Davul

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Davul
Percussion instrument
Other namesDavul, tapan, tabl
Classification Percussion instrument (membranophone)
Playing range
Rope tensioned
Sound sample
Davul drum

The davul, dhol, tapan, atabal or tabl is a large double-headed drum that is played with mallets. It has many names depending on the country and region. These drums are commonly used in the music of the Middle East and the Balkans. These drums have both a deep bass sound and a thin treble sound due to their construction and playing style, where different heads and sticks are used to produce different sounds on the same drum.

Names

Some names of davuls include:

Other

tympani for the drum section in the modern classical orchestra and the tympanic membrane for the eardrum
.

Traditional uses

In the southern Balkans, the rhythm of the tapan is complex and utilizes many accents in numerous traditional time signatures. In Macedonia, tapans are most often used to accompany other instruments such as the

gaida and gadulka
. They are also played solo in some Albanian, Bulgarian and Macedonian folk dances and songs. For centuries the tapan is irreplaceable at Bulgarian village festivities such as weddings and celebrations of patron saints of homes and villages. In Romania and Moldova the toba is sometimes used to accompany dances. In the regions of Moldavia, Maramures and Bihor there are also some varieties with a small cymbal mounted on top. They are generally struck with a wooden mallet on one skin and with a thinner stick on the rim or cymbal.

In Armenia, Turkey,

Assyrian folk/pop music, among Assyrian people, which are mostly accompanied by a zurna. In Armenia, the dhol does not have as large of a circumference and is usually played with the hands, although a wooden, spoon-shaped drumstick is also used sometimes. It is frequently heard in Armenian folk music, usually along with other drums such as the dap, the dmblak, and native woodwinds such as the tsiranapogh, the sring, the shvi, the blul [hy], the parkapzuk (Armenian bagpipe), and some stringed instruments like the tavigh [hy], the pandir, the jnar [hy] and some of foreign origin, like the Iranian kamancha and the Arabic oud. Not only is it in folk music but also in modern music as well, even having solos in many prominent songs.[1]

Construction

Davul in shadow puppet theater. Here, Karagöz is shown with his davul.

The drum shell is made of hard wood, perhaps walnut or chestnut, though many woods may be in use depending on the region where the drum is made. To make the shell, the wood is boiled in water to make it bendable, and then it is bent into a cylindrical shape and fastened together. The heads are usually goat skin, and they are shaped into circles by wooden frames. However, one head may be goat skin to provide a higher tone, while the other head can be sheepskin, calfskin, or even donkey-skin to provide a lower tone. Some say that wolf skin and even dog skin are preferred.[2] Rope threaded back and forth across the shell of the drum, from head to head in a zigzag pattern, holds the heads on the drum and provides tension for tuning the drum. Sometimes metal rings or leather straps join neighboring strands of the rope in order to allow for further tuning. Two rings are sometimes attached to the main rope where a belt-like rope is threaded through to hold the drum.

In the former Yugoslavian republics and Bulgaria, the tapan is made in two dimensions, Bulgarian: golem, at about 50 – 55 cm diameter, and Bulgarian: mal or tapanche, at about 30 – 35 cm diameter.

In Turkey, davuls typically range in size from 60 cm to 90 cm in diameter. Cow hide is used for the bass pitch drum head side, while goat skin is used for the thin, high pitched side.

In Greece, daouli can be 12 to 14 inches for the toumbi up to 3 to 4 feet for daouli. Commonly the drum is about 20 to 30 inches.[2]

Playing style

Players often use a rope hooked to the drum to hold the drum sideways, so that one head is accessible with the left hand and one with the right. Each hand is usually dedicated to playing one side of the drum exclusively, though this can vary by local style and tradition.

Drummers of this drum typically uses two kinds of sticks. The drummer plays the accented beats with the dominant hand on the side of the drum with the thicker skin, using a special stick known as the

cornel
.

The Balkan school of tapan playing presumes the playing (not the accompaniment) of a melody, where the non-dominant hand is used to express all that the player wishes to say, while the dominant hand is only used to accentuate certain moments in the melody.

See also

References

  1. ^ Dauli - Davul of Turkey. Archived 2014-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b c d "Greek Musical Instruments". John Pappas. Retrieved 2008-01-09.

External links

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