Darbuka Rhythms

It's a well known fact that drumming is good for our health.
It stimulates our brain in a very positive way, it helps balancing the
body & mind and boosts our energy levels.
The darbuka, a goblet shaped hand drum which has made its way from oriental music genres into the world of modern beats and western music. Nowadays it can even be heard in Pop music, Hip Hop, R 'n B and Dance!
With its unique sounds, charming body shape, handy size and mesmerizing rhythms this drum is considered one of the most popular hand drums ever.
No matter whether you're a drummer, dancer or dj, an excellent rhythm vocabulary and performance skills are essential elements for a solid foundation. Learning more about traditional cultural backgrounds provides you with a better understanding of the origins and authentic contexts.
This book presents a unique selection of exciting belly dance rhythms from around the world for you: dancers, drummers and anyone else who is interested in the art of oriental music, rhythm, dance, culture...and beyond!
Notice that this book was not designed as an ultimate guide covering every existing belly dance rhythm or darbuka technique. Above all, it serves as a source of inspiration! Most of the rhythms presented in this book feature interesting details about each rhythm and dance, as well as some extra traditional background information. I would like to stress that it's not important how fast you get through this book or how many rhythms you will learn. Take your time and make each rhythm feel good before proceeding to the next one. Just remember that learning has no boundaries!

Ruben van Rompaey (Holland) is an award-winning master percussion artist and composer. He has become well known for his Eastern Expressions concept and is a internationally recognized specialist and educator of Oriental/World music & culture and Jazz.
As a touring artist he performed at a variety of international music festivals, which has brought him to various places around the world such as USA, Europe, Japan, China, West Africa, Turkey and Egypt. Ruben has been a professor of drums and darbuka at the departments of Jazz and Turkish Music at Codarts University of Arts Holland (where he
co-founded the darbuka department) and other universities around the world, before founding his Eastern Expressions International School of Drums & Percussion. Besides being active as a solo artist and educator, Ruben currently has eight
solo albums released and two instructional dvd's. He is the author of articles for several magazines (Modern Drummer Magazine, a.o.) and educational books, for universities and oriental culture institutes on the subject of drums
and darbuka, which have been translated into different languages.