Who you calling a Doumbek?

We primarily feature Djembes here at Pagan Sounds. They are terrific drums, to be sure, and there’s a great variety of sizes and designs. But we also carry a lesser known drum, the doumbek. If you’ve heard Middle Eastern music, you’ve heard a doumbek. You’ll often hear and see doumbeks used as accompanying instruments for belly dancing troupes

The doumbek is an ancient drum. They have been traced to several regions in the Middle East and are believed to have originated in Egypt. Versions of the doumbek have been found in Armenia, Turkey ancient Assyria, and Palestine.

The doumbek has three primary sounds: dum, tek, and ka.  The Dum is played in the middle of the drum and is the bass tone. The Tek tone is a high, rim tone, played with the fingers. The Ka is basically the same as the Dum tone, but played with your other hand.

Doumbeks are traditionally made with a ceramic base and goatskin head, but you’ll also find ornately carved metal doumbeks. We carry an amazing synthetic drum (one of the rare synthetic drums we stock). The drum is light, easy to play, has an incredibly “fast” head and looks fabulous. This is a Pagan Sounds favorite and we regularly play them at rituals and other gatherings.

If you’re looking for something a little different, the doumbek might just be for you. Check out our site at http://www.pagansounds.com/

Happy Drumming…