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Daff (Persian frame drum)
The antiquity of daf, with the Pahlavi name dap, goes to pre-Islamic ages.
Persian literature shows us the importance of this Persian frame drum in
Persian Sufi music. Daf was considered a spiritual drum played in khanghahs
of Iran, particularly Kurdistan. It should be mentioned that similar frame
drums with similar names are played in some other countries such as daf
in India, tef in Turkey, duf in Arabic countries and dap in Uyghuristan
of China.
Thanks to some famous daf players, daf integrated into Persian art music
and it became the second national drum of Iran. The chief national drum
of Iran is tonbak (the Persian goblet drum).
Today daf is used in all genres of music in Iran and in this article I
will give a brief description of different daf-s used in different genres
of Iranian (Persian) music.
Solo-Daf: A kind
of daf that is used in solo performances. It should have a very strong sound
and
its jingles should
have a clear sound. A daf soloist should be able to show her/his finger patterns
by this solo-daf easily.
Studio-Daf: A kind of daf that its skin is not so sensitive of humidity changes.
A studio-daf player should not be worry of the change of the tune of the skin
of her/his daf during the recording.
Orchestra-Daf: A kind of daf with not a very strong sound. It should be mentioned
that daf has generally a strong sound and if the sound of daf is very strong,
like solo-daf, then the orchestra-daf player should be always worry of her/his
drums sound. A strong-sounded daf may kill the orchestra's sound. An orchestra-daf
should have a warm and soft sound.
Bass-Daf: A kind of daf with a bass sound (its size is larger and its skin is
thicker).
Treble-Daf: A kind of daf with a treble sound. This kind of daf may be used in
winter also.
Ring-Daf: A kind of daf with a thin skin and lots of jingles.
Summer and Winter Daf: The skin of summer-daf is not covered on its frame tightly,
while the skin of winter-daf is covered on its frame so tightly.
Remark: A good ensemble of different daf-s may use different daf-s such as solo-daf,
bass-daf, treble-daf and ring-daf.