The Best Darbuka Books, Courses and Online Lessons

PER-001 What are the best books for learning darbuka? #

A few are recommended again and again. The Art of Middle Eastern Rhythm by Kobi Hagoel is a huge reference, with around 400 rhythms and several CDs. Doumbec Delight by Mary Ellen Donald is a classic 30-lesson course that takes in basic theory and has a section on accompanying belly dance. Ruben van Rompaey’s Method for Darbuka Volumes 1 and 2 are short, well-photographed starter books. For a newer approach, Mastering Darbuka: Book 1 – Fundamentals by Amir Etemadzadeh gives you more than 400 exercises, with audio you open by scanning QR codes.

PER-002 Are there any books focused on Turkish split-hand / split-finger technique? #

Yes. Behnan Göçmez’s Darbuka Method, Advanced Darbuka Technique covers intermediate-to-advanced Turkish technique and comes with a CD. Kevin Hartnell’s The Teckronomicon has more than 100 split-hand exercises, but it’s out of print, so you’ll be hunting for a second-hand copy. Raquy Danziger has written several instructional books built around her split-hand teaching system too.

PER-003 I mostly want rhythms for belly dance. Which book is best? #

Ruben van Rompaey’s pocket-sized Belly Dance Rhythms gives you 51 dance rhythms, each in a basic and a fuller version. Ramzi Besharat’s The Magnificent Darbuka Rhythms is a beginner’s guide that groups rhythms by tempo and comes with audio. Mary Ellen Donald’s Doumbec Delight covers accompanying dancers directly as well.

PER-004 Is there a good book that covers darbuka plus frame drums like riq and daf? #

Matt Stonehouse’s e-book Percussion of the Arabic World and Beyond takes darbuka, riq and daf from beginner to advanced. The standalone edition runs to about 140 pages, with 150+ photos and 280 audio files, for around $26. For riq on its own, Classical Riqq Technique by Michel Merhej Baklouk and Nicole LeCorgne is the respected specialist text.

PER-005 Are there darbuka books in French or German? #

Yes. In French there’s Philippe Vigreux’s La Derbouka (a method plus a rhythm directory) and Khalfa Dahmane’s Méthode de Derbouka, which covers Maghreb and Eastern rhythms. In German there’s Mahdi Milla’s Percussion Oriental, covering Arabic, Moroccan and Turkish rhythms. Rüdiger Maul’s Oriental Rhythm Collection (112 rhythms from 21 countries, with CD and DVD) comes out of the German-speaking scene too.

PER-006 Can I really learn darbuka online, or do I need a live teacher? #

You can get a long way online. Plenty of people reach a solid intermediate level that way, because the core strokes and rhythms show up well on video. The weak point of pre-recorded courses is feedback: nobody is there to catch your tension, your hand position or your rushing. The best compromise is a structured online course plus the occasional live lesson, on Zoom or in person, to get your technique checked. Most of the big online schools offer that mix now.

PER-007 What are the main online darbuka schools? #

Well-established options include:

• Raquy Danziger’s Darbuka School: self-paced courses in the Turkish split-hand style, a live “Training Club” and private lessons. The school says it has 2,000+ students.
• Learn Darbuka: Hakan Kaya, a Turkish percussionist with 25+ years’ experience. Pre-recorded courses, with slow-motion and close-up angles.
• Fingers of Fury: Matt Stonehouse, running since 2009. A membership with 140+ tutorial videos, a “Drum Dojo” daily-practice tier and Zoom private classes.
• Darbuka Academy: a Thinkific course with hundreds of short videos and backing tracks recorded on kanun.
• Afterman Percussion Conservatory: Yshai Afterman. Weekly live 90-minute Zoom classes.

PER-008 How much do online darbuka courses cost? #

At the time of writing, a few examples:

• Learn Darbuka: about $39–79 per topic course, $150–300 for bundles.
• Darbuka Academy: about €40 for the beginner course, €89 for the full bundle.
• Afterman live classes: $155 per month.
• Fingers of Fury: a monthly membership you can cancel at any time.

Prices move, so check each site for what it charges now.

PER-009 Are there free darbuka lessons worth using? #

Yes. Darbuka Planet (a drum retailer) has free video lessons on the four basic sounds and on maqsoum and malfuf, and many teachers post beginner playlists on YouTube. The course on this site is free as well: eleven lessons at /play/. Free material is fine for getting started, but most of it doesn’t follow a sequence, so people who stick with it usually end up wanting a structured course or a teacher.

PER-010 Pre-recorded course vs live group class vs private lessons: which is best? #

• Pre-recorded courses are the cheapest and fit any schedule, but they give you no feedback.
• Live group classes add accountability, ensemble playing and some correction.
• Private lessons give you the most correction, and cost the most.

A lot of learners do both: a course for the material, and a private lesson every few weeks to get their technique sorted.

PER-011 Are there any Arabic-language or Middle Eastern platforms with darbuka courses? #

IZIF is an online music-learning platform with a subscription darbuka course taught by Nasser Salameh. It runs from dum and tak basics up to improvisation. Something like this is worth looking at if you want a teacher from inside the Arab tradition rather than a Western-trained one.

PER-012 Who are the famous players I should listen to and study? #

Start with Hossam Ramzy (1953–2019), the most influential Egyptian-style player in the West, especially for dance music. Mısırlı Ahmet developed the fast Turkish split-finger technique and a new approach to the large darbuka (dahola). Raquy Danziger is a leading teacher of Turkish-style playing in the West. Listen widely across Egyptian, Turkish and Levantine players, because the styles differ a lot and your ear needs to know the difference.

PER-013 Are old instructional DVDs still worth buying? #

Some of the classic dance-oriented DVDs and CDs are still around second-hand, including Hossam Ramzy’s many dance-music albums, which are excellent for playing along to. Since the 2010s, though, most serious teaching has moved to streaming courses and YouTube, which are easier to update and to replay. Buy a DVD only if the teacher you want isn’t available online.

PER-122 My drum cuts out or sounds like it’s in another room during Zoom lessons. How do I fix it? #

Nothing is wrong with your drum: Zoom hears repeated drumming as background noise and suppresses it. In the audio settings, enable “Original Sound” (on newer versions it’s called “Original sound for musicians”), turn background-noise suppression off or down to low, and untick “Automatically adjust volume”. Then remember to click “Turn on Original Sound” at the start of every call. iPads and phones give you fewer of these options than a computer does, which is why teachers ask for a laptop, ideally with an external mic through an interface.

PER-123 Can my teacher and I play together live over video? #

Not in real time, no. Internet latency makes staying in time together impossible, which is why online lessons run as call-and-response: the teacher plays, you play it back. Some teachers also ask for recordings before the lesson and spend the call on feedback. When you want to play along with someone, use the teacher’s recorded tracks instead.

PER-124 How do I film myself playing for Instagram or YouTube and still sound good? #

Don’t rely on the phone’s own mic. It struggles with the darbuka’s sharp peaks, and its automatic gain pumps and distorts. Record the audio into a DAW with a proper mic and interface and sync it to the phone video afterwards, or at least plug an external mic into the phone. Then put the phone on a tripod, frame your hands so they’re clearly visible, and keep your levels low enough that the slaps don’t clip.

PER-125 Will I get copyright claims if I post myself playing along to a song? #

Probably, yes. YouTube’s Content ID detects copyrighted recordings automatically, and the rights holder can then block your video, track it, or monetise it with ads, which is what usually happens with drum covers. Don’t panic if it does: a Content ID claim isn’t a copyright strike, and you can dispute one you think is wrong. If you want to earn from your videos, play over original backing tracks or properly licensed material.