Central Asian Dap
The Central Asian dap is a round frame drum. It is used in a wide range of music, encompassing art music, folk music, dance music as well as celebratory music for life-cycle celebrations such as weddings.
The dap is known to have existed since at least the 7th century and is today found across Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Middle East in different forms. It is particularly associated with Sufism, a mystical practice within Islam. It is particularly prevalent in music from urban cultures such as in Azeri, Persian, Tajik, Uyghur or Uzbek musics, where it characterises different types of compositions through many distinct rhythmic patterns, often found in odd metres such as 5, 7, 9 beats as well as in more common metres.
The dap has a nutwood frame covered by animal hide, with metal jingles attached to its interior. Python skin is often seen used for the Uyghur version of the dap.
