Product Details

• Actors: Todd Roach, Ben James
• Directors: Todd Roach, Ben James
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Interworld
• VHS Release Date: December 1, 2001
• Run Time: 58 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00018XONQ
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #642,055 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From Chas Whitaker's website http://www.arabicdrum.co.uk/, January 27, 2005

By 

Nicole J. Laws-Carroll (Champaign, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Quick Guide to Playing Doumbek (English/Spanish/Japanese) (DVD)

This is from Chas's Arabic Drum Website. I would have ordered from him, but he is in the UK and didn't have the DVD.

Todd comes from the States and this is a relatively new product and I don' know too much about him but I have to say he sports a fantastic "meaty" goatee ! Oh - and his playing is pretty good too. Anyway the video is quite a departure from the usual format with ideas that work well and some not so. It starts with an introduction of Todd playing Doumbek and mixes in " interview " style footage of him chatting about playing. This feels a little strange at first but his comments are thoughtful and useful - he also puts the drum into geographical context too - which is good to see. Todd is left handed and so avoids using left and right as terms which is also good to see and for us " righties " the mirror image of his playing is easy to copy. He adopts the sitting style and talks us through holding positions before moving on to the sounds. Todd uses DUN, TA and KA for the sounds and starts with Dun and gives good basic exercises ideal for the complete beginner. Then on to Ta and Ka - both styles are very loose playing styles a bit different from other video teaching styles and introduces useful Ta Ka triplet exercises. Next he talks about "doubling up" the exercises to a steady beat which I was pleased to see as I personally feel this is crucial for learning to play Dumbek at all speeds CLEARLY. Then he introduces BALADI in basic form then with some Ka fills and also vocalizes the rhythm - again crucial , in my opinion, to learn things effectively and he further fills out the rhythm but vocalizing first. This is touching on the stuff Intermediate players need and is good to see. Todd also has the great addition of a melody player to play along with - in this case a Ney player and together they play with the BALADI rhythm and he plays fast and with lots of fills and improvising. The next rhythm is a 6/8 which again is unusual for teaching videos and again there is a good basic approach to counting and feeling 3's and 6's to a beat. The rhythm appears complex at first and he breaks it all down and puts it together again with fills and gives another demonstration with the Ney. On to the SLAP and here it gets a bit controversial - his technique is unlike any other I have seen - using ring and middle fingers flat on the skin somewhere between Dun and Tac. It sounds OK when he plays it and he is using a clay/fishskin Darabuka to demonstrate and perhaps it works better on these than the metal type but he does use it on these later on. In my opinion it is an awkward style and doesn't give the same results as the more conventional " cupped " center-of-drum SLAP most players use - I would urge beginners to seek out the conventional style too. Still he shows us some exercises for it and how to put it in MAKSOUM. The next section I thought was an interesting idea which didn't work for me - he is joined by a student of his and they have a little one to one lesson acting as a review of what's happened so far. Maybe beginners would feel comfortable watching another student having a little lesson but I found it uninvolving after a couple of viewings and it gets fast forwarded now. They play BALADI together - which will be good for beginners to play along to. Things get back on track with MALFUF and a comprehensive study of why it's a 3,3,2 rhythm, which Todd expands with lots of variations and doubling up and playing all this together with his student - a good demonstration on how to turn one pattern into a complex repertoire for two players. Todd then plays a selection of these alone with the Ney player. Finally we have another " interview " section with conclusion advice and reflections and a last demo of various rhythms with the Ney - look out for the first 10 beat rhythm.



This is a fine video - well thought out and presented and very good for the absolute beginner on to Intermediate. At 60 mins it comes as a surprise when it finishes - it feels too short - this is mainly because Todd is meticulous in pacing this with the beginner in mind and his delivery is calm and unhurried. Exercises take up a lot of time which is great as every beginner must start slowly and take small steps if they ever want to sound good and steady. The interviews/reflections, student lesson and Ney playing all take up time which is fine but it means not a great deal has been covered in total compared to other videos, what has, has been done well and in depth. Production and sound are very good and apparently there is an " Internet component offering notation and special tips to enhance your use of the video " which I haven't checked out yet as I can't find it !! Any help ?

Ideal for BEGS/ INT.
Overall - 8/10

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for those looking for an introduction, January 17, 2011

By 

Isis "Isis" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Quick Guide to Playing Doumbek (English/Spanish/Japanese) (DVD)

This DVD would be useful for those who are looking for an introduction to doumbek from a Western standpoint. If you are not trained in music, it might be difficult to pick up tabla and start playing it without any background, regardless of the presentation of material (be it from a Western music standpoint or otherwise). Todd breaks down the rhythms into a Western understanding, and does count them out, which is very helpful. There also are points when the camera focuses on his foot while Todd counts out the beats, to further illustrate what he is referring to when he says downbeats. The interviews and performances interspersed throughout the DVD can be a bit jarring, as it prevents one from being able to practice all the way through, however both contain good information, insight, and music that I cannot say they lessen the value of the DVD, just the flow.

Other reviewers have mentioned that Todd plays differently or incorrectly. After watching a few different DVDs on doumbek, I think these differences can be attributed to Todd's being left handed and needing to modify certain aspects and play within his own range of comfort. For example, I would prefer to play left hand dominant rather than right hand (despite being mostly right handed), and notice that I must make adjustments to the technique used to achieve the sound if I switch dominant hands. However, I must agree that the slap sound he demonstrates does not match what can be heard and seen in most other videos, so do not use his version.

What is most important is the insight and how he personalizes the journey. The advice he offers of one needing to verbalize the rhythm in order to play it, is a gem. As a trained musician in Western music, one of the lessons I had to learn was that singing the rhythm (rather than sitting down and attempting it), helps solidify your understanding of how the notes fit together with the spaces. For me, it internalizes the rhythm. Todd further goes on to say that one must be able to verbalize the rhythm at the desired tempo. n addition, his explanation of the rhythm accuracy exercise illustrates how to do it properly and why it is important. Overall, I would suggest this DVD for someone who is interested in learning doumbek, and is a beginner.

Chapters:
Dun Tone
Dune Exercise
Ta/Ka Tones
Ta/Ka Exercise
Developing Rhythm Accuracy
Baladi Rhythm
Baladi Performance
6/8 Rhythm
6/8 Performance
Slap Tone
Slap Exercise
Maksoum Rhythm
Quick Review
3/3/2 Rhythm
3/3/2 Performance
Conclusion

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Introduction to the Doumbek, November 8, 2006

By 

AJ "Never believe in anything until it has be... (Midwest USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Quick Guide to Playing Doumbek (English/Spanish/Japanese) (DVD)

I really like this guide a lot. Todd makes it easy for you to start learning the various techniques that will help you develop your own style. He's pretty good too. I don't like all the insanely fast rhythms I've heard from other artists. Todd breaks it down slow and works his way into nicer complex beats that you will feel as well as follow along with.