Tabla - Definition and Overview

Professional Tabla from Pakrashi

The tabla is the most popular percussion instrument used in North Indian Classical music. The tabla describes the pair of drums used in some varieties of Indian music, and for the melodic drum component of that pair. Tabla consists of a small wooden drum called sidda (tabla, dayan, or dahina) and a larger metal one called dagga (banya). The sidda is played with the fingers and palm of the right hand, while the dagga is played with fingers, palm and wrist of the left hand. The pair of tabla is positioned on two toroidal bundles called chutta, consisting of plant fiber wrapped in cloth.

Both drums of the tabla have an inner circle on the head composed of sandalwood or a tar like substance called 'tuning paste' (Shai or Shahi or Syahi, literally ink) which creates a different sound and decay than the other areas of the drum, allowing even more tone versatility. The Syahi also allows for the complex harmonics produced by this drum, which are exploited by expert players.

The drum played with the dominant hand is made of wood and is tuned to a specific note, thus contributing to and complementing the melody. The tuning range is limited although different dayans are produced in different sizes, each with a different range. For a given dayan, to achieve harmony with the soloist, it will usually be necessary to tune to either the tonic, dominant or subdominant of the soloist's key.

The other drum of the tabla is larger and made of metal (or sometimes clay, although this is now rare). It has a much deeper and sustained bass tone. In addition to the normal strike with the finger tips, the heel of the hand is used to apply pressure, or in a sliding motion so that the pitch is changed during the sound's decay. This creates an unusual and highly characteristic effect.

The tabla is a percussion instrument of the Khyal Indian classical music' style. Very similar percussion instruments of this construction can be seen in Indian Temple sculptures dating back thousands of years, although it is generally agreed that the present form was popularised in the 17th and 18th Centuries.

Famous players

• Ahmedjan Thirakwa

• Habibuddin Khan

• Keramatullah Khan

• Shaukat Hussain Khan

• Wajid Hussain

• Amir Hussain Khan

• Jnan Prakash Ghosh

• Feroz Khan

• Masit Khan

• Samta Prasad

• Anokelal Mishra

• Afaq Hussain

• Kanai Datta

• Shankar Ghosh

• Nikhil Ghosh

• Mahaparush Mishra

• Chatur Lal

• Ustad Alla Rakha

• Anindo Chatterjee

• Zakir Hussain

• Nayan Ghosh

• Swapan Chaudhari

• Tari Khan

• Shubhankar Banerjee

• Tanmoy Bose

• Bikram Ghosh

• Aneesh Pradhan

• Shafaat Ahmed Khan

• Akram Khan

See also

List of musical instruments

External links

• Video of a tabla player (http://www.taritabla.com/video/Jhaptal_in_Roopak.mpg)
• Resources for learning tabla (http://chandrakantha.com/tablasite/)
• Infomation on Tabla and Tabla-Players (http://www.tablaonline.com/)