Making the correct tones come from a djembe is not a straight forward matter and is best achieved face to face with a teacher who can correct you before you develop any bad or potentially injurous habits. However to give you a feel for how to produce the three basic tones here is our guide to creating them.

Bass

• The bass is played with fingers together using the whole palm flat, with the thumb flush with the fingers. Begin the striking motion from the elbow. All parts of the hand should strike the drum simultaneously, and then relax your wrist and elbow and let the hand bounce off the drum skin - leaving it to resonate with a full resonant bass sound centre of the drum skin and rebounding off.
• If the sound is muffled first check that the drum is tilted to let the sound escape, and isn't muffled by clothing, if it is still muffled work on your stroke to make sure it is even and bounces off with the natural give of the drum.
• Have fun experimenting with where on the head you hit the drum, most drums have a natural sweet spot where it resonates more freely than when hit elsewhere. Try dead centre of the drum and also with your palm of your hand just inside the rim.

Tone

• The tone is played with fingers together so that the knuckles where your fingers join the drum are about level with the edge of the drum skin.
• It is a more rigid movement than the bass, you should keep everything between the tips of your fingers and your elbow in as straight a line as possible.
• The hands are splayed apart about 40-60 degrees from each other forming a triangle where they'd naturally sit on the drum.
• As soon as your four fingers have hit the drum they should bounce right back as with the bass note.
• It should give a pleasantly warm, low ping sound, with as much power and volume as the slap

Slap

• The slap is a higher pitched ringing tone, played with fingers slightly apart and relaxed.
• Your arm position should be similar to the tone but more relaxed giving the wrist a slightly wilted look, and relaxing your hand should naturally spread the fingers.
• With a whipping motion, strike your hand onto the drum head with the pads at the base of your fingers landing on the rim of the drum allowing the tips of your fingers to come into contact with the drum head then immediately bounce off it.
• Your angle of attack for the slap should be at a slight angle to the drum head, as opposed to the parallel approach between hand and drum head for the tone and bass.
• This is the hardest tone to pull off for the beginner and I would recommend you search youtube.com for suitable videos to study.

Please remember when it comes to your hands the maxim "no pain, no gain" is not necessarily true. When you feel pain from practicing one tone switch to another, and if the pain persists give the djembe a rest until tomorrow.