Tabla

Tabla

Introduction

The instrument Tabla consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres. The term 'tabla is derived from an Arabicword, tabl, which simply means "drum." ^[1]


Playing technique involves extensive use of the fingers and palms in various configurations to create a wide variety of different sounds, reflected in the mnemonic syllables (bol). 


It was invented in India but still the history of this instrument is uncertain, and has been the subject of sometimes heated debate. Rebecca Stewart^[2] suggested it was most likely a hybrid resulting from the experiments with existing drums such as pakhawaj, dholak and naqqara. 

Nomenclature and construction

The smaller drum, played with the dominant hand, is sometimes called dayan (literally "right"), dāhina, siddha or chattū, but is correctly called the "tabla." It is made from a conical piece of mostly teak and rosewood hollowed out to approximately half of its total depth. The drum is tuned to a specific note, usually either the tonic, dominant or subdominant of the soloist's key and thus complements the melody. 

Tabla Notations

Hindustani Classical Music has two standard notation systems as Pt. Bhatkhande and Pt. Paluskar notation system. The same notation system is used for notating Tabla.

Gharānā — tabla tradition

The term gharānā is used to specify a lineage of teaching and repertoire in Indian classical music. Most performers and scholars recognize two styles of tabla gharana: Dilli Baj and Purbi Baj. Dilli (or Delhi) baj comes from the style that developed in Delhi, and Purbi (meaning eastern) baj developed in the area east of Delhi. Delhi Baj is also known as Chati baj (Chati is a part of Tabla from where special tone can be produced).

Jori / Jodi and Dhama Style Tabla

Next to the contemporary common style of tabla, there exist older styles in which the bayan (called Dhama or Dhamma) is often made out of wood. Instead of having a thin dry syahi, this style of tabla uses a wet wheat dough on the bass drum's skin. The dough is applied shortly before playing. These types of (Jori) tabla are used by Qawwali ensembles (notably Dildar Hussain), Sikh, Pakhawaj inspired Tabla Gharanas(Punjabi Dhrupad), Gurbani Kirtan and Afghan traditional folk music.


(Source Courtsey Wikipedia)