A darbuka drum is a Middle Eastern instrument whose structure varies depending on location. They all have a conical shape with a nearly circular head; the Turkish version has exposed edges. I find these drums incredibly beautiful and the inlays and decorations are a real feast for the eyes, but, of course, they are a feast for the ears too.
I didn’t know much about darbuka drumming, but was curious when I met Raquy Danziger by chance. Yes, all the best meetings in Istanbul have that bit of serendipity. I met with her at her Darbuka Ofis in Taksim for a chat about darbuka drums and drumming. She is an amazingly prolific artist. She has released eight albums, the most recent is Bal Dudak (Lips of Honey) and is currently working on a new one this fall. She has also published three books and released several DVDs that demystify the Turkish drumming technique known as “split-hand”. Why is this so important? Because the “split-hand” technique has literally revolutionized darbuka drumming. It allows for what she called, “crazy speed.” No other darbuka players in the world have this speed. It’s a drumming style that came out of Turkey, and it is closer to Indian tabla than to the drumming styles found in the Middle East, Egypt and Greece. This style brought new prestige to Turkish musicians, and people from all over the world flocked to Turkish darbuka drumming teachers to learn the technique.
Raquy doesn’t offer weekly classes, but does teach privately — beginners as well as advanced students are welcome. She also teaches workshops for groups; in fact, her next one opens on October 3rd and runs to the 8th. She also is leading a retreat in Cappadocia at the end of October. These workshops will encompass various topics and will become more regular events.
So if you’re curious and want to make music Turkish-style, just visit Raquy’s website and Facebook page to find out more. She also offers weekly Friday evening concerts for those of us who want to enjoy Turkish traditional music, but might not feel musically gifted enough to participate. (Yes, that would be me.) And if you feel you want to want to take a darbuka drum home with you, Raquy not only sells them on her website but personally designs the drums as well. Remember when I said a feast for the eyes? Just visit her website to see. You’ll find a lot to feast on there — in every sense of the word.
Check out the following links for more information:
Website: http://raquy.com/
Workshop on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1523850844498370/
Cappadocia Retreat: http://raquy.com/darbuka-retreat/darbuka-camp-cappadocia-turkey-oct-23-29
Alba Brunetti is a contributor to Yabangee. She is a writer and editor and to find out more about her work, visit www.albabrunetti.com or Twitter: @AlbaBrunetti
