CD - Essential Darbuka
Community Darbuka articlesThe darbuka drum is known by many names in South Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, its apparent region of origin, where it has been played by all Middle Eastern peoples for at least as far back as recorded history. A beautiful goblet-shaped drum, it is usually built of ceramic, headed with a natural skin such as goat, rabbit or even fish. It differs from local hand drums found further south in Africa in that it is generally smaller, of a clay body, and the thin skin lends itself to finger techniques and nuances not often found or explored on drums with heavier skins and shells. The darbuka built of metal became common in modern times, as well as those headed with plastic instead of natural skin. The plastic heads offer greater volume and durability than natural heads, but many find they give less nuance - the sounds are simply different. In humid regions natural skins can be difficult to keep tight. Sunlight and/or a fireside are traditional ways to tension the head. In recent years many players of the darbuka with a natural head install a small light bulb, usually 40 watts, to heat-tension the head. This also gives a fun visual effect. Care must be taken if using this method with a ceramic drum, as the heat from the light bulb can eventually weaken the ceramic shell. The drum is best laid on its side, not standing, while the bulb heats the skin, so as not to overheat and break it. I grew up playing congas, bongos, djembe and more - and still love these and other instruments, all have unique sounds, but my main instruments of the past several years have been darbuka and daholla (bass darbuka). Their beauty, portability and very "hand-friendly" shape had much to do with this choice. With darbuka, as with any drum or other instrument, the sonic, stylistic and technical aspects are probably infinite... I much enjoy teaching but I still think our very best teachers are our own ears... Happy drumming! Yonatan Bar Rashi |