Bravo, Bahareh Moghtadaei…!The riq is one of the staples of any traditional music ensemble from West Asia and the Middle East. It’s not exactly the same as a tambourine, but it’s a small, round frame drum like a tambourine, and has jingles, like a tambourine. Unlike a tambourine, a riq usually has ten pairs of jingles, set in five pairs. Also, while a musician holds a tambourine in the dominant hand to make it easy to shake, hitting its head the alternate hand, a riq player holds the instrument with its head facing forward and uses fingertips of both hands to hit the head, striking the jingles with the hand holding the drum. While hand drums such the daf or tar may hold down the beat in Arabic music, forming a rhythmic anchor, the riq is often a showboat. Its players lead the way, transforming rhythm into melody. Watch this video of Bahareh Moghtadaei playing the riq and you’ll see what I mean.
