Ethnic Instrumental Page

TABLA

My DUGGI / bayan (Left Hand) and TABLA / dayan (R H)

Click here and listen to the sound of tabla + duggi (bass drum). Its a very short MP3 - excerpt from Bob Becker's performance on the NEXUS' CD. In this contemporary music piece PALTA (1981), the tabla set is the solo instrument playing improvised variations on several rhythmic themes.

Click here and listen to an other small MP3- excerpt and enjoy the different sounds played on the tabla surface.

Note that the experience of tabla music needs a long entrance and can't be evoked by short samples.

click>TECHNIQUES

click>RECOMMANDED SOURCES

Compared to other musical cultures, the Indian music world has few (click >) ideophones, sets of tone bars laid across a frame and struck with mallets. The fine drumming techniques provide a rhythmical answer to the drone of the Indian tunes.

Originated from Northern India, the tabla is a pair of drums differing in shape, size and pitch. The tabla is played with the right hand, the left beats on the duggi. (Both drums about 25 centimeters high.) The base of the drum has a slightly larger diameter than the top. The tabla is made from a round block of sheesham wood, hollowed out from inside.The 'left hand' drum (bayan) is a hemispherical bowl shaped drum made of polished copper, brass, bronze, or clay. Like the dayan, a composite membrane covers the bayan's open end.

The body of the drum is formed by three layers of skin. The bottom skin stretches over the entire head, then a second layer with a circular cut-out, the third top skin having a cut-out of an even larger diameter than the middle skin, so that there is a thick treble layer of skin around the periphery only. The centre of the head is covered with a thin film of smooth blak paste mixed from mango powder, boiled rice and tamarind juice which lends the tabla the fine muted sound for the rhythmical accompaniment of the sitar (si= three; tar=string). The modern sitar has seven strings plucked with a plectrum worn on the index finger. The resonator of the sitar is made of wood or from a gourd cut in the direction of the kernels, the belly made of thin wood.

Tekiyans are used for supporting tabla and duggi to avoid movement. Gaddians (top cushions) are filled with cotton. The Hathorie is a small hammer made of brass and nickelplated and is used for tuning tabla and duggi. When a stoke is given from top downwards, the sound should be raised usable for the adjustment of upto 3 notes. Half note difference can be adjusted on top by hammer stroke given on the top ring hole points.

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SITTING POSITIONS For instance, bending both the legs inside together and putting tabla and duggi in front, or putting duggi on the joint of legs and tabla in front on the right side. TECHNIQUES To produce notes on tabla point are fixed on the top of tabla : KINAR (edge), KORE (white portion between the edge and the black circle ) and SIYAHI (black circle).   The sound produced by tabla or duggi by the stroke of fingers and hand in different ways is called boles. There are six boles (= words) on Tabla which are produced by the right hand fingers: TA or NA (on KINAR, by a stroke of Index Finger F1, RH), TEE (on KORE, by a stroke of F1, RH); The joint boles NA- NA is probably the most frequently recurring stroke. It has a clear ringing bell-like sound. TIN (on SIYAHI, by a stroke of F1 lifted as quickely as possible, RH); TE (on SIYAHI, by a combined stroke of F2 F3 F4) and TAY (on SIYAHI, by a stroke of tip of First Finger, keeping the other three fingers in half standing position). There are only two boles on the top of duggi: GE (by the left hand with the back portion of the palm resting on the white part of Duggi; light pressure of the arm; a quick stroke by the tips in bent position of F1 F2 F3; Fingers should not rest on the top). KE ( by a joint stroke four fingers LH on the black circle). When TA, NA, TEE and TIN are produced jointly with GE, they are called as follows: TA + GE = DA TEE+ GE = DEE TIN + GE = DIN. A MATRA (stroke) is taken as the shortest time in which a syllable can be pronounced. (1 second in medium speed) On every matra there are fixed boles. A pattern of boles is called THEKA( showed by + sign). Thekas of talas are e.g.: Tala dhamar; Tala ek tala. For example: Theka "Tal Teen" = Na Dee Dee Na / Na Dee Dee Na / Na Tee Tee Na / Na Dee Dee Na. The movement of this Theka follows the movement of a horse. The horse has a regulated step. In races too, the time between steps remains regular and uniform. This Theka is considered as the best beat because of the use of four Matras in each KHAND or bar. TALA Clapping hands is called TALA (e.g.: "Tala Dadra"; "Ek Tala"). The starting point of each Tala is called SAM (first beat). KHALI means a gap of some Matras played with your right hand (tabla). Duggi remeans silence. LAY The three types of LAY (= speed, or regular movement to complete a circle in a definite time) are: Madhya Lay (medium); Drut Lay (fast); Vilambit Lay (slow).

RECOMMANDED SOURCES

TABLA

VEERAN WALI BHAWAN, TABLA, for beginners (Vol.1) and Advanced (Vol.2) published by Pankaj Publications - Cambridge Book depot, 3, Regal Building, New Delhi. Revised print. Originally printed in 1977.

DAVID COURTNEY, Fundamentals of Tabla. 293 pp. Available via: http://www.amazon.com/

LINK: http://chandrakantha.com/articles/indian_music/tabla.html

INDIAN MUSIC

B.CHAITANYA DEVA, Musical Instruments of India. Available via: http://www.amazon.com/

David COURTNEY, MODES AND SCALES IN INDIAN MUSIC. Web page in: http://chandrakantha.com/articles/indian_music/swar.html

MP3 files of ACTUAL INDIAN CHARTS:

http://genres.mp3.com/music/world_folk/world_traditions/asian/indian/

Amjad Sabir has released interesting INSTRUCTIONAL DVDs about East Indian Music and especially about "Learn Tabla and Harmonium at Home". Titles and notes appear on the screen while following the instructions to learn these wonderful indian instruments. Click> http://www.sabirmusic.com/

 

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Graphical pics and examples from the Tabla Book 1&2 are only used for promoting the Pankaj Publications© without commercial purpose. The short sound extracts on thispage from CD NEXUS Canadian Broadcasting Corporation © 1990, are only used for educational use without commercial purpose.

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Thanks to Eugène Sciarone (Eindhoven, NL) who flied to Calcutta in the early eighties: he came back with an original tabla set for me, guide and music included.