The Structure of Kurdistan Daf (VII)

Researcher:
Mohammad Tarighat

Translator:
Fatemeh Alimohammadi

 

Conclusion

“Daf” is one of type of percussion instruments that has a long history and is commonly known as circular instruments (with a rim). In some tribes, Daf was used as the main instrument in festivity and joy ceremonies; in another tribe it was used as the main instrument for war and campaign ceremonies and some others used it for ritual and religious ceremonies.

In Iran, there are many different names for circular instruments such as: Daf, Dayereh, Charkh, Gharbal, Deire, Ghaval, Dap, Doyah, Sama, Daryeh, Buter, Doub, Taborak and so on.

In this article, a circular instrument called “Daf” in Kurdistan was studied that its components include:

Arch, frame, Gharbali: The type of wood used in Daf depends on the variety of trees in the area. In this instrument, woods of grape, orange, fig, walnut, maple, berry, quince, plane tree, ash (Van, Benav, Benavch) and Salicaceae such as: poplar and red willow are used.

The piece of wood, about two meters long, is made in a circle shape with a diameter between 53 and 55 centimeters. Dimensions will be different for children and youth and a diameter of less than 50 cm is considered for them. In some cases, the diameter may be more than 55 cm , which is made only for the type of sounding  in an orchestra. The thickness of the arch wood in the part where the studs are located is about one and a half centimeters. The Avazeh of Daf also starts from the middle of the frame and gradually decreases to a thickness of two and a half to three millimeters at the junction of the skin. The width of the frame is between five and seven and rarely 10 cm (these are known as monastery Daf), it is preferably compared to the size of the player’s palm, so that the knuckle of the thumb does not bend. Such a width will also prevent the wrist from bending in the “middle” beat.

Thumb index: The location of the thumb to hold the Daf. The size of the thumb should be appropriate with the size of the player’s palm and the length of his fingers so that the wrist does not bend during the “middle” beat.

Today, hooks and rings, unlike the past that were made of brass, steel or copper, are only made of iron. The rings are made of iron wire about one and a half to one and eight centimeters in diameter and about one millimeter thick. The distance between the hooks and the skin is calculated by taking into account half the width of the arch and adding about half a centimeter from the skin. The distance between the ring and the side rings should be as large as the diameter of a ring, which makes for a better arrangement and less interference of the rings and a clearer sound, and also helps to keep the instrument lighter. In each hook, there are four rings that the first and second rings are connected from above as a single and the next two rings are connected to the second rings in pairs.

Skin: Old, fat-free, clear, and transparent skin of animals such as sheep, goat, yeanling, lamb, ewe, antelope, fish, camels, calve, and deer, but today sheep skin and in some cases goat skins are used.

Studs or tacks made of brass, copper or iron are used to attach natural skin to arch.

Strap: When the duration of playing Daf is long, a strap is installed on the inner edge of the Daf, which the musician wraps around his wrist to reduce hand fatigue.

The best weight for Daf is a weight that applies a slight pressure to the forearm muscles. In simple terms, the musicians feel the weight of instrument.

It is hoped that this article has led Daf learners to take a deeper look at the form and components of this ancient instrument than before, and that the art of making Daf, especially Dafs with artificial skin, will be revived by using veterans’ experiences, having no weaknesses and shortcomings in the structure.  Another important issue that needs basic research is the study of the relation between the weight and diameter of the arch of Daf with limbs, ossification and muscle mass at different ages of Daf musicians, which can be divided into different groups and as a result, design and construction of instruments in various dimensions in accordance with medical science standards and without possible damage to Daf players.

 

Resources

  • Ahmadi, A., 2019, Daf officials, New Note Publications, Yazd, First edition.
  • Pahlavan, K., 2015, Daf and Dayereh, Arun Publications, Tehran, First edition.
  • Tohidi, A., 1998, Daf playing style, Soroush Publications, Tehran, First edition.
  • Khaktinat, A., 2005, Daf and playing Daf, Sureh Mehr Publications, Tehran, First edition.
  • Darwish, M.R, 2005, Encyclopedia of Iran Instruments, Mahour Cultural and Artistic Institute, Tehran, Volume 2, First Edition.
  • Mohammadi, B., 2001, Daf and its feasts in Ghaderi’s Takaya, Mahidasht Publications, Kermanshah, First edition.
  • Moradi, A., 2020, Daf in monastery, Arshadan Educational and authoring Institute, Tehran, Volume One, First Edition.
  • Mogharab Samadi, A., 2009, Exercise of Love, First book, Tasnif Publishing, Tehran, First edition.
  • Nasrollahpour, A., 2000, Kurdish instruments, Taghbostan Publications, Kermanshah, First edition.
  • Naqib Sardasht, B., 2007, Knowing instrument in Kurdish music, Tavakoli Publications, Tehran, First Edition.

 

Researcher’s Interviews

  • Jabari, A., 2022, About pathology of Daf players, May, In person interview, Tehran.
  • Hosseini, B., 2021 and 2020, About his Daf playing Style, September and January, In person interview, Sanandaj.
  • Mohammadi, H., 2021, About the structure of Daf, September, In person interview, Sanandaj.

Post a Comment

Required fields are marked *
*
*
Your email is never shared.

The Legacy of Khosrow Jafarzadeh

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the passing of Khosrow Jafarzadeh (Khosrow Djafar-Zadeh), a distinguished architect and pioneering researcher of Iranian music, whose contributions to the magazine “Harmony Talk” have left an indelible mark on the field. The absence of this remarkable individual has significantly impacted the expansion and advancement of his theories, which are heralded as some of the most progressive in the history of Iranian music

Whose dream?! Whose reality?!

(A review of the “So Faraway” album; Tar and Tonbak duet; Siavash Imani, Pedram Khavarzmini)

From Past Days…

The Legacy of Khosrow Jafarzadeh

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the passing of Khosrow Jafarzadeh (Khosrow Djafar-Zadeh), a distinguished architect and pioneering researcher of Iranian music, whose contributions to the magazine “Harmony Talk” have left an indelible mark on the field. The absence of this remarkable individual has significantly impacted the expansion and advancement of his theories, which are heralded as some of the most progressive in the history of Iranian music

Principles of Violin Playing (I)

The present series of training articles, “Principles of Violin Playing”, seek to help students, to appropriately understand this field, by gradually introducing, categorizing, and teaching the myriad relevant points. One of the principles of playing violin, which must be always kept in mind, is that the selection of the most natural position for the body parts while playing is the best and most appropriate solution. As a matter of fact, any unnatural body part position which requires lots of energy or unusual stretching to maintain, is wrong.

Iannis Xenakis’ Persephassa

Shiraz Arts Festival which was held in Shiraz from 1967 to 1977 featured many contemporary renowned artists who were commissioned by the Iranian royalty to compose or create works of art for performance in the arts festival. Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) participated in Shiraz Arts Festival three times in 1968, 1969 and 1971. The Greek-French composer,…
Read More »

Parviz Meshkatian’s Heart Beat for People (I)

Amidst the popularity of traditionalism in the Iranian music, Parviz Meshkatian (1955- 2009) moved from Neyshabur to Tehran. He learnt to play Santour and became educated in the Radif of Iranian music at the Centre for Preservation and Promotion of Music which was at the forefront of promoting the return to musical traditions. Despite his studies at a centre which promoted the use of the phrase “traditional music” in Iran, Parviz Meshkatian emerged as a creative artist whose innovative and unique ideas attracted the admiration of Iranian artists and people from different walks of life. This article studies the reason behind Meshkatian’s deviation from the wrong approach of traditionalism strongly promoted by the Centre and argues that apart from the issue of theory of Iranian music, he can be considered as Ali Naqi Vaziri’s successor.

A Promising Concert by National Instruments Orchestra

The National Instruments Orchestra of Iran performed its first concert amid much hope and anxiety on July 18, 2015. The Orchestra is founded by Roudaki Cultural and Arts Foundation which is a semi-private foundation in Iran. The Arts Director for the National Instruments Orchestra of Iran is cand the Orchestra Executive Director is Sadjad Pourghand.

Rouhollah Khaleghi Artistic Center established in Washington DC

Golnoush Khaleghi (1941-2021), a Washington-based Persian musician and the daughter of the contemporary Persian (Iranian) composer and theoretician Rouhollah Khaleghi (1906-1965) founded a musical center called RKAC to keep the name and the work of her father alive.

A year without Mohsen Ghanebasiri

The year 1396 (21 March 2017-20 March 2018) was the most sorrowful year for HarmonyTalk journal. One month after holding HarmonyTalk’s 13th establishment anniversary in Mohsen Ghanebasiri’s house in Tehran in April 2017, he untimely passed away. Mohsen Ghanebasiri was the prominent HarmonyTalk author.

From the Last Instrumentalist to the First Composer (I)

Music as an art has its own special history; emergence of a singer, of an instrumentalist and then the emergence of the strong character of a composer covers three significant phases of the art of music. With the emergence of composer which was simultaneous with the emergence of the language of music, this art managed to offer a domain for criticism for its composer; a procedure which led to a magnificent variety and evolution in musical production. Even though the conflicts between singers and instrumentalists have not met their end in the Iranian society and while singers can achieve high, instrumentalists have yet to play behind curtains . In a special era, with the efforts of musicians such as Ali Naghi Vaziri (1887-1979) and Rouhollah Khaleghi (1906-1965), glimmers of a composing era started to glow bearing fruit in Khaleghi’s achievement as Iran’s first professional composer. Khaleghi made his reputation as a composer while Vaziri deserved to pioneer this path. By then Vaziri was well-known as a Tar player.

Gholam Reza Khan Minbashian: a pioneer in Iranian music (I)

Gholam Reza Khan Minbashian, a.k.a Salar-Mo’azez, was a pioneer in several domains in the history of the Iranian music. He is recognized as the first Iranian musician who was educated in classical music. He is also the first Iranian the score of whose works were published in Europe. He is the first Iranian to have launched courses on Western classical music and was also the first Iranian teacher of classical music. Moreover, he is the first founder of a string orchestra in Iran, the first author of the Iranian Radif which was available in oral form. Minbashian is also the first Iranian who studied music in Europe.

Interview with the Makers of the New Qeychak (III)

In this project, my specialized responsibility  was the basic drawings of the desired instrument with the help of engineering and mechanical software.  I have also the carried out phases related to engineering designs, related variables, and volume and weight calculations under Mr. Ziaei’s direct supervision from the very beginning. Regarding the challenges of this work, suffice it to say that the set of designs for the instrument lasted more than 9 months in the final stage of the project only.