Percussion instruments
Darbuka
Darbuka: A percussion instrument with an hourglass-shaped body, played with finger and palm strokes. A goblet-shaped hand drum; it is very common in Turkish, Arabic and Balkan music. It is indispensable in fasıl, dance tunes and Romani music.
In brief
- Family: Percussion; single-headed goblet-shaped hand drum
- Origin: Goblet drum tradition reaching back to Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt; the name comes from Arabic darb (to strike)
- Body and materials: Formerly fired clay or wood; today mostly cast aluminium
- Skin: Goat or fish skin; today mostly a synthetic (plastic) head
- Basic strokes: Düm (centre, low), tek (rim, high), ka (tek with the other hand); finger ornaments and rolls
- Turkish and Egyptian types: On the Turkish type the edge of the head is exposed, allowing finger snaps; on the Egyptian type the edge is rounded
- Other names: Dümbelek, deplek; tarabuka, dumbek in Arab and Balkan countries
- 16th–17th centuries: Under the name dünbelek, Evliya Çelebi lists types such as the clay, glass and Yemeni dünbelek; today the name is used synonymously with darbuka[1, 2]
Listen
History
A goblet-shaped hand drum; it is very common in Turkish, Arabic and Balkan music. It is indispensable in fasıl, dance tunes and Romani music.
Construction
A skin or plastic membrane is stretched over the wide opening of a goblet-shaped body, formerly of fired clay and today usually of cast aluminium.
How it is played
It is held under the arm or on the knee; striking the centre of the membrane gives the low düm, striking the edge the high tek and ka sounds. Fast ornaments are made with the fingers.
Its place in makam music
It plays the usuls in düm-tek patterns; the site's usul bar and the percussion accompaniment in the score archive can be played with the darbuka.
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 Darbuka
What is the difference between the Turkish darbuka and the Egyptian darbuka?
On the Turkish-style darbuka, the head is fitted over a sharp-edged metal rim; this edge makes finger snaps and sharp, bright tek sounds easier. On the Egyptian-style darbuka (tabla), the rim is rounded; this lends itself to fast, soft palm strokes and a fuller timbre. The two types have developed different playing techniques and styles.
What are düm, tek and ke on the darbuka?
Düm is the deep, low sound produced by striking the center of the head with the palm or fingers. Tek is the high, dry sound produced by striking the edge of the head with the fingers of the strong hand. Ke (ka) is a lighter form of the tek sound played with the other hand. Usuls are learned as patterns of these sounds; for example, the four-beat sofyan is spoken as “düm, tek ke”.
Is the darbuka hard to learn?
The basic düm and tek sounds can be learned in a few days; a few months may be enough to play common usuls. The difficulty lies in fast finger ornaments, aksak usuls and very long usul patterns. The most common approach is to first speak the usuls as düm-tek, then practice them with a slow metronome.
Can I practice usuls with the darbuka on the site?
Yes. The usul metronome under Tools plays the düm and tek pattern of the usuls with the sound of the darbuka; you can set the tempo and play along. The darbuka can also be chosen as the percussion accompaniment in the usul bar of the pieces in the sheet music archive. The “Listen” section on this page has real darbuka strokes.