Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20642 in Books
• Published on: 2000-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

Customer Reviews

A good beginners guide - let down by the CD
I have a fair musical background but am new to percussion and thought a good place to start would be with the djembe. This book is clear enough to be understood by even the non-musical, although if you have some musical understanding you'll find it easy to understand. It's well laid out and introduces concepts at a nice pace. The CD is ok, but I didn't really think it aided the learning process much - would have been better to have tied in lessons on CD and in the book a bit more clearly. That let down an otherwise good package, but at this price you can't really go wrong.

Problem with CD
I liked the vibe of the book, but the instructional style of the CD relies on you using a sound system that allows you to play just the right or left channel. They used to make them like this, but not anymore. I know the stereo in my car has the 'balance' button, but not the best place to be learning to play the drum! I've yet to see if my computer will do this.

Of note, the book makes reference to a new DVD and in hindsight I think that would have been a better buy (but isn't sold on Amazon.co.uk). You need to go to the 'dancing hands' website instead.

Easy to understand book
This is a well laid out and easy to understand book aimed at people just like me who couldn't read music if their life depended on it! The lessons are well paced and the instructions clearly given. The CD suffers a little as it wants you to play the L and R tracks separately and my stereo doesn't do that, but it still gives you a very good idea of what you should be aiming for and will indeed reach with a bit of perseverance. A great book for those who want to learn a bit of technique for this wonderful instrument.