Live · Online · Weekly

Online Darbuka Lessons

Live group classes in darbuka — the goblet drum at the rhythmic heart of Middle Eastern music — with students from twenty-five countries. Yshai Afterman has been teaching percussion online since 2010, sixteen years of online teaching.

“Online darbuka lessons” here doesn't mean occasional tips or isolated classes. It refers to a structured, long-term process: a comprehensive method for building the language of rhythm itself — layer by layer, over months — guided through weekly live sessions with a small, dedicated group of students from around the world.

The Approach

A structured, comprehensive method

The Conservatory's darbuka program is a complete arc — from foundations to musicianship. The curriculum unfolds layer by layer; every concept builds on the previous one, no step skipped.

Students develop through a body of original compositions written specifically for this method — the repertoire is the curriculum, the way real musicians learn music.

Live, weekly, ninety minutes on Zoom. Every lesson is fully recorded with notation PDFs and demonstration videos. Every two weeks, each student can submit a video for personal feedback from Yshai.

The Architecture

Three pillars. One crown.

The method rests on three pillars — Time, Language, and Expression — that together form a complete musical understanding. Every lesson, every composition, every exercise builds one or more of these.

I Time

Knowing the rhythmic cycle intimately. The more deeply you inhabit a groove, the more freely you play inside it.

II Language

Technique, grouping, phrasing, composition — not patterns to copy, but tools to create with.

III Expression

Tension and release, dynamics, phrasing — the branches that make playing alive rather than correct.

The Curriculum

What you study

Hand technique

Basic strokes, split-hand technique, triplet rolls, and the techniques built on these.

Rhythmic cycles & time

Learning to feel at home in any time signature, any groove — from familiar 4/4 to asymmetric Turkish and Mediterranean cycles.

Traditional repertoire

Rhythms from Turkish, Arabic, and Mediterranean traditions, plus original compositions written over them — the way real musicians learn music.

Phrasing & language

Not patterns to copy, but a vocabulary to think in. The drum becomes an extension of how you hear and speak musically.

Improvisation & ornamentation

The independence to make music genuinely your own — to invent, decorate, and respond inside any musical setting.

Sound, time, & expression

The deeper relationship between technique and feeling — the difference between playing correctly and playing alive.

90 min

Live on Zoom, Weekly

A full structured immersion every week — technique, repertoire, and musicianship, with dedicated time for questions.

300+

Original Compositions

Solos, exercises, and compositions written specifically for this method — building on each other across levels.

1,700+

Lessons Taught

Seven years of teaching this method to successive cohorts of students — the depth that only repeated teaching produces.

1 : 1

Private Feedback

Every two weeks, submit a video for personal feedback from Yshai — staying close to your evolution, even in a group.

Conservatory students gathered together at the annual in-person seminar

More than lessons

You join a community, not a course

Studying darbuka here means more than a weekly class. You become part of a worldwide community of dedicated students — from twenty-five countries and counting — with a calendar of shared events that runs alongside the regular curriculum, and a private Community Portal where every lesson is archived with notation, demonstration videos, and progress tracking.

The Conservatory hosts an ongoing Masterclass Series with guest masters from the global percussion world (over the years we've welcomed Glen Velez, Zohar Fresco, Aleix Tobias, Pedram Khavarzamini, and others), and an annual in-person Seminar where students gather to play, eat, and learn side by side.

Weekly

Live group classes 90 minutes on Zoom, taught by Yshai

Monthly

Masterclass Series Guest masters from the global percussion world

Annual

In-person Seminar A week of music, meals, and shared practice

Inside the portal

Every lesson, archived. Every class, at your fingertips.

The Community Portal is the private hub where every student lives between sessions — recorded lessons with notation PDFs, a library of guest masterclasses, an interactive rhythm library and metronome for practice, and a calendar of upcoming events.

Events feed

A live calendar of upcoming masterclasses, open mic nights, and seminars — built into the portal.

The lesson player showing the video, notation, and lesson notes for a recorded session

Lesson library

Every recorded session with notation PDFs, demonstration videos, and lesson notes — organised by group and number.

The masterclass library grid with sessions from world-class guest teachers

Masterclass series

An archive of guest masterclasses with world-class teachers from across the global percussion world.

Practice room

An interactive rhythm library and metronome for practice between lessons — with a tool to build your own.

When I decided to deepen Middle East percussion — by far, Yshai is the best teacher I have ever had. He talks about the poetry of music and at the same time continuously crafts the tools of expression.
Giovanni Lo Cascio · Italy · Professional musician since 1981

Students

What students say

As a beginner of darbuka and an experienced conga player, I joined the Darbuka Group last year. Yshai creates a supportive, joyful, deeply enriching learning environment. His blend of traditional technique, cultural context, and personal warmth makes every lesson an exciting journey into the heart of music.

Edgar Weitzel · Germany · Darbuka

Once in a lifetime, you may study with a master. Yshai is that master. His teaching goes far beyond technique — it transforms the way you hear, think about, and relate to music.

Tamara Kolton · USA · Lapstyle & Upright Frame Drum

I started studying with Yshai years ago, when my knowledge of darbuka, frame drum and riqq were next to zero. His methods and compositions have allowed me to find my connection with these instruments like never before.

Eugene Toh · Singapore · Darbuka, Frame Drum & Riqq

Yshai's system is extremely well structured, and he recognises exactly what each individual student needs — whether you're a beginner or advanced. It really was the best decision I made.

Sybille Camenzind · Switzerland · Lapstyle & Darbuka

Students who arrive having studied elsewhere

Students who arrive having studied darbuka elsewhere often describe the same experience: that they are, in a real sense, starting again. Not because they hadn't worked hard — but because the depth, structure, and personal guidance here take them somewhere they didn't know they could go.

This isn't about technique alone. It's about understanding the rhythmic language itself, so that you can compose, improvise, and make the music genuinely your own.

Enrollment

$155 / month

Billed monthly · 3-month minimum · Refundable until August 15

Enroll for September 2026 →

Reduced-rate placements. The Conservatory is committed to making serious teaching accessible to dedicated students around the world. A small number of reduced-rate placements are therefore offered each cycle to those living in countries with significantly different economic conditions, or facing exceptional personal circumstances. These require a 6-month commitment instead of 3 and are decided case-by-case. If this applies to you, write to yafterman@gmail.com with your situation before enrolling.