[7] The sounds produced are normally quick and muted and thanks to the flexibility of the strips, one could employ dampening, roll, or open stroke patterns upon its surface.

[5] These include playing rhythmic patterns for the dabakan not on the surface of the drumhead but on the sides of the shell and even at the edges of the drum's mouth.

[5] In wooden kulintang ensembles, the takemba, a bamboo zither of the Manobo, is usually substituted for the dabakan part.

[4] During older times, the bigger, longer double-headed dabakan,[5] known as a dadabooan,[2] would be hung horizontally in the mosque (See Kendang, for smaller version of this drum).

An imam (spiritual leader) would hit the drum repeatedly announcing the beginning of prayer time throughout the outlying areas.

Also called a dbakan,[2] debakan (Maguindanao),[9] dadabuan,[3] dadaboon (Maranao),[2] libbit (Tausug), tibubu (Poso) and a tiwal (Kulawi and Minahasa).