Riq

The riq is one of the most important instruments of Turkey and the Arab countries. Besides its skin or plastic head, it has small brass cymbals set around the frame, so it can make a great variety of sounds. A right-handed player holds it upright in the left hand, between the thumb and index finger, plays the cymbals with the middle finger of the left hand, and the bass with the index finger of the right. The difficulty at first is holding the instrument in one hand while playing with the middle finger of the same hand.