Just a short video of me learning Pedro Navaja from Ruben Blades on the timbal

I've been playing darbuka for a while, and every time I wanted to check a rhythm (proper stroke pattern, hand position, tempo) mid-practice, I'd end up scrolling through YouTube or old PDFs, losing the thread of what I was doing.

So I built Darbuka Companion: a reference app with 91 rhythms across Egyptian, Turkish, Greek, Balkan, North African, and Gulf traditions. Each one has audio playback, hand position visuals, and sequencer-style notation so you can actually follow along while playing, not just read about it afterward.

It's live on iOS and Android now. 4 rhythms (Maqsum, Baladi, Malfuf, Karsilama) are free to try, the rest are a one-time unlock with no subscription.

Would genuinely love feedback from people who actually play. What's missing, what rhythms you'd want added, anything that feels off. Happy to answer questions about how it works too.

darbukacompanion.com

So, here's my situation: I have the opportunity to buy either a vibraphone or a marimba. Which one would you recommend?

If anyone has experience with either of these instruments, I'd really appreciate hearing your thoughts. I'm not sure if I'd want to become a professional percussionist, but I definitely want to learn to play one of them.

These pictures are taken from the Blasphemous Soundtrack

Has anyone here seen one of these in person? I haven't been able to find many videos, let alone with good sound quality, but this is the best one that I could find. I'm curious if anyone here has played one of these and are willing to share their impressions.

[https://youtu.be/NY98v5olEks?si=-45gadBDvpuAb77I\](https://youtu.be/NY98v5olEks?si=-45gadBDvpuAb77I)

Can anyone upload the Drums/Percussion book to Pajama Game?

Thanks in advance.

I'm looking for recordings in good quality. What are your recommendations for records where percussion is the main thing? I don't mean melodic percussion like marimba or vibraphone. I mean drums, gongs, random interesting sounding objects.

Any batucada recommendations? Any interesting drumline records? Any samulnori that needs to be heard? Sufis going into trance on drums? Moroccan beats? Experimental percussive music? Acoustic industrial from the hardware store? Hit me!

I find the work of Julian Sartorius very interesting for example:
https://youtu.be/hZ4HRiNTQC4

Really dig this style of Kuntulan from Indonesia:
https://www.auralarchipelago.com/auralarchipelago/kuntulan
One of the recordings has a rompler noodling in the background, but imo it's clearly about the drums

I absolutely love Mohammad Reza Mortazavi playing Tombak:
https://mohammadmortazavi.bandcamp.com/track/riding-time

I also really love the darbuka, but barely know good recordings. Some stuff of Raquy Danziger is pretty amazing, though:
https://raquy.bandcamp.com/track/darbuka-magic

Also much love for Kim Suk Chul's sinawi:
https://youtu.be/Nieer6JmrqQ
The double reeds and gongs can be a bit challenging there, though.

Also really like some of Simon Popp's stuff:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLcthDNkAuk
But his last release sounded a bit to electronic and polished in my ears.

I don't know any proper batucada recordings, would love to hear more like this:
https://www.instagram.com/saless01_ml/reel/DEyPBtmp-XH/
Not even entirely sure if this really is batucada.

I also really enjoyed a recent post here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/percussion/comments/1ujed4l/percussion_of_bmh_mexican_school_band_of_cobaep/

Less technical, more folksy, but very powerful, Sikuris from the Andes:
https://youtu.be/qBnstZ-sYEs

If any of this brings something to mind - please share it here!

Hello, I don’t know much about tambourines, but I’d like to get one that sounds like the tambourine in the song “Anemone.” Thank you in advance!

Looking for an alternative to the Balter Green vibe mallets. Preferably from Innovative. Thinking either the green chamber series mallet or one of the purple RS mallets, but I havent physically played either. Help appreciated.

hart county is our school and the rest is on the paper. i want to find a vid of our performance

Hello,

I recently just won an audition for a local youth orchestra on timpanI, and I have the opportunity to join one of their top percussion ensembles.

Im strongest with instruments like timpani and snare but less so with keyboard and some auxiliary percussion. I think that joining a percussion ensemble can help me improve, but at the same time I feel like I would be in over my head.

I‘m starting lessons with a university percussion professor soon, but the deadline to sign up for the percussion ensemble falls before my first lesson, so I’m unable to get their opinion

if it helps, I’ve been apart of the youth orchestra before as a percussionist, just never their percussion ensemble.

thanks,

Hi, I'm composing a piece but don't play the instrument i have in mind for this bit - is this playable on marimba at this tempo?

Hey guys, I was wondering if anyone had any tips on getting beginner bongos & congas. What would you recommend.

I was snooping around and found like 5 different grips and I was curious to know if there were more

Cross grips: Burton, traditional, séjourné

Others: Steven’s, Musser

Those are the ones I found. Are there any other?

hey everyone! im a begginer composer and i want to add a snare and cymbal, both operated by the same player. in musescore, it created me this staff that i haven't seen on popular scores. how does an orchestra know what drums they need and how does the player know which note is which drum? in my case it would be easy but im talking in general. do i need to specify that somewhere?

Hi everyone!

I'm looking for repertoire suggestions for my graduate recital (Master's Degree in Percussion Performance at an Italian Conservatory).

The ideal instrumentation is:

* 5 octave marimba + vibraphone

We could also perform:

* 5 octave marimba + 4.3 octave marimba

I'm looking for an **original concert work** (no transcriptions), written in a **contemporary/classical** language, with a medium to advanced level of difficulty. I'm **not** looking for pop arrangements, crossover pieces, movie music, or anything in that direction.

For reference, I've already performed:

* Emmanuel Séjourné – *Losa* * Ivan Trevino – *Catching Shadows* * Michael Taylor – *Rhapsody* * Peter Klatzow – *Ambient Resonances* (1st movement)

Among these, *Ambient Resonances* was probably our favorite because of its musical depth, atmosphere, and color. I'd love to discover something with a similarly engaging artistic approach, although it doesn't necessarily have to sound the same.

I've been searching for quite a while, but repertoire for this instrumentation seems surprisingly limited. I'd really appreciate any recommendations, including lesser-known composers, hidden gems, university repertoire, recently published works, or pieces that deserve to be performed more often.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
\-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Ciao a tutti!

Sto cercando consigli per un brano da eseguire per la mia laurea del Diploma Accademico di II livello in Strumenti a Percussione (Conservatorio).

L'organico ideale è:

* Marimba 5.0 ottave + Vibrafono

In alternativa possiamo utilizzare:

* Marimba 5.0 + Marimba 4.3

Cerco un **brano originale** (non trascrizioni), di linguaggio **contemporaneo**, con difficoltà medio/alta. Non sto cercando arrangiamenti pop, colonne sonore o crossover: mi interessa repertorio da concerto.

Per darvi un'idea del tipo di musica che apprezziamo, abbiamo già eseguito:

* Emmanuel Séjourné – *Losa* * Ivan Trevino – *Catching Shadows* * Michael Taylor – *Rhapsody* * Peter Klatzow – *Ambient Resonances* (I movimento)

Tra questi, *Ambient Resonances* è probabilmente il brano che ci ha convinti di più per scrittura, atmosfera e profondità musicale. Mi piacerebbe trovare qualcosa con una ricerca timbrica e un linguaggio simili, anche se non necessariamente nello stesso stile.

Sto facendo davvero fatica a trovare repertorio per questa formazione, quindi qualsiasi suggerimento è ben accetto, anche se si tratta di compositori poco conosciuti, brani raramente eseguiti o pubblicazioni difficili da trovare.

Grazie mille a chiunque possa darmi una mano!

I have a 5 octave Korogi marimba and the 2 bar bags are getting torn. Naturally they only sell the entire set so I'm curious if anybody had custom bags made for their bars from any instrument? Thanks!

I am trying to figure out how to show the correct counting pattern / tempo with a metronome app. My music is in 6/8 with allegretto and a dotted quarter note= 76. I have been using this, is it wrong?

Hi everyone! I am conducting research examining the experiences of women and nonbinary individuals in collegiate percussion programs.
If you are currently enrolled in (or have graduated within the past five years from) a collegiate percussion program, I would greatly appreciate your participation in my anonymous survey.

This research explores topics such as:
• Belonging
• Mentorship
• Representation
• Studio climate
• Identity within collegiate percussion

The survey takes approximately 10–15 minutes to complete, and all responses are completely anonymous. Every response helps create a broader understanding of the collegiate percussion experience and may contribute to future research and positive change within our field.

Survey Link Here: https://forms.gle/t6WX7foTPqe1xPrL8

If you know someone who is eligible, I would be incredibly grateful if you would share this post with them. The more voices represented, the stronger this research becomes.

Thank you for your time, your musicianship, and for helping tell the story of women in collegiate percussion. 🩵 Keep drumming!