Own a Darbuka/goblet drum, but need some pointers

Category: Jam Session

Post 1 by Darth Vader (Luke, I am your father.) on Wednesday, 24-Jul-2013 16:26:23

Hey all,

I own a goblet drum, also called a Darbuka, but I need to pointers. I can produce a couple of the basic sounds pretty well, but I was wondering where I can find some material that discusses the playing and more importantly, the technique in greater detail. Thank in advance!

Post 2 by LeoGuardian (You mean there is something outside of this room with my computer in it?) on Wednesday, 24-Jul-2013 18:25:58

Is this the dunbak or drum where you slide you hand in and out of the bell? I had one of those in college, we used to call it the musical hookah lol before hookahs were used in polite society for tobacco.
Anyway remember to close and open your fist when the arm is inside the drum for slight tonal variations, and don't just slide all the way in and all the way out: treat your arm more like a trombone slide.
Also remember you have the various spots to hit on the head: your rims and the center, using either your fingers or the flat of your hand. Have never seen a book on this, I had one before the Internet, but I bet Youtube will yield a lot of results.
If it's the drum I'm thinking of.
I bought a strap for mine and attached it so I could play standing up.

Post 3 by LeoGuardian (You mean there is something outside of this room with my computer in it?) on Friday, 26-Jul-2013 13:45:39

I had misspelled the term doumbek - this is the proper spelling and now I want one again haha had one back in 1992 nice instruments.

Post 4 by LeoGuardian (You mean there is something outside of this room with my computer in it?) on Friday, 26-Jul-2013 14:07:14

So I wonder why the Youtube videos never mentions sliding the arm in and out? Maybe I and some others were simply taught wrong regarding how to play it. Anyway there are a lot of tutorials on Youtube that explain this.

Post 5 by Darth Vader (Luke, I am your father.) on Saturday, 27-Jul-2013 10:06:17

Yep. that's the one your thinking of.