Online drum lessons

I teach the following hand drums:

tonbak, dayereh, and daf

Hand percussion instruments are the family of instruments that are played with the hands of percussionists, i.e., not the sticks. Note that some hand percussion instruments like Cajon, ghatam, and udu are played by hand, but since there is no skin incorporated into the instruments, they are not considered drums. Also, note that in very rare cases, there are some drums that a drummer uses one stick and one bare hand to perform the drum. An important sub-category of the category of hand percussion instruments is the sub-category of hand drums.

How to play the hand drums

Since there are many drums with different shapes and every hand drum has its own hand drumming techniques, it is almost impossible to give a  single formula or method of playing for all hand drums. Even those drums that are similar in shape may have very different methods of playing. For example, goblet-shaped drums seem very similar to each other, but the way that, for example, the Persian goblet drum (tonbak) is played is totally different from the way that, for example, the Egyptian goblet drum (darbouka) is played. What I said is also true for most frame drums.

Traditionally, every drum has its own techniques and these techniques and finger patterns are the result of the experiences of many drummers throughout history. Today, with the help of the Internet, many drummers from different regions have been connected to each other and exchange their ideas through the web. Different hand drummers learn from each other and this will definitely enrich their knowledge both in rhythm cycles and techniques applied to their drums.

Online music courses (for example, via Google Meet or Skype) have been proven to be an excellent alternative method of teaching by using a video chat facility, especially during the pandemic. A long time before the pandemic, my personal experience showed me that online lessons are effective enough and much more, they are comfortable and economical. Here is the feedback of Leo Sai (Shimizu) who took Skype lessons from me located in Boston and later in Tokyo while I was located in Germany:

"I’ve been taking Peyman's online Tombak and Ghaval lessons since April 2011. Before starting our lessons, I was not sure if Skype lessons work, but now I have understood that this way of teaching totally works. He always shows me the rhythms and finger patterns very slowly and explains them clearly. His teaching is well-organized, and also he improvises in a good way during his class. In my opinion, Peyman is a great teacher and drummer."

Do you like to take some live hand drum online lessons, courses, and workshops to learn the hand drums, their finger patterns, techniques, and rhythm cycles? No matter if you are in London, Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, or even, in a small village somewhere on the globe! Still, you can take hand drums (tonbak, doumbek, or frame drum) lessons, workshops, classes, and courses via Google Meet or Skype, if you have a suitable Internet connection! I have managed these lessons for many international students and all of them have been happy because live online lessons are easy, comfortable, and even more, economic!

I can organize hand drum workshops privately, or in its online form, for the tonbak, the dayereh (ghaval), and the daf. No matter if you are a beginner or an advanced student of drumming. If you wish to learn the tonbak (Persian goblet drum, also known as tombak, donbak, dombak, and zarb), the ghaval (Azerbaijani frame drum, also known as, Azeri dayereh), Iranian daf (in particular Kurdish Sufi style), then drop a line and I will come back to you as soon as possible. My email address is nasehpour@gmail.com and feel free to contact me.

An online lesson cost is €40 for one hour.

The tonbak (Persian goblet-shaped drum) is the main drum in Persian art music. It is used to accompany other instruments and orchestras. After the efforts of Maestro Hossein Tehrani, the father of modern tonbak, it has an independent role (in the form of solo and ensemble) in Persian music also.

Best Quality Tonbak (Tombak or Zarb) for Sale

The ghaval (Azerbaijani frame drum) is the main drum performed in Azerbaijani mugam music. It is usually performed by the singer, though a few drummers perform it as a solo instrument also.

The daf (Persian frame drum) is the second most important drum performed in the Persian music orchestra, though it is also played in Persian folk music.

For more on Persian drums, check my articles on the web.

I had the experience to teach a course on "musical acoustics" to music students at the Tehran University of Art. My reference book for this course was:

Hartmann, W. M. (2013). Principles of musical acoustics. Springer Science & Business Media.

Keywords. dombak, donbak, dumbec, dumbek, dumbeq, doumbec, doumbek, doumbeq, tonbak, tombak, zarb, daf, daff, dayere, dayereh, ghaval, gaval.