On drums

The roots of the percussion musical instruments date back to the period of primary residence, very ancient times. In this period people had created some rhythms. One of such instruments were foot beating percussion method, when the dry wood was put on the wells drilled, and covered by a variety of different animal skins, beaten and creating various rhythms. The first percussion instruments, most likely, were created in such way.

Now the name of one of the dance of zorkhana is called as  Foot beating. In Gobustan, one of the most ancient human settlements in Azerbaijan, on the foothills of Chingirdagh along with rock paintings attributed to two thousand years back, there is “tambourine rock as part of a large rock. By beating this rock by hand, foot, or with any item the sounds ttimbres are created. It is likely that a piece of rock was used as a percussion instrument by our predecessors is known at the present day by the name of tambourine rock” (Qaval dashi). Tambourine rock inherent qualities of percussion instruments specific to our days. Different kinds of percussion musical instruments  historically played a specific role in the cultural life of our people and was very wide spread in the territory of Azerbaijan. One of the specific characteristics of our instrument studies is its richness with percussion instruments.

At the moment, many other percussion instruments which play a major role in the development of our musical art, is widely used. These tools are divided into 3 types:

1. Membranous. This group includes drum (tabil), kos, double drum, drums (nagara), dumbak and other percussion instruments.

2. Idiophone. This includes jam and pottery vessels, different types laqquta, shakhshakh, bells(zınqırov), qumrov, etc. 

3. Idiomembraneous. This type of percussion instruments include tambourine and drum.

Among membranous percussion instruments most widely used is drum (nagara). Nagara, which is considered as leading musical instrument of our customs and traditions, weddings, holiday parties, has many types. These types which differ in sizes are called as big drum, jura drum, drum chiling, armpit drum, hand drum. This instrument, mostly is of two types: one-sided and two-sided. One sided are double drum, nagarazan, tabil (drum), daf, tambourine, and two sided are big drum (kos drum), jura drum and armpit drum. Among drums the most widely used is armpit drum and double drum..

Many of rich and various percussion musical instruments: tabil bass, danbal, mazhər, tabil, bell, ringing, duhul, zingirov, sinj, naqus, khal-khal and others played an exclusive role in the history of the development of musical culture, but they did not reached us.