Percussion instruments
Davul
The basic rhythm instrument: a large drum with skin stretched over both sides, played by striking with a beater and a stick.
In brief
- Family: Percussion; cylindrical drum with skins on both sides
- Origin: The name comes from Arabic tabl (tabul, tavul, davul); it passed into Western languages as tambour, atabal
- Body and materials: Walnut or hornbeam shell; goat or calf skin on both heads, tensioned with rope
- Dimensions: Today about 50 cm in diameter and 30 cm deep on average; varies by region
- Playing: The düm is struck with a thick beater with a curved head, the tek with a thin stick of hard wood such as juniper
- Music: Weddings and dance tunes with the zurna, mehter; formerly a symbol of sovereignty and the Ramadan drum
- Regions: All of Anatolia and the Balkans; kaba davul and cura davul among the Turkmens of southern Anatolia
- 16th–17th centuries: One of the instruments listed by Evliya Çelebi; it belonged to the mehterhane and accompanied the cura zurna he mentions[1, 2]
Listen
History
The inseparable companion of the zurna and the basic percussion instrument of weddings, festivals and the old Ottoman mehter band.
Construction
Skins are stretched over both sides of a large cylindrical wooden shell; the skins are laced to each other with rope and tensioned.
How it is played
It is hung from the shoulder; one hand plays the deep düm with a thick beater (tokmak), the other the high tek with a thin stick (çubuk).
Its place in makam music
It is the instrument that carries the usuls; it keeps the rhythm of dance tunes such as halay, horon and zeybek, and of the mehter usuls.
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 Davul
What is the difference between the davul and the darbuka?
The davul is a large cylindrical shell with skin stretched over both heads; it hangs from the shoulder, is played with a thick beater in one hand and a thin stick in the other, and its sound is very loud. The darbuka is a small, single-headed, goblet-shaped hand drum; it is played with the fingers and palm and lends itself to fine ornaments. The davul is the instrument of the open air and the davul-zurna duo, the darbuka of fasıl and dance tunes.
How are düm and tek played on the davul?
The thick beater strikes one head of the davul, producing the deep, low düm sound. On the other head, light, high sounds struck with a thin stick or switch take the role of tek. The heavy strokes of the usul are played with the beater, and the in-between strokes and ornaments with the stick; this way a single davul gives the usul completely with both düm and tek sounds.
Can I hear the davul on the site?
Yes. The “Listen” section on this page has real davul strokes. You can also choose the davul as the percussion instrument in the usul metronome under Tools and in the usul bar of the pieces in the sheet music archive; this way you can listen to an usul's düm and tek pattern with the sound of the davul.
What is the davul's place in the mehter?
In the Ottoman mehter, the davul forms the basis of the percussion section together with the kös and nakkare; it keeps the marching usuls and, together with the zurnas, builds the mehter's powerful sound. The davul player in the mehter is called a “davulzen”. Today's mehter bands continue this arrangement.