Like our previously featured drum, the djembe, the doumbek is a drum that is very likely to turn up at a drum circle. This is also the drum you'll see at bellydance performances. Doumbeks hail from the Middle East. They are goblet shaped, similar to the djembe, but they are much smaller. The body of the drum is either metal or ceramic. A metal drum typically has a mylar head, making for a rugged drum that can stand up to all weather conditions and seldom needs tuning. A ceramic drum generally has a skin head, made from goat, calf, or fish.
Doumbeks are played differently than djembes. Both drums are played with the hands, but a doumbek player uses mostly the fingertips rather than the entire palm.
To complicate your drum identification a little further, some folks call doumbeks "darbukas" (or darabukas). As far as I can tell, these names are used pretty interchangeably, and I've run across several drum dealers that have made it clear that they are referring to the same type of drum no matter which name they choose to use. If you know more about this, let me know!
Wow -- this is so interesting and I continue to learn a lot. I really like the pictures and videos. Thanks Otter!
ReplyDelete