Djembe newbie
1DB, you beat me to it, man! 
Most of what I know about playing the djembe, jobby, I learned from watching others play. The basic rhythm I play involves alternating right and left strokes; it works something like this:
1) Strike center of djembe with flat right hand and snap away quickly for a deep bass tone.
2) Rim shot with fingers of left hand as if you were playing bongos or congas.
3) Strike midway between center and rim with slightly cupped right hand for a higher-pitch but still "bassy" tone.
4) Same as 2. Repeat as often as desired--from this point it's a matter of picking up speed and changing hand positions to change the tone. If you're familiar with playing bongos and congas, many of the finger tricks you use to get a "crack" or "pop" out of the bongos will work very well. And of course, the rhythms you play on the set or on other hand drums can easily be adapted.
The first time I saw someone playing the djembe--actually two men with different-sized djembes--was on the lakefront in Chicago in 1994. They were playing pretty much what I just described, but they were cookin'! They played so fast and strong that, from a distance, their rhythm sounded like that of a high-school drumline (and this was late one summer evening!). And that's what hooked me on djembes...
1DB, it is possible to notate hand drums, but as you point out--and as we both know--you don't ever play the same piece of music exactly the same way twice. That's the cool part of it. To put it another way, playing a set is like making a pencil sketch of a picture. Hand drumming is like painting that same picture in wild, vibrant colors...both are pictures of the same object, as seen from totally different viewpoints.
jobby, go kick *** with your "new" old djembe, and
keep the beat goin' ... Don't keep it to yourself!
Charlie
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." --Henry David Thoreau, "Walden," 1854
"There's a lot to be said for Time Honored tradition and value." --In memory of Frank "fiacovaz" Iacovazzi
"Maybe your drums can be beat, but you can't."--Jack Keck
Djembe newbie
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Originally Posted by bongobro
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