Zarb or tombak

Zarb or tombak / tmobak / dombak / tmobak / tabnag / khomak / khomac / tombalak / tombalac / dombak / donbak / dun-balag / zirbaghali. Origin: Persia, 3000 Bc ( Khuzestan)
Zarb is an Arabic word which means : ” hit “, Persians gave it the meaning of ” rhythm “, ” beat ” in a measure and ” tempo “. This drum was also often named ” Tombak ” or ” Dombak “, probably because of the two sounds reproduced in the syllables “tom ” and ” bak “. Nowadays this term sounds a bit pejorative because it refers to ancient times when the zarb was held as a second class instrument and little was asked to the player. From other sources of information, tombak would come from tabnag, which was the first percussion alike the modern intrument. Others think, tombak would come from dun-balag (small tail). Some say the origin comes from khormac which is a small container in baked clay. The Zarb is a one side drum whose large and stout body windens at the bottom, carved in maple, walnut or mulberry tree. The membrane is made of lamb, goat , sheep, gazelle, fish skin. The skin is stretched and glued on the instrument brims. The upper part of the body used as a bridge, is only a few millimeters thick. There are three distinctive parts : the body, (tané), the horn (nafir), the skin (pouste). Other models are available, in baked clay or in metal.
Performers: Râdji Khân, Iran – Hossein ( Hoseyn ) Téhérâni or Tehrâni or Tehrani, Iran – Djamchid Chemirani, Iran – Djahangir Behesti, Iran – Dariush Zarbafian, Iran – Reza Torchizi Nejad – Kamram Klaji – Madjid Khaladj, Iran – Saber Kakavand -

Târ or tar / triar

Târ or tar / triar / reqq. (different from the ” tar ” which is a string instrument)
Small Basque percussion, played in Morocco. Similar to the tambourine with small cymbals.
Performers: Aïcha Reduane, Egypt

Tabla or tabl and baya

Tabla or tabl and baya / mridangam, mridanga, mathala. Indian origin. Turkish evolution : tavul either davul or davuljuee, containing a hammer and a wooden stick. Turkish evolution of the baya : nakkare.
The percussion of northern Indian music. It consists of two small timpani, originally both formed a single instrument named mridangam, which is still widely used in southern India (Tamil Nadu, Kerala).The right hand timpani is narrow and made of wood, it is tuned on the fundamental of the instrument the Tabla plays with. The left hand timpani is made of metal, it is larger and not tuned. The wide range of sounds may vary according to the portion of skin hit by the fingers. Indeed, the skin of each timpani can be divided into three areas : the main skin, a skin crown on its brims, and a central lozenge made of rice and iron paste. The skins are stretched on the body thanks to leather thin straps. Some Mridangams owe their particular sound to the bamboo pieces stuck between the layers of the main skin.
Performers: Anand Kumar – Dildar Hussain, Pakistan – Zakir Hussain – Hussein Mohammed Ra’sho, Kurdistan – Anindo Chatterjee – Ustad Shaukat Hussain – Satin Singh – Ashiqali Hussein – Taha Muhammad Yehia Muhammad, Egypt -

Qraqeb craqueb / krakeb

Qraqeb craqueb / krakeb. Africa
Instrument close to european castanets, made of 8 metal convex discs, 4 inches of diameter, put together two by two with a stem. The player has in each hand two series of discs and he shakes the dics alternatively.
Performers : Allal Aglaou, Mustafa Aglaou, Ahmed Ghani, Abdeslam Ghassal, Morocco.

Djembe or jembe

Djembe or jembe. Origin: Mandingue ( Wassulu, Guinea – Mali )
Percussion from 60 up to 80 cm high. The wooden body is chalice-shaped, slightly widening at the bottom. Djembe cannot be played if it is placed on the floor. The skin is held with a metal circle and stretched with ropes.

Darbuka darbukà

Darbuka darbukà ( derbuka / derbukka / tarabuka /darabukka / darabukka / greek mytilenian drum). Origin: babylon and Sumer.
Baked clay vase-shaped percussion ( North Africa ), made of wood or metal in India and Syria. The goat or fish skin is stretched on the brims and glued, then it is stretched with thin threads. The same instrument can be found in Syria, in metal, the tension of the skin is modifiable thanks to a screw system set on a circle. The Darbouka can be found all over the muslem world, from Morocco to India.
Performers: Abdel Khalek Assan – Abd al Ahad Amri, Morocco – Saïd Mohammed Aly, El Karnak, Egypt – Ekrem Bagi, Turkia – Burhan Öçal, Turkia – Neil Sparkes – Rafiq Rouissi -

Bendir ( abendair, abendaïr )

Bendir ( abendair, abendaïr )

English – Français – Italien

Origin: North Africa, close to tambourine, riqq ( Arabic Egyptian tambourine )
It is a wooden circle-shaped frame ( diameter from 15 up to 20 inches ), on which a goat skin is stretched . The Bendir is halfway between the tambourine and the snare drum. It is a one side percussion. Some bendirs have three threads stretched on the skin, in order to increase the resonance of the skin and send out a sound similar to a snare drum.

Origine: Afrique du Nord. Apparenté au tambourin, au riqq (tambourin arabe égyptien )
Constitué d’un cadre circulaire en bois de 40 à 60 cm de diamètre sur lequel une peau de chèvre est tendue. Le bendir est à mi-chemin entre le tambourin et la caisse claire. Il ne comporte qu’une seule face de percussion. Certains bendir possèdent, tendus sur la peau, trois fils perlés pour augmenter la résonance de la peau et lui donner un timbre caractéristique voisin de la caisse claire de batterie.

Origine: Africa del Nord. Apparentato al tamburello, al riqq (tamburello arabo / egiziano).
Il bendir è costituito da un cerchio in legno da 40 a 60 cm di diametro sul quale una pelle di capra è tesa. Il bendir è a mezza strada tra il tamburello ed il rullante della batteria. Possiede solo una facciata per suonare. Alcuni bendir possiedono, tesi sulla pelle, 3 fili perlati per aumentare la risonanza della pelle e dargli un timbro carrateristico vicino al rullante della batteria.

Performers:

• Houria Aïchi ( Berber, Aurès Algeria )
• Adel Shams El Din
• Burhan Öçal, Turkia