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The fast fingers of a street darbuka busker have all the bypassers in awe
He played a traditional Italian drum so quickly that everyone had to stop and stare!
Safet Satara
10.27.20

Darbuka is a type of drum with a goblet-shaped body.

In fact, its most popular name is the goblet drum. People also call it the chalice drum, tarabuka, tabla or zerbaghali. Whatever you call it, don’t be deceived by its simple shape. Playing darbuka is a lot more than it meets the eye or the ear. An Italian street busker will show you what exactly do we mean by that.

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An Italian man, fascinated by this street darbuka player, uploaded the performance which he filmed in Via del Corso, Rome.

Finding out the name of the darbuka player, whose talent is breathtaking, was a bit more difficult—but we managed to discover that he’s actually from Romania and he’s called Raul Florin.

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Unfortunately, Raul is not on social media—instead, he travels around freely and impresses people with his skills.

There are plenty of videos of him though, and they are usually taken by people who can’t believe their eyes. Luckily, there’s always someone in the crowd to capture the perfect moment. He’s basically a one-man band!

Raul’s playing is so good and so intense that we thought he must have some accompaniment with him. It sure sounds that way, as if someone was playing beside him. The guy is blessing everyone with his percussive abilities, and it’s clear that he’s playing it for his amusement. That’s what we love the most about the video—he’s having the time of his life, and it’s contagious!

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As we said, most of the rhythm patterns he plays are usually played by two or more players.

It’s not easy at all to get this rich, articulate and sonorous sound all on your own. Our hats are off to himthis is linear drumming at its finest, and it must have taken years to master the practice. Because Raul is such a fast player, a couple of times it seemed that we could hear the sound before his fingers have even hit the drum. Look closely, we bet you’ll feel the same. What a remarkable way to entertain the audience!

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All that was missing was a belly dancer.

If there was someone there to shake it to the beat, the party would be complete… though of course, there is a crowd of amazed people around Flores and some aren’t even blinking, even if no one’s dancing.

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Dancing would go hand in hand with the kind of music he plays.

We would have loved to be there to see his finger movements from closer view. In fact, if we could actually see his drumming in slow motion, we might actually be able to follow it!

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Hector Berlioz wrote a first known Western classical composition to feature a darbuka.

His opera Les Troyens, written around the middle of the 19th century, calls for a darbuka in Act IV. Today, the instrument is mostly used in parts of the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and Eastern Europe. There are several techniques to play it at weddings or other ceremonies, and it sure has a very captivating sound. We hope that this young man will use these drumming skills to fulfill his dreams—Raul Florin could easily be a famous name!

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Thanks to Paul for this impressive performance! Be sure to watch the whole thing in the link below:

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