r/percussion

Hey guys and girls, I just opened to the public djembegorilla.com. It's my baby, I have been working on it for three years to have a framework that provides the tools I wanted to have for my playing and facilitating, and that I couldn't easily find elsewhere.

It offers rhythms for djembe and West African ensemble, with notation and an audio player to mute any instruments you want left out, activate the swing if you wish, and change the tempo. The rhythms are West African but also translations from other cultures, and wherever possible they include references to teachers, books, and other materials that have more info on them.

There is also a rhythm builder, so you can easily test to your own needs.

The website is still growing. I am working on more tools at the moment, and there are a lot of rhythms to review and input, but I believe it to be already useful. It is, at least, to me.

If you have any comments or requests, I am all ears. Cheers!

djembegorilla.com

Hi all! I am currently in marching band, where I play marimba, and as of this season, I’ve been getting a tingling sensation in the tips of my fingers after long comp days. The feeling is more prominent in my right hand than my left, and it only begins the next day and is gone by the end of that day. It is more annoying than painful. This only happens after long comp days and does not happen after three hour rehearsals or football games.

This is not something I have experienced in previous marching or indoor seasons, despite playing vibraphone for three and marimba for two. Has anyone else experienced this? Are there any technique changes I can make that might alleviate this? Is it actually due to playing marimba, or maybe something else? Anything helps. Thank you!

I’m a sophomore playing in the pit for my high schools production of into the woods and I’ve heard there’s a lot of quick instrument changes. So i’m looking for any tips about how to handle those and also what a good instrument configuration might be.

So i am an active vibraphone player for anyone that has played it what would yall say is the minimum to be heard because I realise I play quietly but it seems loud to me but I can never hear it in recordings

Hey everyone! When I was looking for darbuka lessons and rhythms, I kept finding useful things scattered across different sites, videos and languages. I wanted somewhere I could come back to, find something to work on and actually get some practice in. So I started building Play Darbuka.

You can choose a rhythm, slow it down and play along, use it as a backing track for soloing, or turn individual instruments on and off to hear how the parts fit together.

I’d especially love people to try the training lab. There are exercises for rolls, paradiddles and accents, a quiz where you identify rhythms by ear, and call-and-response practice: it plays a phrase, then you have a go on your drum.

I’ve included material on the history of the darbuka and its regional traditions too, along with technique guides and lessons from different teachers. The site is available in English, Arabic and Spanish.

Have a go if it sounds useful. I’d be interested to hear what you’d actually use in your practice, and what’s missing.

What’s on there so far:

• Rhythms: 20 rhythm families, adjustable tempo, basic and fuller patterns, and separate instrument parts.
• Training lab: Listening, call-and-response, rolls, paradiddles, accents, rhythm reading and timing exercises.
• Metronome: Set up a click to practise with.
• Arrangements: Put rhythms together into a practice session, choosing the tempo and number of bars for each.
• Video lessons: Browse teaching curated YouTube videos and playlists by topic and level.
• History and articles: The instrument’s background, regional traditions and practical guides.
• Three languages: English, Arabic and Spanish.

https://preview.redd.it/215zoyjyufth1.png?width=1231&format=png&auto=webp&s=2271325a88bc24b386819f794243d9ac51a1964d

My sister recently took up the djembe and she really likes it! We’ve gotten to jam a few times and she’s mentioned how she wishes she could make a hi-hat like sound too. She asked me if I knew of anything she could use for that and I wasn’t sure, so I’m posting here.

She doesn’t have any interest in a drum kit with sticks. I imagine some kind of bracelet or anklet with bells on it could make a jingling noise but I’m not sure those exist.

Thanks!

Hello! I am filling in for a percussion part in an orchestra at my univeristy, and I wanted to know if anyone could help give me fingerings (I'm a strings player so I don't know the correct term) for this passage. I know you are supposed to alternate hands, but I don't know when to break that rule. Thank you so much!

https://preview.redd.it/4rypyywe67th1.png?width=1141&format=png&auto=webp&s=bae2e49347420e6afd06a66dc5bd2f48b3c3ff5d

Hello everyone,

I spent the past week after the TROMP 2026 Next Gen. Mallet Competition compiling a list of all the repertoire performed by the competitors, along with some of my thoughts on it.

If you’re interested, it’s now available on my website’s blog!

I am not a percussionist, so I am not sure about the rules (written or unwritten) of which parts can be put together for one player. I did hear however that typically, the timpanist doesn't play other instruments because it's more difficult to move around.

In a piece I am writing, I would like to give the timpanist bass drum and tambourine as well. They'd have about 2 and a half minutes to move from timpani to bass drum and 1 minute 45 to go from bass drum to tambourine. There is no timpani in the second half of the piece. My guess is that would be long enough and that it should be fine. Is that correct?
Sidenote is too that if there is no bass drum, the bass drum part would also be played on the timpani.

I just bought a bunch of mallets from a retired percussionist and I want to know how to properly disinfect them. I've got a mix of plastic, acrylic, birch, rattan, felt, and yarn. They don't need to look spotless or anything, I just wanna make sure they're clean.