Daf and Taraneh

The Daf and other skin-frame drums are believed to be some of the oldest percussion instrumentsin the world. Because of its wide geographic origins and diverse socio-cultural context there aremultiple variations of how the drum is used.Over the past decade Persian classical musicians have become interested in the mystical and folkgenres of Iranian music combining those traditions with classical Iranian music. The Daf hasserved to bring these distinct forms of music together. As such the spiritual cultural and ethnicqualities found in those non-classical traditions became authentically integrated into classical stylesof performance. This development also explains the Dafs more recent popularity among classicalIranian musicians. Additionally we know from photographs taken throughout the Qajar Dynastythat techniques and use during that time period also reflect different musical contexts such as forentertainment purposes in the royal courts.Unfortunately even though the Daf has become very popular there is a lack of solid resources andmaterials for students to learn to play it properly. Hence my goal and motivation in producingthese lessons has been to introduce methods that combine my 34 years of experience. The followinglessons are a compilation of all the notations I have written for my students over the past decades.It is not uncommon to pass along Daf instruction either through oral tradition from the heart or bycharting out lessons in Western notation. My personal experience has proven that both approachesbring a more comprehensive and holistic way to learning this instrument.During my years of teaching I have often deliberated about how to transmit the passion andmusicality of the Daf while teaching rhythms to students. Clearly in the early stages of learningthis instrument students will be more focused on securing the rhythms without having a deepersense of the music. But over time they will intuitively start to develop that musical understanding.In order to bridge that learning curve in the early lessons I teach how to chant and play rhythm atthe same time. Furthermore I teach how to apply the integration of these melodies and rhythmicpatterns to different songs.Essentially teaching traditional ballads along