The darbuka is a goblet shaped drum known as the “foremost percussion instrument in Middle Eastern music.” It originated from Turkey, Armenia and Egypt and is also known as the “heartbeat of belly-dancing”. Clay, wood, and sometimes metal are the traditional materials used to make a darbuka and the drum heads are made with goat skin stretched over the top.
Synthetic/plastic heads are used to make modern darbukas. Its goblet-shaped body allows the sound to resonant across all frequency ranges. Louder and deeper tones come from larger drums and softer and quieter tones come from smaller sized drums.
