Arabic Drumming Classes in St. Paul

This fall, learn how to play the Arabic drum (derbeke, darbuka, doumbek, Arabic tabla) with Professor Khaldoun Samman in an ensemble setting. Whether or not you’re a novice, you will learn all the important rhythms of Arabic music.

This class is designed for students who have acquired the basic skills of the Arabic tabla and already know how to produce the proper sounds of the drum, have comfort with some of the basic and popular rhythms and rolls. In this class we will learn more advanced techniques (including qarshi and Turkish split finger), the structure of a drum solo, and advanced rhythms from around the Arab world and Turkey, including odd rhythms. This is the perfect class for someone that wants to take their drumming to the next level.

Khaldoun Samman is a professor of sociology and the former Director of Middle East and Islamic Studies at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota (USA). Growing up in Zarqa Jordan, he often heard the music of Farid Atrash, Oum Kulthum, Mohamed Abdel Wahab, and other famous Arab musicians and artist. His favorite memories of his childhood usually involved sitting in the courtyard with the extended family eating watermelon and yogurt cheeseballs while the beautiful sounds of the oud, nay, and tabla (also known as doumbek or derbake) filled the background with sweet melodies. When Khaldoun’s family moved to New Jersey, a lot of this came with them. A good chunk of his uncles and aunts and cousins moved to the United States as well in the early 1970s. Although living in separate homes, they maintained a strong extended kinship and continued their huge family gatherings with the same gusto and flare as they did in Jordan. It was in this immigrant environment that he completely internalized the totality of the experience, both melodically and culturally, of Middle Eastern music. Khaldoun has been studying Middle Eastern percussion intensively over the past five years, traveling across the United States and to Jordan to study with the masters of Arabic drumming.

You will need an Arabic drum for these courses. If you do not have access to one, you may purchase one from local merchants, please inform the instructor before the sessions begin for information on where to purchase it. Luckily, they are not expensive instruments.