Method for

DARBUKA
volume 1

Ruben van Rompaey

 Contents
About the author 3

Foreword 3

• Darbuka 4
• Notation 6
• Side Instruments 6

Before we start (FAQ) 8

Positioning 10

Technique 11

• Düm 11
• Tek – Ring finger
o Right Hand 12
o Left Hand (KA) 12
• Tek – Index finger 13
• Düm & Tek 14
• Slap 16
• Single Strokes 18
• Single Stroke Four 22
• Single Stroke Seven 24
• Drag 27
• Damping Techniques 29
• The Nail Roll 30

Solo patterns 31

Darbuka rhythms 32

Solos 37

Acknowledgements 44

Links 44
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 About the author

Ruben van Rompaey (1978, Bergen op Zoom, Holland), fascinated by drums and percussion, started
to play drums at a very early age. Along with his passion for Jazz and World Music, he immediately
developed a strong interest in ethnic musical styles and sounds.
After Ruben obtained his Master Degree (cum laude) in drums and percussion, he traveled to
Istanbul, Turkey, where he lived and was classically trained by well known percussion masters over
there.
Ruben has won several awards, like the Tama Drummers Award (1999), the Erasmus Jazz Award
(2000), a scholarship (2001), amongst others. He developed a series of workshops in Turkish
Rhythms for the Dutch Magazine Slagwerkkrant.

Currently, Ruben is a teacher in the Academies of Jazz Music and Turkish Music at Codarts School
Of Music And Arts, Holland. He is also very active as a professional drums and percussion artist and
has performed at a variety of international Jazz and Belly Dance festivals, which has brought him to
countries like Turkey, West Africa, USA, Canada and Japan. As a special guest with Solace Live! he
toured the Pacific Northwest of USA. Ruben currently has two world percussion releases on the
American record label Eventide Music Productions.

Foreword

This book is written for everyone who is seriously interested in learning and mastering the basic
technical skills of darbuka playing. It serves as an overview of different playing techniques, the so
called darbuka rudiments which any serious student should master. I felt the urge of writing a
method from a fresh, modern point of view, including a necessary theoretical and traditional
background.

In this book you will find a selection of solo ideas and rhythms, in order of getting familiar with the
art of Middle Eastern rhythms and improvisation. Notice that a basic knowledge of music theory is
requiered before starting with this method. After going through all of the exercises, the student
should be able to play some basic rhythms and improvisations on the instrument. This method takes
a closer look at several darbuka techniques, using creative approaches.

‘Being a percussionist as well as a drumset artist, I soon realized that both of these instruments
perfectly complement each other, providing me clear insights within the inner aspects of these
instruments, their possibilities and their functions. In this modern world where musical cross overs
are quiet common phenomenals, and traditions tend to blend together with modern electronic
developments on a regular base, a percussive instrument like the darbuka plays its own, special role.
Due to the instruments’ particular and outspoken characteristic sounds, the darbuka can be adjusted
to many imaginable musical styles, adding interesting rhythmical pallets of colors to the
contemporary musical endeavours of nowadays world music.

No matter which styles of music you are familiar with, try to search for and develop your own
‘voice’ on the instrument and feel free to blend it within any musical situation’.

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Darbuka

Being an ancient instrument, the darbuka is considered as one of the pioneers of the family of goblet
drums. First of all, the name darbuka has many variations throughout the different areas and regions,
like tabla (Egypt), dümbelek (Turkey), doumbek (USA) and tombak (Persia/Iran). The darbuka also
seems to show some interesting similarities with the African djembe, although there are some
significant differences as well.

The goblet-shaped drum has been around for many ages and can be considered as being one of the
prominent percussion instruments of the Middle East. To give you a rough idea of the area we are
talking about, I have included a little historical map from the times of the Ottoman Empire:

The map clearly shows us the most important areas in which darbuka is popular.
Realize that, in order of getting the complete picture, we also should add Morocco and the rest of the
Arabian peninsula.
Nowadays, the position of the darbuka is still one of significant importance. The instrument can be
heard in a large area throughout the Middle East as well as in Eastern Europe (Turkey, Balkan).
Darbuka is being used in musical styles and genres like classical Middle Eastern music, modern Pop
music, Folkloric music and a whole variety of Fusion genres.
The technique is said to be originally derived from the basic techniques of frame drums, which have
been around for ages already.

This method deals with the technique of the Egyptian (Arabian) darbuka.
Notice there are basically two types of darbuka’s; the Turkish models and the Egypt/Arabic models.
The Turkish model has a sharp edge and is mostly made out of metal or aluminium. It has a slightly
different body shape and the playing technique is different from the Egyptian darbuka technique.
Since the Turkish darbuka has a sharp edge, the technique is based on finger snaps, somewhat
similar to the snaps on a frame drum or a Persian tombak. The Egyptian model had a round edge,
and can be made of aluminium, metal, clay, copper or even wood. This round shape of the edge
allows the player to use a different finger technique.
The picture on the next page shows a variety of Turkish and Egypt darbukas with different body
decorations.

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The body of the darbuka can be decorated with different ornamentations and embellishments such as
mosaic inlays, hand paintings or hammered figures.
Nowadays, synthetic skins are often used instead of the more traditional, natural skins like calf skin,
goat skin or fish (shark) skin. There are several differences between those types of skins;

Synthetic materials have the advantage of being weather resistant and water proof, while the natural
skins need to be treated with more care and patience. As an example, the natural skins sometimes
require to be heated by a lamp or a fire before getting in tune. However, many modern darbuka
players still prefer the natural skins to the fabric ones, because of its characteristic, rich and warm
sound and tone quality.

Natural, animal skins need to be glued onto the body, using ropes to fixate the skin.
Synthetic skins are adjusted by passing it over a metal/aluminium hoop and tuning using the tuning
bolts (regularly six to eight).

Speaking about technique, the possibilities seem to be endless. However, a structural basic
knowledge is most important and will serve as a guide to your further musical explorations. In order
of developing a good rhythmical vocabulary, I have incorporated some essential drum rudiments into
the world of darbuka playing.
As an advice, pay a lot of attention to the basic movements and motions, as they are being showed
on the accompanying pictures. Subsequently, try to incorporate the exercise into your daily routine.
Just like any technique, motion is a very important part of playing your instrument. Talking about
the darbuka, we are dealing with the most important aspects, such as: body position and position of
the instrument, position of the arms and hands. I would say that relaxation is the key word with
every movement imaginable.
Executing an exercise while having a lot of muscular tension can cause irritation and will definitely
affect the smoothness of your playing. Therefore it is of significant importance, that you are in a
comfortable and relaxed position before you start playing. This will eventually stimulate the
smoothness and creativity.

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Notation

The ability of reading music is a very important aspect for the contemporary darbuka player (and any
serious musician in general)! It will help you better to understand rhythmical structures and help you
visualizing what you are playing. There are several slightly different approaches to darbuka notation.
However, I personally prefer using the classical five line-system of notation.
Example

Side Instruments

• Frame Drum/Bendir

With regards to the darbuka, we may not forget to mention the importance of its close family
member, the frame drum or bendir (also known as duff). The bendir is a circular frame drum,
often with a resonating string tightened against the back of the skin. Together with its close
family member the hollo, the bendir is commonly recognized as being one of the most
prominent percussion instuments of the Middle East.
The notation for this instrument is quiet similar to the darbuka notation. In my opinion,
besides the darbuka, some minimal knowledge of the bendir is essential. Therefore I have
included some pictures of this instrument, including some playing positions.

Let me show you some basic positions of the bendir first, just as an illustration. There are two
main positions for playing the bendir, and a few other possibilities which will be discussed in
a later volume.

Classical position Between the laps position (modern style)

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 Note :

Where darbuka is merely a solo instrument, bendir can be considered as the basic pulse. It’s
pretty hard to seperate those two instruments, since they have a lot of things in common.
There are some basic essential differences in positioning and sounds of the instruments, yet
together they represent the heartbeat of the (middle eastern) rhythm section.

• Tef & zills

The tef (also riqq (Middle East) and sometimes called def) and zills are two important
secondary percussion instruments which are an important part of the Middle Eastern rhythm
section. They represent the essential layers of embellishments within the rhythm section.
The tef consists of a metal or wooden hoop over which a synthetic or natural skin is
stretched. It generally has several pairs of zills attached to it.
Zills are tiny, high pitched cymbals, to be attached to and played with the fingers (two pairs).
If we compare those seperate percussion instruments to the separate parts of the western
drumset, we may notice some interesting similarities; bendir – bass drum
darbuka – snare drum
tef and zills – hi-hat and cymbals

Here is a picture of these instruments together.

Last but not least, remember that creativity should be your guide.
Enjoy!

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 Before we start...Some Frequently Asked Questions

-Where can I buy a darbuka?

Since darbuka is gaining popularity nowadays in the area of world percussion, the number of
shops/music stores selling darbukas is increasing. Although very good quality darbukas can be
found in countries like Turkey and Egypt, many music shops as well as via the internet carry
reasonable quality darbukas.

-How do I choose a good darbuka?

Choosing a good darbuka isn’t as easy as it seems to be. Certain aspects may be pretty easily
overlooked, such as the number of tuning bolts (eight is to be recommended), material (a good
darbuka should have considerable weight and therefore not be too light), the right shape (despite the
fact the shape of the darbuka is pretty much standard, there are some exceptions which you should
notice).

-What is the average price of a darbuka?

The average price of a darbuka of reasonable quality varies between $100-$350 (or Euro).

-How much should I practice?

The amount of time you wish to spend on practicing your skills very much depend on the
individual goals you want to strive after. If your goal is to becoming an amazing player, realize that
it is going to take a lot of time, patience and devotion. But if that is to be your destiny, go for it !

-How do I find a good teacher ?

Nowadays, the number of skilled darbuka teachers is gradually increasing. However, be sure to pick
a teacher who is able to clearly explain the theoretical background as well as the practical part.

-Which music is suitable for the beginning darbuka player to play along with?
Depending on the style of music you are accustomed to, there definitely is some interesting music
around which I would recommend playing along with. However, in order of building a rhythmical
vocabulary from a traditional point of view, checking out some oriental records will give you a
better insight in the history of the instrument as well as what I call the ‘reference’.

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Throughout this method, we will be using the following numbers to indicate the fingers (both hands
similar) :

3
2
4

Index

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 Positioning
Basically there are two main positions for playing the darbuka; the sitting position and standing
position. Although there are some exeptional ways of positioning, we will discuss the two most
important positions.

A) SITTING POSITION

Try to relax your muscles and sit in a

comfortable way. Place the darbuka in
between your legs, your left arm resting
on top of the darbuka, the elbow keeping
it in position while you are playing.

B) STANDING POSITION

With the standing position, one leg is on

a chair or another higher attribute. The
darbuka is held in the same way as the
sitting position, however, more attention
is to be paid to keep the instrument in
balance while playing.

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 Technique
• DüM

The düm is our first stroke on the darbuka and has a resonating sound. To obtain a nice düm
sound on the darbuka, stretch the fingers and hit the skin with the indicated area of the hand.
Make sure to create a open, sustained sound instead of a non resonant ‘slap’ sound. Practice
the düm with both hands.

right hand

both hands together

Notation

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