''Kudüm'' is one of the most fundamental rhythm instruments in classical Turkish music. The person playing it is called ''kudümzen''. It is grouped with the

ney The ney ( ; ) is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in traditional Persian, Turkish, Jewish, Arab, and Egyptian music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. The ney has been played for over 4,500 ye ...

, rebap, and halile as one of the four main instruments in

Mevlevi The Mevlevi Order or Mawlawiyya (; ) is a Sufi order that originated in Konya, Turkey (formerly capital of the Sultanate of Rum) and which was founded by the followers of Jalaluddin Muhammad Balkhi Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet, Sufi ...

music. It consists of a pair of small, hemispherical drums. Traditionally ''kudüm'' was played in religious ceremonies; in a secular context, like in ''

mehter Ottoman military bands were the first-recorded military marching bands. Though often known as the ''mehter'', this term refers only to a single musician in the band. In the Ottoman Empire, the band was generally known in the plural as ''mehterâ ...

'' music, its slightly bigger cousin nakkare is played. The drums are some 28–30 cm. in diameter and about 16 cm high, growing narrower toward the bottom like a half-sphere. They are made of beaten copper, and resemble two bowls, one larger than the other. The difference in the thickness of the skin in the two bowls create a difference in pitch: the high-pitched drum (''tek'') is placed on the left, the other (''düm'') on the right. The tek, with its thinner skin, is slightly smaller than the ''düm''. The tension in the skin can be adjusted to tune the instrument according to the

makam Maqam, makam, maqaam or maqām (plural maqāmāt) may refer to: Musical structures * Arabic maqam, melodic modes in traditional Arabic music ** Iraqi maqam, a genre of Arabic maqam music found in Iraq * Persian maqam, a notion in Persian class ...

of the music being played. Camel's skin is usually preferred, although sometimes cattle or

llama The llama (; or ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with ...

is also used. The drums are placed on two leather links filled with cotton to prevent them from slipping and to avoid direct contact with the floor to get the right sound. The kudüm is played with two wooden sticks made of soft wood known as ''zahme''. The metal body of the ''kudüm'' is generally covered with leather to prevent it giving off a tinny sound. Historically, the kudüm was played and developed by the

s in religious ceremonies. In fact, it was not until the 20th century that the instrument was used in mainstream Turkish classical music. It was used in a nonreligious setting for the first time in 1947 in a concert organized by the Üsküdar Musical Association. In 1957, the first radio performance was performed by Kudümzen Hurşit Ungay. Cafer Açın was an instrument maker who made important changes in the making of the instrument in the latter half of the 20th century.

Sadettin Heper Sadettin Heper (1899–1980) was a composer of Turkish music considered as an important link to the world of Turkish Mevlevi music before the foundation of the Turkish Republic in 1923.

is also an important composer whose music involved the instrument.

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Turkish instruments and pictures including a picture of a kudum

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kudum Drums Asian percussion instruments Turkish musical instruments Turkish words and phrases Instruments of Ottoman classical music Instruments of Turkish makam music

See also

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