumstances.
Consequently, the notation
will not specify any tempo,
and the stroke pattern will look the same at any tempo!
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The notation line always begins with the
so-called "one"
of the stroke pattern, to make it possible to visually relate
all parts that are to be played together - as shown below.
(The "1" typically means the first note of
a so-called bar.
In this context it means the first note of a stroke pattern.)
A rhythm that is supposed to start at a different
note than
the "1" of the stroke pattern, begins with a lead-in, which
is indicated by an asterisk (*) above the starting note as
well as at the notation line(s) involved - as shown above.
The various components of the notation
line are all listed in
the presentation of the Djembe
Font on the Freeware page.
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