All About Turkish Davul

Davul is the oldest percussion instrument known throughout human history and a musical instrument played by hand or with a stick. Davul is one of the most important percussion instruments for Turkish music and Turkish culture. It has been a symbol for dominance throughout the history and still to this day, it is used as a power indicator. It is commonly used in the weddings and festivals since it expresses joy, and also at funerals since it expresses sadness.

History of Davul

It is widely spread in Turkic areas because it is one of the oldest instruments that Turks used and played. It has a privileged place since the Hun Empire, one of the greatest empires in Turkish history. Because it has such a long history, it’s come a long way and taken a lot of different shapes, material varieties and different names and sizes before it took its final form. Still to this day, the material used and production techniques vary depending on the region it’s produced. Davul also goes hand in hand with another irreplaceable instrument in Turkish culture, zurna. These two accompany and complete each other at weddings and other festive events.

Also, it is known that the ancient Egyptians, Assyrians and Far Easterners used davul long before written history. 
Do you know that Native Americans used to play davul to dance at religious ceremonies, while African natives used the instrument for dancing as well as for intertribal communication by performing strokes at encrypted tempo. Besides the use of the davul as a musical instrument, it was found to be used for communication and intertribal warning purposes. It is possible to say that the davul which is also used for gathering the soldiers scattered during the war, finding the location of the enemies while surrounding the castle, conquering or giving news of fire, constitutes one of the foundations of the orchestra in today's music.

Davul is a cylinder shaped, double headed percussion instrument. Is supported by the strings around the body and is played with suspensions on the shoulder. Player uses one stick and one wooden mallet to play the instrument. The mallet (tokmak) produces a deep and loud bass sound which is called “düm” and the stick produces a high-pitched sound which is called “tek”.

The structure of davul? Which type should I consider buying?

Davul has a fairly simple structure when compared to other traditional instruments.One of the simplest instruments, Davul has two fundamental parts; the first one being the cylindrical shell which is open at both ends, and the second part being the skin stretched over the both ends of the shell. The size of the cylindrical shell may vary according to the region. The diameter of a standard Davul is 55-60 cm . The thin drum skin is an elastic material and can be made of sheep or goat skin. The skin is wet when being stretched over the hoop and is adjusted depending on the desired tone. After the stretching process is done, the skin is supported by the zig zag strings. The tone of the drum can be adjusted by releasing or tightening these strings.

The hoop can be made of wood or metal but the modern davuls can also be made of plastic or even glass. The best material for the body is walnut or cherry and the mallet can be made of apricot, orange or oak trees.

Where to buy the right davul?

Although it seems like a simple instrument, picking which davul to buy can be a tricky situation. Since it has a simple structure, extra attention must be given to the material used. All our davul offers is individually and specially made for the joy you will get when you are playing this instrument. Along with the good quality material, we give extra attention for the instrument makers. All our instruments, including davuls, are made by professionals who are famous for their craftsmanship. We believe you can find the right instrument for your taste in our stores or on our website.