Editing Djembe (section)

==Sound and beating technique==
{{Listen|filename=Djembe accompaniment.ogg|title=Djembe sound sample|description=Djembe at medium pitch|filesize=227 KB|alt=Djembe at medium pitch}}
For its size, the djembe is an unusually loud drum. The volume of the drum rises with increasing skin tension. On a djembe tuned to solo pitch, skilled players can achieve [[Sound pressure#Examples of sound pressure and sound pressure levels|sound pressure]] of more than 105&nbsp;dB, about the same volume as a jackhammer.<ref name="Prak" />

Djembe players use three basic sounds: ''bass'', ''tone'', and ''slap'', which have low, medium, and high pitch, respectively. These sounds are achieved by varying the striking technique and position. Other sounds are possible (masters achieve as many as twenty-five distinctly different sounds),<ref name="Konate">{{cite book|title=Rhythms and Songs from Guinea|first1=Famoudou|last1=Konaté|first2=Thomas|last2=Ott|isbn=978-3-89760-150-5|publisher=Lugert|location=Oldershausen, Germany|year=2000|postscript=. First published 1997 in German as ''Rhythmen und Lieder aus Guinea''}} {{ISBN|3-930915-68-5}}</ref> but these additional sounds are used rarely, mainly for special effects during a solo performance (''djembe kan'', literally, "the sound of the djembe"). A skilled player can use the sounds to create very complex rhythmic patterns; the combination of rhythm and the differently pitched sounds often leads an inexpert listener to believe that more than one drum is being played.

The bass sound is produced by striking the drum with the palm and flat fingers near the center of the skin. Tone and slap are produced by striking the drum closer to the edge; the contact area of the fingers determines whether the sound is a tone or a slap. For a tone, most of the area of the fingers and the edge of the palm contact the skin whereas, for a slap, the contact area is limited to the edge of the palm and the fingertips. The basic sounds are played "open", meaning that the hands rebound immediately after a strike, so the contact time with the skin is as short as possible.

Acoustically, a djembe is a [[Helmholtz resonance|Helmholtz resonator]]: the frequency of the bass is determined by the size and shape of the shell and independent of the amount of tension on the skin. In contrast, the pitch of tones and slaps rises as the tension of the skin is increased. The bass has a frequency of 65–80&nbsp;Hz. Depending on the size of the drum and the amount of tension on the skin, tone frequency varies from 300&nbsp;Hz to 420&nbsp;Hz and slap frequency from 700&nbsp;Hz to 1000&nbsp;Hz, with audible overtones reaching beyond 4&nbsp;kHz.<ref name="Prak">{{cite web |url=http://djembelfaq.drums.org/v20a.htm |first=Albert |last=Prak |title=Physics of Djembe Sounds |date=July 1997 |publisher=DJEMBE-L |work=FAQ |access-date=January 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305154530/http://djembelfaq.drums.org/v20a.htm |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |url-status=live |df=mdy }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Mandiani Drum and Dance: Djimbe Performance and Black Aesthetics from Africa to the New World|first=Mark|last=Sunkett|publisher=White Cliffs Media|location=Tempe, AZ|year=1995|isbn=978-0-941677-76-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://djembefola.com/board/technical-advice/bass-djembe-t2824-15.html#p19168 |access-date=January 13, 2012 |title=Bass djembe |first=Michi |last=Henning |publisher=djembefola.com |work=Djembe Forum |date=March 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525034826/http://djembefola.com/board/technical-advice/bass-djembe-t2824-15.html |archive-date=May 25, 2011 |url-status=live |df=mdy }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Science of Percussion Instruments|first=Thomas|last=Rossing|isbn=978-981-02-4158-2|publisher=World Scientific Publishing|edition=1st|date=January 15, 2000|location=Singapore}}</ref>
<gallery caption="Different vibrational modes of a djembe skin" heights="66" mode="packed">
File:Drum_vibration_mode01.gif|alt=zero-one vibrational mode created by a bass or tone|(0,1) vibrational mode created by a bass or tone
File:Drum vibration mode11.gif|alt=one-one vibrational mode created by a tonpalo|(1,1) vibrational mode created by a tonpalo
File:Drum vibration mode21.gif|alt=two-one vibrational mode created by a slap|(2,1) vibrational mode created by a slap
File:Drum vibration mode02.gif|alt=zero-two vibrational mode created by a slap|(0,2) vibrational mode created by a slap
File:Drum vibration mode12.gif|alt=one-two vibrational mode created by a slap|(1,2) vibrational mode created by a slap
File:Drum vibration mode03.gif|alt=zero-three vibrational mode created by a slap|(0,3) vibrational mode created by a slap
</gallery>

{{Listen|filename=Djembe bass, tone, tonpalo, slap.ogg|title=Basic sounds of the djembe|description=Djembe bass, tone, tonpalo (third slap), and slap|filesize=64 KB|alt=Djembe bass, tone, tonpalo (third slap), and slap}}

The difference in pitch of the sounds arises because the different striking techniques selectively emphasize specific [[Vibrational modes of a drum|vibrational modes]] of the drum head.<ref name="CircularMembrane" /><ref name="VibModes">{{cite web |title=Vibrational Modes of a Circular Membrane |first=Daniel |last=Russell |year=2004–2011 |publisher=Pennsylvania State University |work=Acoustics and Vibration Animations |url=http://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/Demos/MembraneCircle/Circle.html |access-date=July 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120625040814/http://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/Demos/MembraneCircle/Circle.html |archive-date=June 25, 2012 |url-status=live |df=mdy }}</ref> A tone emphasizes the (0,1) mode while suppressing the bass (Helmholtz resonance) and higher-order modes as much as possible. A slap emphasizes the (2,1), (0,2), (3,1), (1,2), and (0,3) modes (as well as higher-order modes) while suppressing the Helmholtz resonance and the (0,1) and (1,1) modes.<ref name="Prak" /> Skilled players can also produce a medium-pitched sound (between a tone and slap) that is variously called ''third slap'', ''tonpalo'', or ''lé''; this sound emphasizes the (1,1) mode while suppressing all other modes as much as possible.<ref name="Harmonics">{{cite web |title=Harmonics of tones and slaps |first=Michi |last=Henning |date=July 3, 2012 |publisher=djembefola.com |work=Djembe forum |access-date=July 13, 2012 |url=http://djembefola.com/board/technique/harmonics-tones-and-slaps-t3621-30.html#p27494 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240524040432/http://www.webcitation.org/697MK5Qt9?url=http://djembefola.com/board/technique/harmonics-tones-and-slaps-t3621-30.html |archive-date=May 24, 2024 |url-status=live |df=mdy }}</ref>

<gallery heights="135" mode="packed" caption="Spectrum analysis for bass, tonpalo, tone, and slap">
File:Djembe_bass_spectrum.jpg|alt=Spectrum analysis of a bass. The big hump at 75 Hertz is the Helmholtz resonance.|Spectrum analysis of a bass. The big hump is the Helmholtz resonance.
File:Djembe_tone_Spectrum.jpg|alt=Spectrum analysis of a tone. The pair of spikes at 343 Hz and 401 Hz are the zero-one mode.|Spectrum analysis of a tone. The pair of spikes at 343&nbsp;Hz and 401&nbsp;Hz are the (0,1) mode.
File:Djembe_tonpalo_Spectrum.jpg|alt=Spectrum analysis of a tonpalo (third slap). The tallest spike at 568 Hertz is the one-one mode.|Spectrum analysis of a tonpalo (third slap). The tallest spike is the (1,1) mode.
File:Djembe_slap_Spectrum.jpg|alt=Spectrum analysis of a slap. The spike at 812 Hz is the two-one mode, followed by higher-order modes.|Spectrum analysis of a slap. The spike at 812&nbsp;Hz is the (2,1) mode, followed by higher-order modes.
</gallery>

{{Listen|filename=Famoudou_Konaté_-_Sofa_excerpt.ogg|title=Famoudou Konaté: Sofa|description=Differently pitched slaps due to selective emphasis of different harmonics.<ref name="Rhythmen der Malinke" />|filesize=210 KB|alt=Differently pitched slaps due to selective emphasis of different harmonics}}

By slightly varying striking and finger position, skilled players can selectively emphasize different slap harmonics and create melodies of differently pitched slaps.<ref name="Rhythmen der Malinke">{{cite video|title=Rhythmen der Malinke|first=Famoudou|last=Konaté|type=CD|year=1991|publisher=Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin|editor-last=Simon|editor-first=Artur|series=Museum Collection Berlin: CD 18|at=Track 17: Sofa|time=2:10}}</ref>