www.kawakib.com

RIQ - the Arabic Tambourine

Rhythms, Pattern, and Riffs

(Also see Jas' Mid-east Drum History for more information on the Riq)

|

Glossary or List of Abbreviations for strokes (R-handed players)
Note, this page should be viewed in a fixed-width font.

c: cha - palm hit on rim
ct(s): count(s)
d: doum
l: 3rd* Left jingle stroke**
r: right jingle stroke
rr: 3rd,2nd Right fingers
rrr: 3rd,2nd,1st Right fingers
s: slap
t: tek (Right rim stroke)

*fingers are counted 1,2,3,4 from index to pinkie on each hand.
**this would be "kah" on a doumbek
or tar.

NOTES:
-Accents are CAPITAL letters

-Jingle Rolls: rrrl (usually takes 1/2 of a beat; & lrrl takes about 3/4 of a beat.)
"rrrl" doesn't fit into the count with fixed-width fonts, so there's a space in the text of rrrl that's not there in the sound. I underlined them to remind you to connect them when you play.in reality.

(Rhythm patterns are best viewed in fixed-width font like Courier)
These were the first ones I learned (from Layne Redmond's tape), and are still favorites.
1.
count:1 a + a 2 a + a 3 a + a 4 a + a
------D - T - rr rl - T - rr rl - t -

2.
count:1 a + a 2 a + a 3 a + a 4 a + a
------D - rr rl - t - k - t - rr rl -

I like to do three measures of #1, then one of #2; also like alternating the two patterns
to make an 8-ct. pattern.

Here's one I came up with:
3.
count:1 a + a 2 a + a 3 a + a 4 a + a
------D r l T l d r l D r l C l C l C

It's also fun to substitute rrrl (for "r l") right after the accented doums.

Here's another good one from Layne:
4.
count:1 a + a 2 a + a 3 a + a 4 a + a
------D S l t l S l t (repeat here or use the 1st or 2nd half of #3)
OR----D r l S l t S l (my variation of one of her patterns)

Here's a couple of "jingle drills" good for practising the two different rolls
(I italicised the rolls so you can see them better):
5.
count:1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
------D r l D lrrlt l
6.
count:1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
------D rrrlt rrrlt l

I think I heard something like this on Ramzy's "Rhythm of the Nile":
7.
count:1 a + a 2 a + a 3 a + a 4 a + a
or: 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 1 2 (3-3-3-3-2-2)
------D r l D r l D r l D r l T - T -

This one of Layne's sounds a lot different from the others because of the pauses & accents:
8.
count:1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 +
------D rrrl T - l D rrrl T - l t l t l

This is a shorter one of Layne's, but it takes four measures to do the 'set'.
9.
count:1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
------D - l D - l t l (do that three times, then:)
------D - rr rl - T -

CONTACT | HOME