My "Other" Trip to Texas

With all the excitement of attending the 17th World Congress on Logotherapy the past week, I forgot to mention my "other" trip to Texas. Over a long weekend before the Congress, I was able to go to Austin and take professional drum lessons from an instructor who goes by the name Suleiman Warwar. Yes, I learned I had picked up some bad habits while teaching myself the darbuka, especially on the left-handed "ca" sound. More variability of tones will be possible once I become proficient using the left ring finger, rather than the index and middle fingers as I had been using. (The Turks have developed a multiple finger rolling approach for the left-handed "ca," but this is a more advanced technique.)

The middle eastern goblet drum is most commonly referred to as a "tabla" these days, as it is in Egypt. Previously, it was most commonly referred to as a "doumbek" as it is in most other Arab lands. The word "doumbek" is thought to derive from the two primary sounds that the drum makes: the deep "doum" and the ringing "tek." For personal reasons, I prefer to use the Turkish word "darbuka" when referring to my drum. In Hebrew, it is known as a "tarbuka." In Iran it is a "tombak."

The goblet drum is of ancient origin. It is thought to have derived from the larger African djembe. The oldest known depiction of it comes from Iron Age Israel in the form of the figure to the right.

Linked below is a short example of what it should look and sound like: