Tuesday 13 December 2016

How to Play Darbuka (Arabic Percussion)

Darbuka is an Arabic percussion instrument and popular in the Persian and Turkey. The skin is made from fish or goat skin. The simple way to learn how to play darbuka is by understanding to basic sound which called “dum” and “tak”. To produce the dum sound, simply using your palm and use the thumb as the guide on the edge of the darbuka.
When hitting the drum, make sure to lift your palm so that the dum sound can create more vibration and not immediately dampen. Otherwise, it will create a staccato slap sound and lose the originality of the instrument sound itself unless the song required the slap part. The “tak” sound comes from the ring finger from other hand that holds the darbuka. Rest your hand on the body, make sure you only lift your wrist and hit the edge of the skin to produce tak sound. If the sound need to be louder, lift your elbow part instead. This video will teach you how to play baladi rhythm on darbuka.

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