Martin Tomaško - drums and percussion
Drums of the world
Middle East
Egyptian style
Turkish style
Tar
Frame drum in its most basic form. A frame drum is a drum that has a drumhead width greater than its depth. Usually the single drumhead is made of rawhide or man-made materials. Shells are traditionally constructed of bent wood (rosewood, oak, ash etc.) scarf jointed together; plywood and man-made materials are also used. Some frame drums have mechanical tuning. The frame drum is one of the most ancient musical instruments; it is reputed to be the first drum to be invented. Tar comes in various sizes usually from 12´´ to 22´´ . It is used mainly in Middle east and Northern Africa. Played by fingers, using specific techniques. Can be played various ways. Lapstyle, when drum is placed on the leg. Upright position, when drum is held and played by both hands and freestyle position, when drum is placed between legs.
Bendir
Frame drum used as a traditional instrument throughout North Africa. Unlike the tambourine, it has no jingles but most often has a snare (usually made of gut or nylon) stretched across its head, which when the drum is struck with the fingers or palm gives the tone a buzzing quality. The bendir is a frame drum with a wooden frame and a membrane. It creates different tones according to the spreading of the shock waves moving across the skin itself. Bendir is played mainly in upright position, when both hands hold and play drum and body is free for movement and dance.
Riq
Riq is a type of tambourine used as a traditional instrument in Arabic music. It is an important instrument in both folk and classical music throughout the Arabic-speaking world. It traditionally has a wooden frame (although in the modern era it may also be made of metal), jingles, and a thin, translucent head made of fish or goat skin (or, more recently, a synthetic material). It is between 20 and 25 cm in diameter. The frame of the riq can be covered on both the inner and outer sides with inlay such as mother-of-pearl, ivory or decorative wood, like apricot or lemon. It has ten pairs of small cymbals (about 6 cm in diameter), mounted in five pairs of slits. The skin of a fish or young goat is glued on and tightened over the frame, which is about 6 cm deep. In Egypt the riq is usually 20 cm wide; in Iraq it is slightly larger.
While the daf or tar are held relatively still, at chest or face height, with the player seated, the riq, because of the use of different tone-colours, may be violently shaken above the head, then roughly lowered to the knee, and played vertically as well as horizontally. The player alternates between striking the membrane and shaking the jingles.
Darbuka
Darbuka is single head membranophone with a goblet shaped body used mostly in the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe. Darbuka is played under the arm or resting on the player's leg, with a much lighter touch and different strokes (sometimes including rolls or quick rhythms articulated with the fingertips) than hand drums such as the djembe, found in West Africa.
There are two main types of this goblet drum. The Egyptian style (called also doumbek) has rounded edges around the head, whereas the Turkish style exposes the edge of the head. The exposed edge allows closer access to the head so finger-snapping techniques can be done, but the hard edge discourages the rapid rolls possible with the Egyptian style.
Darbuka may be played while held under one arm (usually the non-dominant arm) or by placing it sideways upon the lap (with the head towards the player's knees) while seated. Some drums are also made with strap mounts so the drum may be slung over the shoulder, to facilitate playing while standing or dancing.
It produces a resonant, low-sustain sound while played lightly with the fingertips and palm. Some players move their fists in and out of the bell to alter the tone. There are a variety of rhythms that form the basis of the folkloric and modern music and dance styles of the Middle East.
Tonbak (Zarb)
Single headed goblet drum from Persia (ancient Iran). It is considered the principal percussion instrument of Persian music. The tonbak is normally positioned diagonally across the torso while the player uses one or more fingers and/or the palm of the hand on the drumhead, often (for a ringing timbre) near the drumhead's edge. Its shell is carved from a single block of wood. The shell's wall thickness is approximately 2 cm. The throat is nearly cylindrical and connects the top (body) cavity to the hollow base (the throat itself, the interior of which forms the small opening). A sheepskin or goatskin head is stretched and secured with glue, tacks or both. The fairly wide top opening permits full bass tone as well as various treble tones.
Daf
Daf is a large Persian frame drum used in popular and classical music. It is also one of the symbols of Sufi music. The frame is usually made of hardwood with many metal ringlets attached, and the membrane is usually goatskin or synthetiic. Attached ringlets give more new sound possibilities for this wonderful instruments. Daf is mostly used in the Middle East, Kurdistan, Iran, Pakistan, Armenia, Afghanistan, Turkey, Tajikistan and Azerbaijan, and usually accompanies singers and other musicians.
Dayereh
Dayereh is a medium-sized frame drum (usually 12” – 14”in diameter) with metal ringlets attached on the wooden frame, used to accompany both popular and classical music in Iran (Persia). Memebrane is usually goatskin or synthetic
Latin America
Congas (Tumbadoras)
Heart of cuban music. Tall, narrow, single-headed drums. The Cuban conga is staved, like a barrel. They are used in the Carnaval rhythm called conga (or conga de comprasa), and is the principal instrument in rumba. Congas are now very common in Latin music, including salsa music, merengue music and reggae, as well as many other forms of popular music.
Most modern congas have a staved wooden or fiberglass shell, and a screw-tensioned drumhead (buffalo skin). They are usually played in sets of two to four with the fingers and palms of the hand. The drums may be played while seated. Alternatively, the drums may be mounted on a rack or stand to permit the player to play while standing.
Bongo
Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed drums of different sizes. In Spanish the larger drum is called the hembra (female) and the smaller the macho (male). Bongo drums produce relatively high-pitched sounds compared to Conga drums, and should be held behind the knees with the larger drum on the right when right-handed. They are traditionally played by striking the edge of the drumheads with the fingers and palms and is especially associated in Cuban music with a steady pattern or ostinato of eighth-notes known as the martillo or "hammer".
Cajon
Cajon is nominally a six sided, box-shaped percussion instrument, made of wood. originally from Peru, later becomes popular flamenco instrument. In present time it is widely used by many percussionists from many music ganres. Cajon is played by slapping the front or rear faces (generally thin plywood) with the hands, fingers, or sometimes various implements such as brushes, mallets, or sticks. Many variants on the basic design are in use, ranging from improvised to professionally manufactured instruments. Here are also many ´fusion instruments´ like bongo cajon, conga cajon...etc.
Pandeiro
Pandeiro is a type of hand frame drum popular in Brazil, and which has been described as an unofficial instrument of that nation. The drumhead is tunable, and the rim holds metal jingles (platinelas), which are cupped creating a crisper, drier and less sustained tone on the pandeiro than on the tambourine. It is held in one hand, and struck on the head by the other hand to produce the sound. Typical pandeiro patterns are played by alternating the thumb, fingertips, heel, and palm of the hand. A Pandeiro can also be shaken to make sound, or one can run a finger along the head to produce a roll.
The Pandeiro is used in a number of Brazilian music forms, such as samba, choro, coco, and capoeira music.
Africa
Djembe
Djembe is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa.
The djembe has a body (or shell) carved of hardwood and a drumhead made of untreated (not limed) rawhide, most commonly made from goatskin.
The djembe can produce a wide variety of sounds, making it a most versatile drum. The drum is very loud, allowing it to be heard clearly as a solo instrument over a large percussion ensemble. The Malinké people say that a skilled drummer is one who "can make the djembe talk", meaning that the player can tell an emotional story.
Talking drum
The talking drum is an hourglass-shaped drum from West Africa, whose pitch can be regulated to mimic the tone and prosody of human speech. It has two drumheads connected by leather tension cords, which allow the player to modulate the pitch of the drum by squeezing the cords between his arm and body. A skilled player is able to play whole phrases. The pitch of the drum is varied to mimic the tone patterns of speech. This is done by varying the tension placed on the drumhead: The opposing drumheads are connected by a common tension cord. The waist of the drum is held between the player's arm and ribs, so that when squeezed the drumhead is tightened, producing a higher note than when it's in its relaxed state; the pitch can be changed during a single beat, producing a warbling note. The drum can thus capture the pitch, volume, and rhythm of human speech, though not the qualities of vowels or consonants.
Udu
The udu is percussive instrument, originally from Nigeria. Actually being a water jug with an additional hole, it was played by women for ceremonial uses. Usually the udu is made of clay. The instrument is played by hand and produces a special and unique bass sound by quickly hitting the big hole. Furthermore the whole corpus can be played by fingers. Today it is widely used by percussionists in different music styles.
Ireland
Bodhran
The bodhrán is an Irish frame drum rating usually from 14" to 18" in diameter . The sides of the drum are 3½" to 8" deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or other animal skins are sometimes used). The other side is open-ended for one hand to be placed against the inside of the drum head to control the pitch and timbre. One or two crossbars, sometimes removable, may be inside the frame, but this is increasingly rare on modern instruments. Some professional modern bodhráns integrate mechanical tuning systems similar to those used on drums found in drum kits. It is usually with a hex key that the bodhrán skins are tightened or loosened depending on the atmospheric conditions.The drum is usually played in a seated position, held vertically on the player's thigh and supported by his or her upper body and arm (usually on the left side, for a right-handed player), with the hand placed on the inside of the skin where it is able to control the tension (and therefore the pitch and timbre) by applying varying amounts of pressure and also the amount of surface area being played, with the back of the hand against the crossbar, if present. The drum is struck with the other arm (usually the right) and is played either with the bare hand or usually with a wooden stick, called beater or tipper.