6 steps to become a professional Darbuka player

To become a professional Darbuka player, one has to learn the basics and then start struggling for it because learning the basics is necessary to know from where to start. So, here are basic 6 steps after which a person can become a professional Darbuka player.

1. The first step is to learn holding Darbuka because if a person doesn’t hold it right then he/she will not be able to play it perfectly. There is a need to sit down with the drum placed across the left leg and the head of the drum touching the right leg, placing Darbuka in that position will make a the person able to put the left arm on it and the individual has to place the hand with finger hanging over the edge of the drum.
2. The next step is to learn the 4 basic tones which allow a Darbuka player to play different rhythms, those 4 basic tones are:
   • Dum: It is played with the left hand, which creates the bass sound.
   • Ka: It is played with the help of the left hand and it is played on outside of the rim.
   • Tuk: It is played with the help of right hand.
   • Slap: Played with right hand, it creates the sound of a slap and it is created from the center of the drum.
3. In the third step, there is a need to learn playing the fundamental part of the rhythm by using the right hand. The high parts like “Ka” are played by using the left hand.
4. A person should pay attention on knowing the names of the rhythms and there is also a requirement of knowing a bit about the background of each rhythm.
5. Learning the names of the rhythm will help a lot in playing the fundamental parts, it will also help with the addition of the high tones to the rhythm. Other than that it will make the Darbuka player able to play by making some changes.
6. The last step is to learn playing with just one hand which will make the person a professional Darbuka player.

Please remember that in order to become a professional darbuka player, you will need to practice at least 1 - 2 hours per day. Try to learn from professional players and practice while watching videos of other players. As long as you enjoying the practicing, you are on the right track to become a professional player.