Daf Erbane

The tale says that once a woman was holding the flour sieve, and starting knocking on it. Later came the round movements as if she is sifting the flour. Then came the rings, and the rest is history.

The history of the daf

The Persian Daf, or as known, the Erbane has been an instrument of mystery. Although rather simple drum, the variety of different sound it can produce is astonishing. With this drum you both hit it with your hands, but also swirl it, making the metal rings pluck the skin

Different Daf heads

Traditionally the Daf is made with natural skin, but as modern time came, synthetic materials have become more popular. The advantage is pretty clear. Maintenance, tuning and stability are a key factor. Those synthetic heads simply hold forever. Having said that, you can still find goat skin dafs, and those come with an internal tuning system.

Choosing a Daf

When choosing a daf, its important to see that the weight isn't too high. Playing the daf requires a lot of movement, up, down and to the sides. It cames some force and energy. You wouldn't want to do it with some 1kg on your hands. Wouldn't you?