“Identity patterns” are played by the djembe soloist, either before the other musicians join in or during the piece (often at the beginning). Specific to the rhythm, they allow musicians and listeners to identify it immediately, in the same way as a sangban pattern. The soloist uses them occasionally to accompany the music, so the term “accompaniment solo” is sometimes also used. Some identity phrases correspond to a group of rhythms (such as Kassa), while some rhythms do not have any.

At the bottom of this page you will find a video with the basic patterns of Soro at 100 BPM. You can use it as a backing track to practice the identity patterns below.