Most of the time, the tombak is played while the player
sits on a chair or sits on the ground. Street musicians can also
be seen playing standing up with the tombak attached by a string.
Sitting
near
the edge of a chair, the left foot lies ahead of and slightly higher
then the right foot. The tombak is placed horizontally on the thighs,
the head facing front. In order not to mute the sound, the thighs
must not touch the head of the instrument.
Hand position
(The hand position must be inverted for left-handed players)
Right hand:
the arm is bent in a natural way from the elbow (in the same movement
as when walking) and is placed over the drum's head, ready to
play. It is very important to avoid pressing the elbow against
the body.
Left hand:
the arm is placed on the instrument and moved ahead until the bend
of the fingers lies at the edge of the instrument. Playing is done
with a wrist movement.
Tom (T) : the low sounding stroke of the instrument
The first four fingers of the right hand are bent to form a cup
shape. The thumb reinforces the position by being placed on the
side of the first finger. Playing is done with the finger tips
near the center of the head. The movement is done by the wrist,
with the help of the forearm.
The hand must bounce immediatly off the instrument in order to
let the head vibrate (this applies to all types
of
strokes)
Bak (B) : high sounding stroke Played with the top part of the right hand's fourth finger
near the edge of the instrument. The movement is done with a small
rotation of the wrist.
Pelangue (P) : high pitched accented
stroke (snap)
Just as snapping fingers, the fourth finger is placed on the tip
of the thumb, while keeping the other fingers straight. With a pressure
from the thumb, the fourth finger "snaps" the edge of the head and
must reach the palm of the hand. This stroke can be done with four
fingers of each hand.
Eshareh (rr) : ornament
Put fingers at different distances from the head, the fifth finger
being the closest. Let the finger tips fall on the head in the
same position with a wrist movement, in order to hear four close
distinct strokes. With the right hand, the thumb strikes the head
at the same time as the fifth finger in order to give some color
to the sound.
To make an appogiatura, play a right hand eshareh
followed by a left hand eshareh before the stroke. To play a continuous
roll, alternate both movements.
A basic rhythm :
Tom T
Bak B
Pelangue P
Eshareh R
This 6/8 rhythm is one of the most widely played in Iran.
