Fun with the Conga and Djembe Drum!
You really can't miss when you bring a drum to music class!
The kids couldn't wait for their turn to play this conga drum--which was, unfortunately, the closest thing I had to a djembe! The djembe, our instrument focus for the week, is a member of the conga family and has a few different features; namely, an hourglass shape.
The djembe is highly associated with West Africa, and storytelling. Often, the djembe would be given as a gift to storytellers. In music class, we discussed how the conga and djembe were made, from cutting down the tree, to stretching the animal hide over the wood. I also showed the children the different sounds that a hand drum can make (typically 3-4 tones for every drum).
In West Africa, it is said that the djembe drum has a unique spirit made of three parts. I discussed this belief with the students and told them about the three pieces to the djembe spirit:
1) The spirit of the tree that was cut down
2) The spirit of the animal whose hide was used for the drum head
3) The spirit of the person who made the drum
We also had a blast singing "There was a little grasshopper" (check out the video below for the words and tune) which is a funny song about a grasshopper who keeps running in to a wall. This gave the kids a fun opportunity to play the conga drum, waiting for their cue, which was at the end of the little ditty (and the soundtrack for the grasshopper running in to the wall). They were very patient and did a great job with this! Everyone got a turn.
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD
1) Did you play a conga drum?
2) Do you remember the three spirits in the djembe drum? (Try holding up your fingers and start with "One...the spirit of the tree. Two...the spirit of the animal whose skin was used. Three...the spirit of the person who made the drum!)
3) What happens to the little grasshopper because he never looks ahead when he is jumping? He always gets a BUMP!