Upright style
The style most used in traditional contexts throughout the Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Central Asian regions. Played in ceremonies and festivities while singing and dancing. This is our starting point in this journey of Middle Eastern percussion. There will be other courses available in the future for other levels and other percussion instruments and styles.
Promo video/Content
About me and the course
I started learning Middle Eastern percussion 15 years ago through various teachers. At SOAS University, London, I focused on the music of that region for 3 years, learning about its repertoire, its history, culture...
The main instruments I focused on were the darbuka, tar (also known as duf and bendir) and Riq. Later on, I have been learning the Kurdish Daf (a frame rum with chains/jingles hanging from the inside of the frame)
Studying Dalcroze Eurythmics as well as going to body percussion and circular music workshops, has lead me to combine these disciplines in my teaching. This facilitates understanding, memory and coordination.
This course will cover the very basics up to a lower intermediate level. You will learn how to hold the drum, play tones accurately, names of the tones, rhythms and their variations, subdivisions and ghost notes and how to apply them on your playing; warm up exercises and simple mini compositions; everything supported by videos, Pdfs and audios.
Example Curriculum
Laura Lilienthal
(SEN children specialist | Artist)
I have been studying with Elizabeth for two years and I would highly recommend her online course. Elizabeth gives clear and thorough instructions which is essential for learning the basics and to build yourself a strong foundation which you can then build on.
As a teacher Elizabeth is kind, patient and adaptable to your needs.
I highly recommend this course!
Brita Reinmann
(Musician| Percussionist)
(About my weekly group lessons)
I liked that I could learn both techniques on the frame drum and basic knowledge about Arabic music from scratch.
As a professional musician I enjoyed the simplicity of the course because I could learn what I needed to learn
(on a fairly new instrument for me) in a relaxed atmosphere with no pressure.
Also, it's a great idea to send a video of a summary from the lesson
Hanna Banks
(About my Online Frame Drum
tutorial in Spanish)
Elizabeth's course gave me an incredibly valuable introduction to Middle Eastern style drumming. With a focus on mastering the fundamentals and many examples of rhythms, variations and songs it is a resource I continue to come back to. I found the final section on the history of the drum particularly engaging. I'd recommend the course to anyone interested in this style!