Willowe Starling

Willowe Starling has been drumming for 18 years (about as long as she's been coming to Starwood). She has been a student of doumbek master Raquy Danziger for the past three years, and regularly attends her New York retreats. In March of 2011, Willowe traveled to Istanbul, Turkey to study with Raquy and her teacher Bunyamin Olguncan, as well as some of the best doumbek players in the world. She's been honored to perform with Raquy as one of "The Cavegirls", both at Starwood and in Cleveland, and is currently working on her own musical project, as well as offering private lessons.

Intermediate/Advanced Doumbek Technique

So you're ready to take your playing to the next level? Willowe will show you how to make even more exciting sounds on the doumbek, with techniques such as snaps, flams, sliding pops, box hits, finger rolls, and the awesome split-hand technique. In addition to learning these techniques, we will also practice incorporating them into some of the rhythms learned in the first workshop.

Intro to Doumbek and Middle Eastern Rhythms

In this workshop, Willowe will introduce the basic hits on the doumbek and teach some of the popular traditional Middle Eastern rhythms. We will also cover transitioning smoothly between rhythms and playing for belly dancers.