After the critical and popular success of its first edition, the award-winning Andy Gleadhill’s Slap Djembe is back, packing in plenty of exciting new content! Available now at Percussion Plus and major resellers, SRP £14.95.
This edition distinguishes itself by having all the accompanying resources available for free on the Percussion Plus website, including a full digital copy of the book and complete audio, video, interactive whiteboard assets and more!
Why Andy Gleadhill’s Slap Djembe?
In recent times, djembes have become very popular in education; many music departments have a set or two, but sometimes it’s a struggle coming up with new ideas for what to do with them every week, term, year, and so on… That’s where the book comes in.
Developed specifically for KS2 & KS3 (US elementary & middle school), Andy Gleadhill’s Slap Djembe features a structured 10-week lesson plan for playing and teaching the djembe. The 15 compositions in the book come from all around the world, and the lesson plan can be applied individually to any of these, meaning you can get a full 10 weeks of lessons out of each. This means a total of 150 lessons to choose from!
You could spend a term becoming experts in the rhythms of Fanga, a traditional Liberian dance. Then, apply the drumming techniques you’ve learned to other musical cultures like Australian Aboriginal rhythms, or the Indian Bhangra style. To up the difficulty even further, try the Colombian Salsa, or the To'ere from Tahiti!
Another benefit is the unique, easy-to-follow notation system developed by Percussion Plus. The compositions in the book are notated with Bass, Tone and Slap graphics, showing you not only the rhythm to play but also how to strike the drum head correctly. As a result, this book is ideal not just for percussion specialists looking to pass on their passion, but also for non-specialists to learn alongside (or just ahead of!) their students.
The notation in the book matches that on the drum heads of Percussion Plus’ Slap Djembe range, making for an ideal visual learning experience and helping to engrain proper technique and sight-reading from the start.
The book contains more than just the music. Performance notes from Andy, cultural fun facts and interesting pictures relating to the pieces all help to enliven the learning experience and elevate Andy Gleadhill’s Slap Djembe from a music book to a holistic education resource.
What’s new in the second edition?
On top of all the popular content that appeared in the first book, the second edition now contains:
- A new call and response section, giving you 10 extra patterns to build improvisational, stage-ready performances and introducing a new technique
- 3 new compositions from Africa, the birthplace of the djembe, taking the total number of pieces in the book from 12 to 15
Better still, the complete additional resources that supplement the book are now all available for free online at Percussion Plus. These include:
- Videos demonstrating rhythm and technique for each of the 15 compositions
- Audio files for every individual part in the entire book
- Bespoke interactive whiteboard resources – perfect for the classroom
- Printer-friendly spreads for each composition
How to teach with Andy Gleadhill’s Slap Djembe
Andy Gleadhill’s Slap Djembe is designed to teach the fundamentals of music and musicianship through drumming. While the notation is highly accessible, expecting a group of KS2 students to play a full composition—such as Fanga—immediately is probably unrealistic.
To build their musical skills step by step, the Ten Weekly Lessons introduce key elements progressively:
- Rhythm
- Pitch
- Tempo
- Duration
- Dynamics
- Timbre
- Texture
- Structure
The final two weeks focus on developing musical independence and introducing call and response.
For example, when teaching Fanga, you might begin with simple, steady rhythms played with alternating hands. Gradually, introduce different strikes (bass, tone, slap), incorporate rolls, and explore dynamic changes. Once students are comfortable, start integrating rhythms from the composition, beginning with the ‘core rhythm.’ From there, divide the class into groups, assigning each a different part to build the full piece collaboratively.
Of course, the book contains far more comprehensive lesson plans than what I have detailed above, but the idea of building musical skills through the prism the djembe is the key!
Pairs perfectly with Carnival Slap Djembes
The second edition was launched at the NAMM 2025 international music industry fair in Anaheim, coinciding with the release of the new Carnival Slap Djembe range. Like the World Slap Djembes, these are manufactured in the world’s leading djembe factory in Bali, available in handy packs for schools, and supplied with a 5-year extended warranty. Special prices are available for schools and music hubs too, helping get them into class music lessons alongside the book.
With rope tuned, pre-tuned and new mechanically tuned options, the Carnival range caters for any classroom.
To purchase the second edition, click here. For access to the free resources, including a full digital copy, go to Percussion Plus.
For more information about the original book, and djembe drumming in general, read this previous article about Andy Gleadhill’s Slap Djembe.
And finally, find out more about Andy Gleadhill’s Slap Djembe winning Outstanding Music Education Print Resource at the 2024 Music and Drama Education Expo here!