Quality Persian Tombak by Shirani

Features of Persian Tombak

• Body made of Walnut
• Head made of Camel Skin
• Diameter: 22-25 cm
• Height: 39-42 cm
• Persian Tombak comes with Soft Case

Persian Tombak

The rhythm of Persian traditional music is set by Persian drums. Tombak is one of these drums. Tombak is a percussion instrument under the membranophone family. Although it is a traditional instrument of classical and folkloric Iranian music it also finds ground in modern fusion music. Persian Tombak is a goblet-shaped, wooden drum with a richer sound compared to the frame drums. Unlike other goblet drums, it has a much more squared shape. They are mostly used in folk and entertainment music. The drum is made from a single block of walnut, ash, or mulberry wood. The skin stretched on the top may be goatskin, camel skin, calfskin, etc. Besides their quality, the ornaments on our Persian Tombak are also attractive and reflect Persian culture.

Unlike other drums, this goblet drum is played by using all the fingers. That technique makes Tombak one of the most interesting traditional drums in the world. Persian musical tradition is a way of expressing joy, sorrow, struggles, and love. In short, everything that is about life and Tombak is one the best instruments to express these feelings in musical form.

Like all other ethnic instruments, the size of them varies according to the preferences of the musicians. Large tombak is approximately 30 cm in diameter and 46 cm in length. There are several types of Persian Tombak and 5 of them are preferred mostly by modern Persian musicians.

Persian tombak instrument was not very popular till the twentieth century. It was considered even as a low profile instrument and was only used to accompany melodic instruments and singers till the late 1800s but became very popular gradually in the mid's 1900s and started to appear for solo performances as it gained more popularity. Today it is the most popular percussion instrument in Iran.