Tombak By Jocelyn Lambert

Origins The Tombak is a goblet drum from Persia, or ancient Iran The actual origin of the Tombak is still in dispute; historians only agree that the goblet drum is ancient in origin, believed by some to have been invented before the wheel We know that an early form of the Tombak, the Dombalag, was present during the period of the Sassanid Persian Empire, the last pre-Islamic Iranian Empire. (about ) The Tombak is also called the Tonbak, Donbak, or Dombak Goblet drums are played in regions of Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa We have studied a form of goblet drum, the Tabla

Application The Tombak is the principal percussion instrument of Persian music All goblet drums are similar, but the technique for playing the Tombak sets it apart. The Tombak is positioned diagonally across the torso Player uses one more or more fingers and/or palms of the hands on the drumhead Sometimes players wear metal finger rings for an extra- percussive click on the drumhead Normally two or three contrasting timbres, resulting from various finger placements, are played in an antiphonal style

Putting it Together The Tombak is usually 43 cm in height with a 28cm diameter head The shell is carved from a single block of mulberry wood (often carved with geometrical designs) At the bottom the shell is thicker than the top for strength, with the shell’s wall thickness at approx. 2 cm. The throat is almost cylindrical and connects the top cavity to the hollow base Sheepskin or goatskin is glued or tacked onto the head The top is wide which allows a nice full bass tone as well as an assortment of treble tones

Head tension is usually fixed before performances To fix head tension one must heat, cool or dampen the membrane, with a special attention to temperature and humidity, to reach the desired pitch. Pitch can be raised slightly during performance by applying finger pressure

Ostad Hossein Tehrani The Tombak was not considered a solo instrument until the work of Ostad Hossein Tehrani in the 1950s; he is regarded as the father of the modern Tombak Tehrani organized an ensemble of Tombak players and performed in the Iranian Music and Art Festival, the first time Tombak had been highlighted in that way. Tehrani was known for astonishing listeners by imitating real sounds on his Tombak, like locomotives and Motorcycles. Tehrani also innovated a new technique, which involved the Tombak being played in harmony with the saying of Persian phrases. Nowadays there are many Tombak soloists, and virtuosi can perform Tombak soloes lasting ten minutes or more Modern Tombak players are still expanding the techniques used in playing the instrument.

Examples yjJ1vbcc gTtzgr4http:// gTtzgr4 gTtzgr4http:// gTtzgr4