Percussion instruments
Daire (frame drum)
A wide frame drum played by hand, with small cymbals or rings fitted inside its frame; in makam music it keeps the usul.
In brief
- Family: Percussion; single-headed frame drum with rings or jingles
- Earliest evidence: Frame drum names appear on Sumerian cuneiform tablets; also known in pre-Islamic Iran
- Body and materials: Thin wooden frame; fish or goat skin
- Jingles / rings: Metal rings hang on hooks inside the frame, or pairs of jingles sit in slots
- Playing: Held in one hand; a stroke in the centre gives the low düm, at the edge the high tek; the rings ring with every stroke
- Regions: Iran, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Turkey and Kurdish regions
- Other names: Dayereh (Iran), doira (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan); in Turkish also used as a synonym of def
- 16th–17th centuries: One of the instruments listed by Evliya Çelebi; described as a large round frame drum hung with rows of small metal jingles[1, 2, 3]
Listen
History
A very old frame drum found from the Middle East to Central Asia; it is known as dayereh in Iran and doira in Uzbekistan. In the Ottoman period it was used as an usul instrument in ince saz and fasıl ensembles.
Construction
Skin is stretched over one side of a wide, thin wooden frame; pairs of small cymbals or metal rings are fitted on the inner side of the frame or in slots cut into it.
How it is played
It is held in the hand and struck with the fingers; a stroke in the centre gives the low düm and a stroke at the edge the high tek. The cymbals and rings ring with every stroke and enrich the rhythm.
Its place in makam music
It carries the usul patterns with düm and tek strokes; in fasıls, songs and dance tunes it keeps and ornaments the rhythm.
Getting started: types, sizes, tuning
Start with this instrument
Masters on recordings
Performers who play this instrument on recordings of works in the score archive (MusicBrainz).
Frequently asked questions about the Daire (frame drum)
What is the difference between the daire, the tef and the bendir?
All three are frame drums. The daire consists of a wide, thin frame with small pairs of jingles or metal rings inside it. The tef is usually smaller, and its jingles are fitted into slots in the frame. The bendir has no jingles and mostly gives a buzzing sound with snares running under the skin. The names may also be used interchangeably from region to region.
Where is the daire played?
In the Ottoman period it was used as an usul instrument in ince saz and fasıl ensembles. Under the names dayere in Iran and doira in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, it is still the basic usul instrument of art and folk music today. In Azerbaijan, a similar frame drum called the gaval is part of the mugham trio.
Is the daire hard to learn?
The basic düm and tek strokes are learned quickly. But finger snaps, making the jingles ring by shaking, and fast ornaments, as in the Central Asian doira tradition, take long practice. Learning the usuls by first speaking them as düm-tek makes it easy to move on from the daire to other percussion instruments as well.
What is the daire's role in makam music?
It plays no melody; it carries the usul. In fasıls, şarkıs and dance tunes it builds the skeleton of the usul with düm and tek strokes, and adds brightness to the rhythm with the ringing of its jingles and rings. It provides livelier accompaniment than the dignified strokes of the kudüm.