General Knowledge On Tabla Drums

One of the most popular percussion instruments in the rich musical culture of South Asia is the tabla. It originated as far as 300 years ago. Its name came from the Arabic word tabl meaning drum. It is said to be a mixture of characteristics of pre-existing drums such as dholak, naqqara, and pakhawa but its exact history is still unclear. This instrument is commonly used in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The original version of the instrument is just the dayan, which is Hindi for the word right. It is the smaller, wooden drum played with the right hand. The modern version now includes the bayan, which is translated as left, the larger drum played with the left hand and is made of metal.

One of the main differences of both drums is the size but their parts are mostly the same. The head of the drums, called the puri, is made up of goat hide. An extra ring of hide is laid over the head as well as on the bottom of the drums. These rings hold the lacings, or tasma, on the side of the drums, which in turn control the tension and pitch of the drums through a number of wooden cylindrical blocks called ghatta. These are placed between the body and the lacings. There is a black circle in the middle of the drum heads called syahi made up of gum, soot and iron fillings. The syahi is located in the center of the head, but in bayan, it is a little bit off to the side.

The characteristic bell-like timbre of the drums is made possible by the syahi. The tuning is different for each drum. The dayan is tuned to the tonic note of the vocalist or the instruments accompanying it. It has the higher pitch between the two. The bass tone of the instrument is produced by the larger bayan. The bayan’s tune can be easily shifted with the position and pressure of the left wrist on the syahi. Thus it is not in monotone as in most percussion instruments and can cover a whole scale and also produce sliding notes.

Learning how to play the tabla can be challenging to some since the principles are a little different from the Western styles of music. The beats are conceptualized through mnemonic syllables called bol. To be able to play well, one has to understand how the basic Indian rhythm is conceptualized.

Tabla can cover both melodic and rhythmic concepts in the Indian system. However, as in most percussion instruments, it is in the rhythm that it is mostly focused on. Just as the Western style has the beat, measure and cycle, so does the Indian style. The only main difference is that the latter focuses more on the cycle unlike the former which focuses on the measure and the beat. Timekeeping when playing the tabla is based on claps and waves. These claps and waves basically describe the measure of Indian music. It is important in the conceptualization and execution of the whole song as the other instruments also follow this rhythm as a guide. Thus the player can play in different syllables as long as the cycle remains constant.

As an instrument, table is rich and exotic and can provide both rhythm and melody. It is a great accompanying instrument that can stand on its own. Learning it may not be an easy task but with time and dedication plus a good understanding of Indian musical concepts, the results are very satisfying.

If you want to listen and feel the beat of ethnic musical instruments, you shuold try tabla drums. It has a distinct sound that creates music to hear. Or you may want to try left handed sitar.