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Winter 2001 (9.4)
Page
13
Reader's Forum
Gavals,
Anyone?
![Stamp](../94_photos/94_433_gaval_stamp.jpg) I'm interested in knowing
if anyone in the U.S. imports gavals? I have a video of Glen
Valez, a well-known American drummer, who plays a frame drum
called gaval. He performs a unique finger style on it that sounds
incredible.
As you may know, there has been a large interest in hand-drumming
these past few years. It's a field that has grown greatly, and
there's a great deal of information on the Web. I'm a drummer,
but I had never heard of the gaval prior to this. I can't find
a single mention of it at any of the retail drum sites. It was
on your web site - AZER.com, that I discovered that it is played
in Azerbaijan. My ancestry is Irish, so I have a Celtic bodhran,
another type of frame drum, played with a stick.
Valez' gaval is made of fish skin, which I understand is becoming
rare but greatly effects the sound. I'm wondering if the fish
by any chance, is sturgeon? Clearly it is the knowledge accumulated
through generations about the subtleties of constructing these
drums that really makes them sing. I hope this art has not been
lost.
Mark Kielty
Taos (New Mexico)
markitty@laplaza.com
____
From Azerbaijan
International
(9.4) Winter 2001.
© Azerbaijan International 2002. All rights reserved.
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