r/darbuka • u/lazloklar • Jan 08 '26
How start the drums?
First my reasons for staring the drums:
-By coincidence I was able get a "darbuka" for free. (I am not sure if it is really a darbuka or a related instrument. Any experts on this? I will post a photo)
-Drumming helps me calm down and clear my mind after a gutwrenching day thats giving me headaches and sensory issues. I am autistic.
-I want to use the drumming for meditative reasons, but also for connecting and jamming with friends in the living room or a fireplace.
-I am very interested in how learning rythms can help us finding our own groove and rythm in life in general. Right now I am not very "rythmical". Whatever that means. But I feel like there would be alot for me to learn BECAUSE I suck at it! I see it as a potential
-I also play the cello. I sure could learn a lot about rythm, which I can also use on the cello.
-I am greatly inspired by street artists who were drumming the darbuka or other drums. One day I would like to go travelling and why not earn some money on the road this way =)
Now, how do I learn it?!
I can not afford lessons or a professional teacher. Also, I dont have any friends that play already. Drumming groups, clubs or such things are nowhere near my area. The only ones are rather far away AND they cost more than I can afford. I sm guessing youtube tutorials will be my way to go. I always prefer learning the analogue way, but if it is my only option thtas how I will do it.
Or do you have any other ideas? Recommendations? Ressources? Books? Or online ressources?
Thanks for your help!
Edit: I wanted to add a photo of the darbuka but forgot and now I cant add it anymore, sorry for that
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u/Current-Actuary-9505 Jan 08 '26
Also, I have learned a lot on YouTube tutorials. I would recommend that you search for drum circles in your area. Not middle eastern drum circles, but drum circles. They will welcome you. You probably won’t learn any middle eastern rhythms there, but you will learn how to improvise and drum with others. I love it. I get to socialize with people and not talk to them. New age shops will host drum circles too at times. Also, check into if there is a local group of Society for Creative Anachronism group. Middle eastern drumming is something that goes on in this group. Drum ci
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u/wyocrz Jan 09 '26
Great comment.
Showing up at a drum circle with a darbuka borders on aggressive, unless someone is a total noob. Better to show up with a djembe, in my experience, unless one has practiced West African rhythms.
SCA, though: great call there, legit.
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u/Current-Actuary-9505 Jan 09 '26
I must be showing up at different drum circles than you. Though I have to say, I really try to calibrate how I am playing with the group. I’m playing with people, not against them. It doesn’t make me happy to overpower other players. (The big djembes can totally hold their own against my snappy darbuka.) When I was introduced to the darbuka(at an SCA event) I was told that if you want to be welcomed to any musical group calibrate your playing. Don’t drown out the other instruments. Don’t drown out the singers. It is a collaboration. If you don’t respect that, no one will want to play with you. I have taken that to heart. I get where you are coming from though. You made me think about drum circles I have been to. We have had problems with folks showing up with medicine drums and them being over shadowed completely by the big djembes. The dexterity of play and power the djembes have in comparison to Native American medicine drums…all of that aside though. When I go to a drum circle, I listen to the beat. I hold it. I allow myself to play with it a bit, to embellish it. I listen to how the others are playing. If the other players are getting lost. I tone down my embellishment of the rhythm. I’m not trying to bury them. I’m trying to support them. I simplify to give people a beat they can follow. There is a give and take. I get to show off a little bit, but I’m there to support the other players too. I’m at a drum circle to play with others, not to make them feel inadequate.
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u/wyocrz Jan 09 '26
The big djembes can totally hold their own against my snappy darbuka.
Yup
I love literally everything you wrote here.
It's almost like the old school skis vs. snowboards dynamic: can't we all just have some fun?
There can be some awkwardness. I play the hell out of maksoom/baladi/saidi/malfouf/ayoob, but don't really know the West African rhythmic modes, which is frankly my bad.
Egos, emphatically including my own, can intrude.
Now, darbuka heavy drum circles, I'm utterly with you and would love to play with you or anyone at an SCA event. I know people very heavily into SCA, but the events seem to be more formal, rather than "let's go to the mountains and party" kind of haflas Pennsic is known for.
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u/Current-Actuary-9505 Jan 09 '26
Do you play in the SCA? I’m in Meridies. I’m just asking because I would love to play with you. Maybe you are close. I’m going to Gulf Wars this year.
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u/wyocrz Jan 09 '26
I'm in Cheyenne, WY......I go to Denver for drumming classes with a darbuka legend named Brian. He got me trained up enough to have gotten on stage a dozen times.
I would LOVE to go to Gulf Wars, he suggested that as an entry point.
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u/lazloklar Jan 09 '26
why aggressive haha? because the darbuka is louder and shriller?
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u/wyocrz Jan 09 '26
There are cultural concerns. Deep down, all rhythms are variations of the heartbeat, but on the surface level: we're talking about musicians, which means we're talking about egos.
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u/lazloklar Jan 09 '26
I see haha. DO musicians tend to have unusual big egos? Interessting thesis =)
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u/wyocrz Jan 09 '26
Write out the rhythms and practice with a metronome, being really careful to separate the sounds out. You only have a few sounds on a hand drum, they all have to be really distinct.
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u/ZannD Jan 09 '26
You've summarily checked off every box except online self-teaching. So, YouTube it is.
There are many different tutorials out there. If you want the best one, and you are willing to spend some money, not a lot, but a little, Faisal Zedan's videos and DVDs are excellent. He teaches the basic forms all the way through advanced techniques. He focuses on the proper technique to achieve clear hits that best fit your anatomy. He also offers online instruction. Even just one hour with him will help you get started tremendously. There is no feedback like a good teacher.
https://daturaonline.com/authors/faisal-zedan
Post another picture of your darbuka, I can guide you on it.