Learn to play doumbek (dumbek, darbuka) with New York's most beloved Arabic percussionist, the master instructor, the one and only Amir Naoum! — If you are a beginning drummer, this DVD will serve as a very accessible, frie... more »ndly and solid introduction to the art of Middle Eastern percussion.
If you are a dancer, Amir Naoum's clear introduction to the most popular bellydance rhythms and their more subtle variations will help you learn to recognize the rhythms, even in their most sophisticated forms.
Born in Syria and raised in Lebanon, Amir Naoum has played in NYC Arabic clubs, for family celebrations and bellydance shows for over 30 years. He has contributed generously to the success of most New York star bellydancers and Middle Eastern percussionists. Amir's method of teaching Middle Eastern rhythms and doumbek technique have helped many dancers and drummers take their first steps toward understanding Middle Eastern rhythms, and develop toward higher levels of musicality and doumbek playing technique. Amir is known for his warm, welcoming, encouraging teaching style and for helping dancers at every level of skill do their best in performance.
This program is a beginner-level doumbek instructional course with a lot of beyond-the-basics information and spectacular demonstrations of Middle Eastern drumming and dance rhythms.« less
Fantastic Beginner DVD! It Couldn't Be Easier to Get Started
Salihah | Minneapolis/St. Paul | 10/07/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Have you been itching to get drumming with a dumbek? Amir will get you going with everything you need to know to get started! The DVD is divided into convenient sections covering a welcome/introduction, rhythms, practices, and demo. You learn about the dumbek, how to hold the instrument comfortably and how to perform your first few beats. Then you can proceed with the practice drills or go on to learn to play AND recognize the popular and common Arabic rhythms. The beat is counted out for you clearly on the screen, and verbally without being annoying. Amir is a fantastic host and instructor, offering friendly and encouraging advice throughout the instruction.
I love how easy the format is to follow, you can go all at your own speed and pace, and navigate through the different sections and lessons by a simple click of your remote thanks to the convenient index of the lessons. Repeat a section as many times as you need or jump ahead to something more advanced...you won't be bored! The quality of the screen and sound is excellent, this isn't a shoddy homemade instructional DVD!
I'd like to note that Middle Eastern Dancers/Belly Dancers will also find this DVD a great resource even if you don't plan on learning to drum. You can gain a great familiarity with the instrument and to instantly recognize the various Arabic rhythms by sound and name. It will really enhance your dance experience. I've found it invaluable for increasing my understanding of the music and rhythms I dance to. After watching, you just might want to give drumming a try!
This DVD brings the beauty of the Dumbek and Arabic rhythms right to the comfort and convenience of your own home. With some time and practice, you'll be comfortably drumming in no time at all, even if you've had no prior experience. Those with percussion experience will appreciate the clear review of fundamentals and while learning some fun and exciting new rhythms. It really couldn't be easier to get started with the Dumbek than with this affordable DVD."
GET YOUR BEAT ON..............!
Seir | USA | 10/01/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Amir is an amazing professional musician and instructor, you will want to follow along as he breaks down basic doumbek technique and patterns. As a serious dancer I am left with better knowledge and understanding of Arabic percussion- essential in designing my drum solos, taxim sections of dance. Anyone at any dance level can benefit from so much knowledge deposited right into your lap.Fundamentals of doumbek are simply broken down, complete with exercises and different patterns that you can use to follow along.Doum, tek, ka, pop, slap 5 -different sounds created from the tabla just by learning which area of the drum to strike. Anatomy of the drum, how the hold the drum, also combinations of these 5 sounds that create the nine Arabic percussion combinations, masmoudi,ayoub, baladi,saiidi, malfouf,maksoum,soumbati,ciftetelli, and some variations. Amir and Aziz combine the drum and tambourine,riq, for a beautiful demonstration of patterns. A very valuable tool for learning and reference to drumming in bellydance. The quality of this dvd is great, color is vivid, overall an exceptional, purchase more than worth its price."
Quite good
I. Tse | Croydon, NSW Australia | 11/21/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"My overall impression of this DVD is that Amir is quite knowledgeable about the doumbek. I found it interesting that he presented the different types of doumbeks together with a brief history. Some of the editing is choppy, especially as he is explaining technique. I think he could have also spent more time going in depth into technique. But when he goes into showing rhythms the editing is constant and the variations are quite interesting."
Very good introduction to Doumbek
Pedro B. de Castro | Brasilia, DF Brazil | 01/03/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This DVD is a very good choice for beginners and it also serves as good reference material for intermediate percussionists like myself.
The instructor is very clear and his technique is superb. The video starts with simple but important exercises that get more and more complex. All main Arab rhythms are covered and there are some nice demonstrations of what they sound like in a performance.
The one thing that is missing is an actual performance, where the viewer could see the different rhythms in a whole song, as well as have a taste of more advanced techniques, which are not addressed in this DVD.
If you want to start to learn how to play the doumbek or want to improve your basic technique this video is a must. It's probably useful for bellydancers and other musicians wanting to get familiarized with Arab rhythms.
Hope it helps."
Great learning tool
Kelly Lambert | Traverse City, MI | 01/10/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have been playing drums, congas and Djembe for about ten years now. Most of what I've learned has been self taught,(books, tapes, videos and DVDs) after some basic classes. I have also played with an African drum and dance group for 8 years. This DVD is an excellent product for the beginning Doumbek player(which I am). Starts with the basics:How to hold the drum, how to get the various sounds from the drum correctly. There are many practice rhythms that directly apply to the other classic rhythms that are demonstrated later on. The notation is clearly explained and it is easy to follow along with the DVD. Amir Naoum starts with the basics of the rhythms and elaborates on them as each lesson progress's. Amir's presentation is geared for the new doumbek drummer and he appears to have a gentle sense of humor."