Instrument Index

Daff is a generic word for a frame drum in Arabic, and local varieties may have different names like Mazhar in Syria/Egypt or Bendir in North Africa.

The daff has a circular wooden frame ranging from 12 inches in diameter for smaller instruments to 24 inches and more on larger (and bassier) instruments. The frame can be about 4 inches deep for small diameters, and 2-3 inches deep for larger diameters. The skin is traditionally goat, deer or another natural skin, and is permanently glued to the frame, while modern daff-s have plastic skin, and are tunable.

The daff is especially popular in Sufi music (where often it is the only instrument used to accompany singing), and is also use in classical, folk and pop genres to achieve a bigger rhythm section.

Explore other percussion instruments:

• The Riqq
• The Tabla
• The Tabl Baladi
• The Mazhar
• The Katim
• The Sagat