How the bendir makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the bendir belongs to the struck drums: a stretched membrane (drumhead) is struck with hands or beaters.
More broadly it is one of the membranophones (drums), where sound comes from a vibrating stretched membrane.
Press play above and watch the spectrum: the evenly spaced peaks are harmonics, and their relative strength is what gives the instrument its character.
From Wikipedia
The bendir (Arabic: بندير, bindīr; pl.: بنادير, binādīr) is a wooden-framed frame drum of North Africa and Southwest Asia.
The bendir is a traditional instrument that is played throughout North Africa, as well as in Sufi ceremonies; it was played, too, in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. In Turkish, the word bendir means "a big hand frame drum".
Other struck drums
Frequently asked questions
What does a bendir sound like?
As one of the struck drums, its sound comes from the way a stretched membrane (drumhead) is struck with hands or beaters.
What type of instrument is the bendir?
It is classified as struck drums (Hornbostel–Sachs 211.3).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q816793 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Bendir – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by No machine-readable author provided. Catrin assumed (based on copyright claims). – CC BY-SA 3.0