View source for Davul

{{Short description|Musical instrument}}
{{Refimprove|date=April 2020}}

{{Infobox Instrument
| name = Davul
| background = percussion
| names = Davul, tapan, tabl
| image = Mehter davul.jpg
| classification = [[Percussion instrument]] ([[membranophone]])
| sound sample = {{Audio sample|file=Davul_demo.ogg|header=no|description=Davul drum}}
| range = Rope tensioned
}}

The '''davul''', '''dhol''', '''tapan''', '''atabal''' or '''tabl''' is a large double-headed [[drum]] that is played with mallets. It has many names depending on the country and region. These drums are commonly used in the music of the [[Middle East]] and the [[Balkans]]. These drums have both a deep [[bass drum|bass sound]] and a thin [[treble (sound)|treble]] sound due to their construction and playing style, where different heads and sticks are used to produce different sounds on the same drum.

==Names==
Some names of davuls include:

*''dhol'' ({{langx|hy|դհոլ}})
*''dawola/tabla'' ({{langx|syr|ܛܲܒܼܠܵܐ}})
*''[[dohol]]'' ({{langx|fa|دهل dohol}})
*''doli'' ({{lang-ka|  დოლი  doli}})
*''davul'' ({{langx|tr|davul|lit=drum}})
*''dahol'' ({{langx|ku|dahol}}, {{langx|sdh|Dîweł}})
*''davil'' ({{langx|ta|davil}})
*''davula'' ([[Sinhala language|Sinhala]]: දවුල)
*''tupan'' ([[Gora dialect|Goranian]]: tupan)
*''daul'', ''tǎpan'', ''tupan'' ({{langx|bg|тъпан, тупан}})
*''goč'', ''tapan'', ''tupan'' ({{langx|sr|гоч, тапан, тупан}})
*''tapan, tupan'' ({{langx|mk|тапан, тупан}})
*''tobă/dobă'' ({{langx |ro|tobă}})
*''tabl'' ({{langx|ar|tabl}} or ''tabl baladi'')
*''tof'' ({{langx|he|tof תוף}})
*''taoul(in)'' ({{Langx|pnt|ταούλ(ιν)|lit=drum}})
*''lodra'', ''tupana'', ''daulle'', ''taborre'' ({{langx|sq|lodra}})
*''moldvai dob'' ({{langx|hu|moldvai dob}})
Other [[Greek language|Greek]] names for this drum include Davouli, Argano, Toskani, Tsokani, Toubi, Toubaki, Kiossi, Tavouli, Pavouli, Toubano, and Toubaneli.  Additionally, other names for the daouli, depending on the area, include toumpano, tymbano, or toumbi, which stem from the {{Langx|grc|τύμπανον}} ({{Lang|grc-Latn|ty&#833;mpanon}}); this word exists in English in the word [[tympani]] for the drum section in the modern classical orchestra and the tympanic membrane for the [[eardrum]].

==Traditional uses==
In the southern Balkans, the rhythm of the tapan is complex and utilizes many accents in numerous traditional time signatures. In Macedonia, tapans are most often used to accompany other instruments such as the [[zurla (instrument)|zurna]] and [[gaida]], while in Bulgaria they usually accompany [[gaida]] and [[gadulka]]. They are also played solo in some Albanian, Bulgarian and Macedonian folk dances and songs. For centuries the tapan is irreplaceable at Bulgarian village festivities such as weddings and celebrations of patron saints of homes and villages. In Romania and Moldova the toba is sometimes used to accompany dances. In the regions of Moldavia, Maramures and Bihor there are also some varieties with a small cymbal mounted on top. They are generally struck with a wooden mallet on one skin and with a thinner stick on the rim or cymbal.{{citation needed|date=October 2025}}

In Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan, the dhol/davul is most commonly played with the [[zurna]], a [[wind instrument]], although it can be played with other instruments and in ensembles as well. It has also traditionally been used for communication and for Turkish [[mehter]], or [[janissary]] music. In Iraq and the Levant, it is predominantly used in [[Assyrian folk dance]] and [[Assyrian folk/pop music]], among [[Assyrian people]], which are mostly accompanied by a [[zurna]]. In Armenia, the dhol does not have as large of a circumference and is usually played with the hands, although a wooden, spoon-shaped drumstick is also used sometimes. It is frequently heard in Armenian folk music, usually along with other drums such as the [[daf|dap]], the [[Goblet drum|dmblak]], and native woodwinds such as the [[duduk|tsiranapogh]], the [[sring]], the [[shvi]], the {{ill|blul|hy|Բլուլ}}, the [[parkapzuk]] (Armenian bagpipe), and some stringed instruments like the {{ill|tavigh|hy|տավիղ}}, the {{ill|pandir|hy|փանդիռ}}, the {{ill|jnar|hy|ջնար}} and some of foreign origin, like the Iranian [[kamancheh|kamancha]] and the Arabic [[oud]]. Not only is it in folk music but also in modern music as well, even having solos in many prominent songs.<ref>[http://karalahana.com/english/dauli-drum.html Dauli - Davul of Turkey.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140930225349/http://www.karalahana.com/english/dauli-drum.html |date=2014-09-30 }}</ref>

==Construction==
[[File:Karagoez davulcu2.jpg|thumb|right|''Davul'' in shadow puppet theater. Here, [[Karagöz and Hacivat|Karagöz]] is shown with his ''davul''.]]
The drum shell is made of hard wood, perhaps [[walnut]] or [[chestnut]], though many woods may be in use depending on the region where the drum is made.  To make the shell, the wood is boiled in water to make it bendable, and then it is bent into a cylindrical shape and fastened together.  The [[drumhead|heads]] are usually goat skin, and they are shaped into circles by wooden frames. However, one head may be goat skin to provide a higher tone, while the other head can be sheepskin, calfskin, or even donkey-skin to provide a lower tone.  Some say that wolf skin and even dog skin are preferred.<ref name=gkins>{{cite web|title=Greek Musical Instruments|url=http://www.greekfolkmusicanddance.com/instruments.php |publisher=John Pappas |access-date=2008-01-09}}</ref> Rope threaded back and forth across the shell of the drum, from head to head in a zigzag pattern, holds the heads on the drum and provides tension for tuning the drum. Sometimes metal rings or leather straps join neighboring strands of the rope in order to allow for further tuning. Two rings are sometimes attached to the main rope where a belt-like rope is threaded through to hold the drum.

In the former Yugoslavian republics and Bulgaria, the tapan is made in two dimensions, {{langx|bg|golem}}, at about 50 – 55&nbsp;cm diameter, and {{langx|bg|mal}} or tapanche, at about 30 – 35&nbsp;cm diameter.

In Turkey, davuls typically range in size from 60&nbsp;cm to 90&nbsp;cm in diameter. Cow hide is used for the bass pitch drum head side, while goat skin is used for the thin, high pitched side.

In Greece, daouli can be 12 to 14&nbsp;inches for the toumbi up to 3 to 4 feet for daouli.  Commonly the drum is about 20 to 30&nbsp;inches.<ref name="gkins"/>

==Playing style==
Players often use a rope hooked to the drum to hold the drum sideways, so that one head is accessible with the left hand and one with the right. Each hand is usually dedicated to playing one side of the drum exclusively, though this can vary by local style and tradition.

Drummers of this drum typically uses two kinds of sticks. The drummer plays the accented beats with the dominant hand on the side of the drum with the thicker skin, using a special stick known as the {{langx|bg|kukuda or ukanj}}, {{langx|tr|tokmak}}, or {{langx|el|daouloxylo}} (daouli stick).<ref name="gkins"/> This stick is a thick pipe-like stick about 440&nbsp;mm long, which is often made with walnut. Its thick shape as well as the thickness of the head give the accented beats a low, full sound. Sometimes the drumhead played with the thick stick is also muted with a cloth to enhance the fundamental low note of the drum. Unaccented beats are played by the nondominant hand on the side of the drum having the thin skin, using a thin stick or switch called {{langx|bg|pracka}}, {{langx|tr|çubuk}}, or {{langx|el|daouloverga}} (daouli switch).<ref name="gkins"/>  This thin stick is often held cross-grip, and the drummer can quickly hit thin accent strokes by gently twisting the wrist. These thin sticks are often made from soft wood such as willow or [[European Cornel|cornel]].

The Balkan school of tapan playing presumes the playing (not the accompaniment) of a melody, where the non-dominant hand is used to express all that the player wishes to say, while the dominant hand is only used to accentuate certain moments in the melody.

==See also==<!-- PLSE RESPECT ALPHABETICAL ORDER -->
{{Portal|Music}}
*[[Bendir]]
*[[Daf]]
*[[Dhol]]
*[[Mazhar]]
*[[Nagara (drum)]]
*[[Riq]]
*[[Tar (drum)]]
*[[Timpani]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080128185946/http://www.discoverturkey.com/english/kultursanat/b-h-davul.html Discover Turkey information page on davul with sound clips]
*[http://musicalconfrontations.com/MC5/wlc/mcb/cul/mim/mfl/mtm/foc/JNS/jns0000000002.htm History of the Davul, from ancient times until the 18th century; in German: Janissary instruments and Europe]
*[http://www.greekfolkmusicanddance.com/instruments.php Greek musical instruments]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080223121438/http://beloplatno.rastko.net/instrumenti/instrumenti_en.html Serbian musical instruments]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20150412032206/http://pontosworld.com/index.php/music/instruments/1316-the-daouli-drum Pontic Daouli]

{{Arabic musical instruments}}
{{Armenian musical instruments}}
{{Azerbaijani musical instruments}}
{{Pontic Greek musical instruments}}
{{Iranian musical instruments}}
{{Turkish musical instruments}}
{{Percussion}}
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[[Category:Drums]]
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