Ultimate Beginner Have Fun Playing Hand Drums for Bongo, Conga and Djembe Drums: A Fun, Musical, Hands-On Book and CD for Beginning Hand Drummers of ... & Online Audio (The Ultimate Beginner Series)

Now that I am in my senior years I have been working on my bucket list. One of the many things on my list is learning how to play some musical instruments. The last few years I have learned how to play the flute, Ukulele, Kazoo, and harmonica. I have now taken up the playing of percussion instruments like the regular drums, hand drums and the clave.Even though I am learning how to play the drums with drum sticks, I also love practicing the hand drums. One of the best books I have read on this topic is “Have Fun Playing Hand Drums: by Ben James and illustrations by Wim Van Loon), which I purchased for a bargain price on Amazon. This fantastic 80 page soft cover book also includes a CD which matches the information in the book.This volume is organized in a way that makes it easy to understand. Some of the topics include an historical overview of the djembe drum, the conga drum and the bongo drums. There are general hand drumming tips, playing the natural tone, playing the bass tone, the upbeats, group drumming games, playing the slap tone, rhythm evolution, group drumming rhythms, playing the muff tone, traditional rhythms and play along drum jams.Using this manual along with getting hands on instruction with an instructor is a winning combination.Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Hanbo Jutsu: How to use the Hanbo, walking stick and cane for self-defense).

The Drum tablature in the book is exactly what i was needing for my 5yo boy, i used stickers of each shape on the drum to show where to hit then i showed him in the book the different shape patterns and we both played it together and he had so much fun playing that he continued while the wife and i made dinner. The next thing im going to start working with him on is rhythm walking using chalk on our patio so that he'll have a better understanding of keeping time now that he's familiar with the ways to hit the drum and the sounds they make. we received the book on time and on the invoice the seller wrote a very nice message thanking us for helping the library, would buy from this person again.

I'm an average rock drummer, not exactly pro and not exactly beginner. So I wanted to try out bongo drums and unfortunately expected to learn how to beat on those things like there's no tomorrow. What I got is a middle school's music class group activity book. If you want to mean business then go spend money on something else. But I'm not dissing this book, I'm just saying this book wasn't for me.

it is ok . it does give some patterns and it does have the cd that follows the book. the rhythms are very basic. is still good to have on your shelf for reference.

This is a fantastic book to use to teach children as well as adults to play any type of drum. The book comes with a cd which helps you hear how the note should sound. I am teaching my son who is autistic and the steps are very simple although I do have to break them further to accomodate his learning style. I recommend it highly. Have fun playing!!

Great instructional guide for playing any hand drums and will teach the basic beats .Also comes with a very nice CD that has some nice learning beats .You will learn also how to incorporate slaps into playing. Go for it .worth the investment as it made me a more polished bongo/conga player.

fun book, very simple and easy to follow.

Very esay to fallow

I first got this book from my local library, but a previous reader had apparently grown a bit too fond of the cd and had decided to keep it, so I bought this on Amazon along with Hip Grooves for Hand Drums (by Alan Dworsky ).I mention this because both books are for beginners and might sound kind of similar, but in reality are not.Both books are very good for learning the basis (open tone, muff tone, bass, open/close slap). Hip Grooves has maybe a slight hedge as for clarity, but they are both pretty good, pleasantly friendly and cover stuff like how to practice and tricks to keep rhythm as a beginner.'Have fun playing hand drums' focuses on Djembe, Conga and Bongos, and each instrument gets a section about pretty much any rhythm explained.You won't find anything about bongos in Hip Groves, so if you are starting and have both bongos and another drum (anything large enough to play open tone, muff tone, bass, open/close slap with both hands will do) 'Have fun playing hand drums' is probably a better option. The same if you are planning to play with friends and want examples of interlocking rhythms using different drums.Also, 'Have fun playing hand drums' focuses mostly on traditional rhythms and is aimed at playing in a drum circle (it also gives you some backtracks to play along with, for when you are out of drumming friends).It also has some rhythmic games to play with you friends, for stimulating creativity and having more fun. For sure the author sounds good fun to play with.Hip Grooves covers a few traditional rhythms but also covers much more ground, also because it doesn't deal with bongos. In particular, heel/tip with both hands is well explained an it's actually true that the book helps a lot a non drummer to understand what makes different rhythms (funky, rock, hip-hop, salsa) well, different.Also, Hip Grooves focus on being the only or main rhythmic support, so all rhythms tend and fill weak beats with muffle tones, to keep things going and fill the spaces that in a drum circle would be shared by other percussion.In conclusion, if you want to learn bongos as well and/or are mostly interested into having fun in a drum circle with traditional rhythms, my advice is to go for 'Have fun playing hand drums'.If you want to learn how to comp in modern styles also and want to learn how to create a supportive groove without other percussionists go for Hip Grooves. (Also, just to be clear, Hip Grooves does cover some traditional rhythms and turns some of them into modern comping, which is good fun)

Good book

Very good book for beginners. Good price and arrived on time.

Good to learn the conga with.quick delivery

Great for beginners.