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” The fact that drumming and dance is an eternal gift in our family, my passion for drumming developed when I always witnessed my uncle “Odai Nmai” practice drumming and singing happily at the same time and nodding along which signifies great joy.

I decided to fall within drumming lineage by joining the Kusun Ensemble at the age of 11, keeping the musical timing for 2 years from 2003 to 2005. My uncle then introduced me to “Nokoyedzen” Cultural Group now known as Salaka Dance Ensemble. I took up from there as a dancer since I was the only young boy among the members. I enjoyed dancing for a year and grabbed the opportunity to be trained as the master drummer for the Junior Salaka Ensemble. King Mo gave enough of what I needed to as a drummer then I looked up to Tuza Afutu as my role model and started learning his djembe techniques and feel.

After some years I was given the chance to join Salaka, where I played with masters and improve my drumming skills. With drumming I had the opportunity to join the teachers of Ekome Tours as Beginners’ Teacher. I love drumming and my dream is to impart onto others worldwide what drumming feels like. It’s so AMAZING!”

“Hi I’m John I was introduced to drumming just over 12 years ago. I saw a show called Drum Struck where all the audience had a drum to play, I’d never experienced that before to be part of something bigger than just my sound and also feeling different rhythms layering to give the voice of our piece. I instantly enrolled in classes in the Blue Mountains and found my calling playing drums with our local group Hands Heart and Feet to me I loved it especially playing Dunn dunns for dance classes as the energy built from the vibrations of our drums to feed the dancers and there cycle of energy feeding us it felt like the story unfolded for each of their steps had calls from lead djembes and Dunn lines to match their moves – I wanted more!

I’d never been on a plane before but I when heard of Simon and Tuza’s trip to Ghana west Africa, I went on a whim and a prayer. Nothing prepared me for my experience to see the cultural change and poverty and yet the most happiest people I’d ever been with always having at least 10 children around me laughing and playing I felt the rhythms from there origin. The tour was well organised with professional tutors classes and one on ones I not only tried drum classes but I did singing, flute and even tried a few dance classes.

My biggest joy was to watch the up and coming children dance and train there joy dedication came from the heart each step in dance or slap tone on drum had a message they taught me to let go and just feel it. Their legacy was for me to learn these rhythms and voices take it home, they didn’t want anything in return just share it with my community back home.

Drumming for me has become about bringing joy and sharing the gift of music. I teach a regular class at Blackheath every Monday night going for over 3 years now also I work with disabled people and do work shops and performances to my teachers Mohamed Bangoura Sibo and Epizo bangoura, Simon Fraser, Tuza and John May from Hands Heart and Feet also the beautiful teachers in Africa thank you for changing my life love John bortey”

” From a very early age i was drawn to rhythm. I used to bang away on my mother’s pots and pans with wooden spoons. Growing up in Australia I learned to play the drum kit but there was something missing. I remember going to an African festival here in Canberra and seeing and hearing djembe for the first time. I was blown away!!

Since then I sort out teachers and was fascinated with the deep culture involved – it’s not ‘just drumming!’ The clearest moment of my life came when I realised I had to go to Guinee to learn and be part of the culture. That was in 2002 and it changed my life forever. I have since been back to West Africa 4 times, each time having a fantastic experience and going deeper.

I have been blessed to have been a student to some of the djembe masters both old and new school. They worked me hard and inspired me to be the best I can be. My discipline and hard work has paid off. I am humbled to get recognition from Africans for my efforts.

Right now I’m very fortunate to have enthusiastic and energetic youth in my ensemble ‘Drumassault’. Killer dundun and sangban from Miles and Matt and 5 petit dancers who are great. Check out one of our shows or on YouTube – tres chaud! Peace”

“A little while ago my mum told me that my first kick was felt when she was at a concert and the drums started up.

This made sense as I have always had a deep love for music. When I was five I took up dancing, my favourite style was tap dancing because I was also able to make music with my feet!

For a little while during high school I started drum kit lessons and even found my way into a girl’s band. After only a few short months parties took priority over practising and that was the end of the band and the drums.

More than ten years later after experiencing a few personal tragedies I sent myself into a deep meditation to find out what my soul was longing to do. What would bring that spark for life back? My whole being was yelling “DRUMMING!”.. So the next day I went on a google search and found African Drumming!

It only took me five minutes of playing to know that I had been lead to this point for a reason and I was hooked! Whether I am playing the djembe, duns, shaker or bell I feel a happiness inside that is indescribable. Following my intuition to African drumming kick started a new chapter in my life, reignited my passion for learning about all music, got my booty shaking again and has also lead me to many new and amazing friendships with people I may have never crossed paths with otherwise.”

“I first got hooked on African drumming in 2005 when I was asked to play a 44 gallon drum for a corporate interactive drumming workshop as part of a 4 piece African group. I simply had to play a solid beat.

I loved watching the facilitator holding the space while all participants drummed together. Its power blew me away. Then the facilitator gave the nod to Sibo Bangoura, a Guinean djembe player, to improvise while the room played. I couldn’t believe my ears…the sweet sounds of tones and slaps, I was hooked on the energy, the power, the connecting of community and the level playing field it gave participants to create beautiful music together, no matter what their ability or status.

I am still a facilitator corporate and community drum circles, but focus most of my time working with kids with special needs. Its incredible how powerful drumming is from a therapeutic approach”

“My older brother is a kit drummer, I grew up with him and his mates playing as a band in our family home garage. During this time my brother taught me simple rhythms and I believe this is where my love for drumming started.

Fast forward to July 2012 which is when I discovered the djembe and my love of drumming quickly turned into a passion! I had my first drum lesson with Kosta Michalopolous, who is a wonderful teacher and drummer – Two weeks later I bought my first djembe and I haven’t looked back! I’ve also had the pleasure of learning under Simon Fraser, Jeremy Prentice, Michael Biewer and Amadou Kalissa, who have all inspired me & continue to do so.

The djembe to me, is a powerful instrument – It continually challenges me, it has given me self-confidence and I have developed so many wonderful friendships! I feel blessed to have discovered this beautiful instrument and the community spirit that comes with it!”

” I was first introduced by my girlfriend (now wife) Miriam – she asked if I wanted to come along to a practice session, and I was hooked!

For me, West African Percussion isn’t a musical style, it is a way of life. It is something that our modern society is missing – a fundamental core that permeates all facets of our lives. There are some elements of our culture that touch on how essential this idea is – start singing happy birthday, and everyone joins in, everyone knows the words. Imagine that feeling, that cohesion, throughout your life – when cooking, travelling, working, playing, grieving, laughing, loving. Western culture evolves so quickly and is so diluted by global influences, I am envious of the music that has existed for 700 years to accompany and define a continued way of life – where communities celebrate milestones in the bara, together, to the rhythm of life.

I am not only proud to play and teach this style of music, keeping the musical heritage alive in the world; my passion is to build functional pieces of art – beautiful djembes and dunun that bring joy to whomever plays them. In our disposable society, I strive to create heirlooms that will be played and cherished for generations. My legacy will be the drums I have built that are loved by their djembefola, the people I have touched with our performances, and the skills and knowledge I can give back to the drumming community to ensure that Mandingue music will live forever in our hearts.”

” I have always been drawn to rhythm. Growing up near Byron Bay, I was lucky enough to often stumble across the familiar sound of a drumming circle at markets, on the beach, and in the

streets. Drums for me always imposed a “Pied Piper effect” and I couldn’t help but follow the sound until I found the source! But I was a piano player, and it wasn’t until about the age of about 18, in a moment of inspired spontaneity, that I bought my first djembe.
To begin with, drumming for me was a solitary activity. I loved to escape from the pressures of the day by drumming alone at the nearby oval. I would often lose track of time. Drumming had become my form of meditation – it would always bring me back to the moment.
In my early twenties, I joined a samba-inspired community drumming group and discovered the feeling of connectivity, power and sheer joy that came from drumming with others. My weekly interaction with this diverse group of drummers was an important time for me in realising the potential of the drum in building social cohesion and community. By this stage, the rhythm-addiction was truly starting to take hold. I sought out a local percussion teacher to equip me with a better understanding of technique and signed up to whatever percussion workshops came my way!

Completing the African Drumming Teacher Training Course with Simon was a significant moment in my growth as a djembe player, and the skills and knowledge I acquired from this training equipped me with the confidence and practical understanding to implement drumming within my teaching practice. Over the years, I have had the pleasure of teaching hundreds of children to drum across a variety of school settings. I am currently studying a Master of Education and conducting a research thesis on drumming and student engagement. I am continually amazed by the great capacity the djembe holds as a teaching tool and the way in which it provides dynamic learning opportunities and life lessons.

It has been a great privilege to have the opportunity to assist with facilitating the African Drumming Teacher Training Course for the past couple of years. Working with the African Drumming team is such a joy – they are a talented bunch who have a genuine enthusiasm for the work they do. Since moving to Victoria 18 months ago, I have also been running weekly drumming classes in my hometown of Wangaratta. The djembe never fails to bring together people from all walks of life, and I feel so lucky to get to spend time grooving with such an awesome bunch of people each week.

I think the djembe is often dismissed as a simple and undemanding instrument. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The djembe demands a high degree of physicality, cognition and emotion that forges self-development as well as strong connections with others. I think it’s the perfect instrument: it is accessible to all – but the road to mastery requires a high degree of technicality, musical sensitivity, self-awareness and group cohesion.

I look forward to continuing my journey down that road. Learning to play djembe can open the door to a wealth of rich experiences – I encourage everyone to give it a go!”

“I started my voyage into Djembe around 6 years ago when i started training under Alena Schneider. After 2 lessons i went to the shop and bought my first djembe. After my first Tribalism i was hooked and ive never looked back. Currently i am training under Simon in the advanced class and playing with Sessi Sessi.

What really appealed to move on that first Tribalism was the sense of music as being something created by a community. That we played music for each, rather than the normal performer/audience relationship.

And in Sessi Sessi that “tradition” is still very much alive. Whenever we go out to a gig we always bring extra instruments for members of the public to play. In the middle of a performance we might have little dance or drumming workshops so we can bring as many people into the band as we can. Either in a drumming circle or up on stage with us. And its great to see the looks on people as they start to feel that they are not just a part of making music, they are a part of making good music.

After 6 years this getting “everyone in” to make music is still my favorite aspect of djembe”

“How amazing is djembe!? I live for it. I just love it! Through it, I’ve met wonderful people and travelled to incredible places. And it’s a journey.

I started mine with a drum circle in 1998. Just a small group of friends, drumming in a park. We had a teacher, John May from Hands Heart and Feet in the Blue Mountains.

If you have met John, you’ll know he’s one of the most amazing men to have ever walked the Earth. In a way, he became a mentor. He taught me djembe, but through djembe, he taught so much more. Life skills, community-building skills, love for people and how to facilitate the passion that people have for rhythm. He taught tolerance, acceptance abundance and how to have a wicked time without drugs and alcohol. What I experience through performing was unbelievable and better than any drug.

Watching Epizo Bangoura entertain a large crowd for an hour with just his voice and a djembe flicked a switch that has never turned off. Since then, djembe was a way of life.

Now, I have thrown myself into being a djembe teacher and Drum Circle Facilitator full time. And business is booming! I’ve grown and so has the business. Earthen Rhythms has gained a reputation as an exciting, uplifting drum circle creations from Preschools to Adults to Corporate environments, it’s going off. I’ve fused my experience of African Rhythms with Arthur Hull’s Drum Circle Facilitation & Playshops. It’s a flowing rhythm ride of structure and free form beats that allows the unlocking of the Human Spirit. It’s joyous to watch. I now work with kids right through to our Elders, the sick and the well, the strong and the weak.

Everyone loves rhythm. I’ve seen it support the depressed, give purpose to those who have lost the will to live and I’ve seen djembe ignite passion in those who have lost their way. This is what I love it and this is why I play!”

“Drumming arrived on my doorstep with a bang in 2000 – the new millennium! Darembuka lessons for the belly dancing class. How sensational, and then I heard the djembe! There was no turning back. Rarely do I play darabuka, but love the djembe and dun outfit.

Exhausted at the end of demanding working weeks, a team of enthusiasts would religiously attend the Friday night class after driving for 30 or 40 minutes. The elation at the close of class was undeniable. I believe everyone ROCKED on the way home from class with rhythms being tapped out of steering wheels. Completely reborn, completely alive, hearts full of clean energy and balanced!

I dearly thank my first teacher. I also dearly thank the team of, just so happens to be, ladies, who have continued drumming together since that time. Our first teacher gave birth to the Drumming Sheilas.

Many wonderful drum masters and teachers have come to our somewhat isolated area, to holiday with their families, and to inspire and encourage us and give us further rhythms and refine our technique in intensive workshops. We have accessed a diverse selection of camps and workshops. We have been invited to participate and perform at several exciting festivals and celebrations.

Early in drum life, we learned to make dunun sets, and I continue to do so. We also reskin our djembes and bougarabous, and have made shekerees.
Bali Drum camps have been a total gift from the Gods, as Bali and the Balinese people, and drumming are my favourite things. The networking and camaraderie of the camps has been a delightful surprise to me. The first camp I attended in 2014, together with a few Sheilas, was full of information and although Simon said “it is not boot camp”, we worked hard at mastering the rhythms, storing information, patterns, sequences and stepping up our solos, taking home two virtually complete rhythms to add to the Sheila repertoire, with song, duns, bells, djembes, intro, calls, solos, harmonies, breaks and chaufs.

I have the privilege to teach the Personal Development program Drumbeat in local Primary Schools, and this is another amazing moment of empowerment through drum and rhythm. It is sensational seeing children of all abilities respond and shine and achieve, perform and express with djembe and duns, percussion dance and song, to the whole school audience, within the 10 week program.

This year I returned to Bali Drum Camp, and I came home re-empowered with further information on drumming technique, I received a shiny star for my successes and those precious moments of clear-mindedness. I learned a fabulous new chain to play in 4/4 patterns, and further info on 6/8 calls, connecting once again with amazing people, learning that one CAN spend one’s whole life at drum camps!

I give great gratitude to the Bali team, and all the drummers who have touched and enriched my life.
I count my blessings and drink with delight the earth energy gift of vibration from rhythm………with all of you!

Juju Drumming Sheila will drum forever”

” I always knew I had to drum. Trained as a classical musician, I knew I was ‘home’ when my hands first played the djembe!
I was first introduced to this wonderful world by talented colleague Julian Raphael in Wellington.

Having already developed a business in Palmerston North (New Zealand,) whereby I enable folk to discover their joy and groove through singing dance & ukulele, djembe was a natural addition. It’s power to transform & bring people together captured me straight away. In the process of sharing/teaching/hosting/performing and facilitating a myriad of drumming experiences, this instrument has changed me forever.

Working with Simon on his NZ trips definitely is a highlight, encouraging me to bring all of my knowledge together. Now with tours to Ghana added to my repertoire, I am joyfully immersed in the drumming & dancing scene, feeling mega gratitude for all the wonderful folk and experiences that are flowing my way. Rock on!”

“Like so many of us, I was very drawn to play the djembe, while not knowing a thing about it! I saw it performed and thought “yeah, I’d like to do that!”

so I did – for one term, and then stopped.
Looking back, I have deduced that I probably stopped out of fear – of what I’m still not sure, though quite possibly it was related to the depth of self-expression djembe requires from us. One has to be very ready for that sort of personal challenge and growth, and I suspect I wasn’t yet.

Six months later I saw djembe on stage again and this time it was a visceral reaction: it was like someone grabbing and pulling the front of my t-shirt; and the accompanying feeling was that I had to play djembe, I couldn’t not play djembe any more.  So begin again I did, and haven’t stopped since.

That was just over 10 years ago now, and I can wholeheartedly say djembe has changed my life completely. Since then I have been lucky enough to share and teach the music, perform with some awesome ensembles and fellow djembefola, travel to Africa, and since mid-2010 work full time in a dynamic business based on djembe and its’ family.

Somewhere along the path I realised that drumming is my meditation, my way; always challenging the concepts of my self, continually offering opportunities to connect with others, and relentlessly demanding the fullness of my self without shying away or stepping back into the shadows.

And that last point is the real kicker for me: honest, unapologetic expression of self, while being fully engaged with the people and environment around you; all guided by the laws of love and respect, being humble and celebrating greatness; it’s a daily, life-long challenge: one that demands everything you have and then some, and one that delivers it all back hundred-fold and more. That’s how I know djembe is – and always will be – my Way”

Even from an early age I had been “musical” but never had the discipline or attention span to stick at anything too hard. So, I gave up on the recorder lessons, the clarinet lessons, the guitar lessons and the ukulele lessons. Drums were my favourite instrument but my parents would never buy me a set which probably saved them a lot of money as I probably wouldn’t have stuck at it.
Playing football and cricket were so much easier and much more exciting!

Fast forward 35+ years and I sell my house in the Melbourne ‘burbs and move into an apartment in St Kilda, Melbourne. I had done a lot of travel and had visited all of the continents but one – Africa. It was high on my ‘must-do’ list but for various reasons hadn’t quite made it to the top. All through these years, it was always in the back of my mind to one day learn to play an instrument properly (or at the very least at a passable standard).

So, here I was walking the streets of St Kilda one Sunday and I came across a shop with all sorts of African instruments and clothes in the window display and there on the door was a little poster………..”Come to Africa and learn African drumming”‘ Wow, I don’t know whether I had an epiphany right there and then but it sure made sense to me. Get to Africa AND learn to play the drums! Perfect.

So the next week I went back to the shop, met Simon and Kate and in June 2008 at 52 years of age, signed up for a 6 week beginners course…….to say I then got sucked into the amazing world of west African drumming is probably an understatement. I was in Africa 6 months later and after 2 more intensive drumming tours to Ghana and Burkina Faso, 8 years of lessons, great teachers, many great new friends and a couple of drums, I now travel the highways and byways of Australia in my motorhome with my Djembe explaining to anyone who will listen that “it’s not a bloody bongo” and enjoying the almost nightly jams with the many “highway” musicians (of varying musical levels & instruments).

“Drumming (and dancing) is my life, it is that simple.
I can never imagine my life without a drum in it! It is everything for me,
without drumming my life could have been so different and not in a good way.

I could have been involved in things that were no good for me because I had no other opportunities in my life in Ghana.
Drumming (and dancing) and performing came into my life at eight years old when I found myself with no family, the traditional masters in drum and dance who took me under their wing became my family.

My art has taken me around the world and I am grateful everyday for being able to share my culture with everyone through music. More fire!”

“When I drum I connect to my soul…deeply, instantly. Drumming moves me so richly and grounds me when I have scattered energies.
It soothes, calms,and brings an inner joy and serenity. Drumming connects people so easily as it is a universal language, I love the way it connects strangers together.

I started drumming when I was 3. Even though I didn’t have a drum, I would just sit in my mum’s big lounge chair and drum like a wild child with my hands on the arms of the chair. I guess I was lucky to grow up to the sounds of Led Zeppelin, Santana, Eric Clapton and the Beatles etc.

I was surrounded by varied brilliant artists with their own unique drumming styles, This rich musical environment influenced me strongly at a young age. Drumming along to all those cool songs felt so good all through my growing up.

I was introduced to African Drumming in Western Australia in about 1994. A lot of my friends in Fremantle had been to Ghana and came back to teach songs from all over West Africa. After a few sessions I ordered my own djembe and had weekly lessons, African dancing was a huge part of the musical community scene in Freo too. There were so many awesome community drum and dance gatherings. Having my own djembe to practice on was amazing after years of playing on bench tops or my knees!

In 2002 I moved back home to Melbourne and for a year had no tribe to play with and I missed it! By destiny in 2003 I heard a new tribe drumming in Aireys Inlet Camp….Simon and his crew. Now after having gone to Ghana in 2008, I teach beginners drumming myself…A little Phillip Island group called Island grooves. We hope to present some arrangements at the next Tribalism.

I know I’ll drum to the day I die….it brings me so much joy and adds a shine to my soul.I really think music makes the world go round”

Music started in my life with guitar lessons in 1970, little did I realise the impact music would have on me in later life.

I stumbled into west African drumming in a drum making workshop in 1997. I have been working as teacher aid in a Primary school since 1997.

Drumming was an instant hit with kids there as it is everywhere. I have been running regular classes since 2002. The great thing about African drumming is that in a few moments people can be playing music and today I still enjoy seeing people learning and playing music for the first time, seeing their confidence grow and pleasure they receive.

EVERYONE HAS RHYTHM, its my responsibility as a drum teacher to help you find it!!