Tabla: Anyone play it?

Muffled Tom

Muffled Tom

Senior Member
Can anyone on here play the tabla (Indian percussion instrument)? I find it fascinating, and I think it sounds awesome in Ravi Shankar's music and with George Harisson's Indian songs (Within You Without You, Love You To).

I hear it's a VERY difficult instrument to play, and Youtube tutorials confirm this. Even the basics seem complicated to me. But it has a very interesting sound, build, and playing technique to it.

PS: This one's for you Aydee.. ;)
 
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Muffled Tom said:
PS: This one's for you Aydee.. ;)
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Its difficult in that it has a different set of rules.

Different parts of the drums & the manner in which you strike them creates different voices which really are like the notes on a piano and one needs to learn to evoke a combination of those notes to create a rhythmic pattern.

Have said this, I'm no expert. I dabble but thats it.( Deathmetalconga & Crigger play it, I believe ).

My funny tabla story is when years ago another great drummer, Paul Jones took me over to Mr. Max Roach's house in CT one afternoon. I was an awestruck kid, in 7th heaven that I get to actually hang with the great Mr. Roach himself in the flesh.

When Mr. Legend discovered that I was was a drummer too AND part-Indian, his face lit up and excitedly he dragged us to his cavernous basement, which besides housing about 15 Ludwig drumsets, had every percussion instrument ever known to mankind.

He dived into this maze & emerged, all dusty & grinning........with a pair of tablas!

" Hey, you can play these, right ? " he said looking at me with great expectation.

His face fell when I told him I did'nt, and I was primarily a drumset player. Once he got over his disappointment, I did manage to chew his brains about stuff, and even got him to show me his hi hat solo!

P.S. : check out Zakir Hussain. He's the Buddy Rich of Tabla. Also Talvin Singh whos doing some funky stuff with it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfsGUvxrx48
 
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Hi Aydee - what a great story! So you grew up in the East coast? Cool!

I was WAY into indian music and got some tablas.. then found out it was far more difficult than piano (times 10 really!). Nasty bidness really - but I do recommend that all get into the music - there is a lot to learn. The South Indian rhythm system is very interesting and useful if you are playing in meters other than 4/4.
Trilok is my hero with this stuff - Great cat and superb musician!
 
billy ward said:
Hi Aydee - what a great story! So you grew up in the East coast? Cool!

I was WAY into indian music and got some tablas.. then found out it was far more difficult than piano (times 10 really!). Nasty bidness really - but I do recommend that all get into the music - there is a lot to learn. The South Indian rhythm system is very interesting and useful if you are playing in meters other than 4/4.
Trilok is my hero with this stuff - Great cat and superb musician!
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Hi there, Billy!

I'm told once you get past the fear factor, its all beautiful from there on ; ).

The problem with learning the tablas is that you need a good teacher ( specially since there is no real notation, or work books etc. ), and the good tabla teachers are notoriously bad communicators in English. This need gap has created a bevy of 'pretenders' who are out there, scamming the serious learner.

However, a basic understanding of Indian rhythm, I find, does open up some new doors for drumset players.

I think the cool deal for drumset players, instead of studying the tabla,( which does require a certain degree of commitment before you can get comfortable enough to play it reasonably well) , is to imbibe the principles, and then apply them to the drum kit. Kinda like the the way Clave and some African music crept onto the drumset

Steve Smith swears by his new 'Indian' learning, and do check out an Indian drum set player, Ranjit Barot applying some of the Indian rhythmic principles to the drum set. I think you'll enjoy him.( an interesting interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfsGUvxrx48)

Trilok is of course the zen master of all that I'm talking about here..... Hysterically funny guy too.
 
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i wouldnt exactly recommend someone to first listen to zakir hussain. He tends to be much more for "show" and really just sqeeuze in as many notes as possible. to really hear true technique, check out afaq hussain kahn to be impressed.
 
bberg said:
i wouldnt exactly recommend someone to first listen to zakir hussain.
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I would.

Zakir is the epitome of tabla. The mountain peak. He has redefined the instrument as all great practitoners of the music arts must do to be held in the highest esteem by peers and listeners alike.

His father AR Khan was considered the master till Zakir showed up absolutely blew the world away.. much as Buddy Rich did.

Till Zakir, the tabla was an accompanying instrument. He was the first to bring it up front. Make it a solo thing as well...kinda like Buddy

Like Buddy, Zakir is quite of a showman too. Not a crime if you can hold up your business end.

My suggestion for Muff to listen to Zakir isnt so that he can learn from it in carefully measured spoonfuls, but rather he experience what virtuosity & magic the instrument is capable of. And nobody pushes the envelope quite like Zakir.....

.. kinda like Buddy : )
 
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I recently picked up a set (there is a post about it somewhere around here) and got a book and dvd to start learning some strokes. Right now I am practicing 3 and can see it is going to take a long time. Definitely need a teacher. Even the tuning is very difficult.

I'm just playing around right now because I'm just a drum student and my progress is pretty slow. I am learning jazz and there are some people who use tabla for jazz.
 
OldHippy said:
I recently picked up a set (there is a post about it somewhere around here) and got a book and dvd to start learning some strokes. Right now I am practicing 3 and can see it is going to take a long time. Definitely need a teacher. Even the tuning is very difficult.

I'm just playing around right now because I'm just a drum student and my progress is pretty slow. I am learning jazz and there are some people who use tabla for jazz.
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Tabla in jazz? Now I'm intrigued.
 
I tried for a while, but decided I would need an extra lifetime to do the instrument justice. I'm thinking of getting back in to it. Playing (or attempting to play) the instrument is fun. I had a pretty good teacher who taught in a class settings. Each summer while I was studying Zakir Hussain flew up to Seattle to teach a big group class for a week. Zakir is a sweet guy with perfect English and an impish sense of humor.I can't think of a better teacher. I still have the vhs tapes of those lessons. He taught us some very hip tihais (phrases that repeat 3 times and end on the one). At the time I could play them at about one quarter the speed of the master. One big stumbling block for me was to recite the rhythmic compositions. Each tabla sound has a syllable or bol. The notes just go by too fast for me to say them with any kind of clarity. Plus, my basic na sound wasn't very good. Na is the high sound the tabla (smaller of the two drums) makes when you strike it with your index finger.

Man, just writing this makes me want to pull those things out.

For a good jazz/indian fusion cd, try Bagram by Charles Lloyd, Zakir Hussain and Eric Harland.

BTW, Zakir's father was Alla Raka.
 
Muffled Tom said:
Can anyone on here play the tabla (Indian percussion instrument)? I find it fascinating, and I think it sounds awesome in Ravi Shankar's music and with George Harisson's Indian songs (Within You Without You, Love You To).

I hear it's a VERY difficult instrument to play, and Youtube tutorials confirm this. Even the basics seem complicated to me. But it has a very interesting sound, build, and playing technique to it.

PS: This one's for you Aydee.. ;)
Click to expand...

I have been trying the tablas for almost 10 years. Yes, they are the hardest solo hand percussion instrument on the planet - but incredibly expressive.

Learning the bols is crucial - they are the spoken form of the tabla (small drum) and bayan (large drum). Traditionally, kids in India who apprentice in tablas must memorize thousands of bol combinations before they're even allowed to touch drums. The nice thing about memorizing bols is they really do help you internalize and express the rhythms and melodies of the tablas. You can listen to bol recitations while driving around even.

I don't know where you live, but sitarists are usually in short supply. Try to find a sitarist or (more rarely) someone who plays the vina (bowed three-stringed sitar-like instrument) or surbarhar (bass sitar). Playing with other instruments from Indian classical music will force you to improve and add enjoyment.

I'm going to check out the Youtube tutorials. I've just been learning out of books and play-along tapes.
 
Deathmetalconga said:
I have been trying the tablas for almost 10 years. Yes, they are the hardest solo hand percussion instrument on the planet - but incredibly expressive.

Learning the bols is crucial - they are the spoken form of the tabla (small drum) and bayan (large drum). Traditionally, kids in India who apprentice in tablas must memorize thousands of bol combinations before they're even allowed to touch drums. The nice thing about memorizing bols is they really do help you internalize and express the rhythms and melodies of the tablas. You can listen to bol recitations while driving around even.

I don't know where you live, but sitarists are usually in short supply. Try to find a sitarist or (more rarely) someone who plays the vina (bowed three-stringed sitar-like instrument) or surbarhar (bass sitar). Playing with other instruments from Indian classical music will force you to improve and add enjoyment.

I'm going to check out the Youtube tutorials. I've just been learning out of books and play-along tapes.
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http://www.youtube.com/user/vtallapragada

I have no idea how good this guy is, and if his lessons have credibility, but I guess you, if anyone, can tell us!
 
aydee said:
P.S. : check out Zakir Hussain. He's the Buddy Rich of Tabla. Also Talvin Singh whos doing some funky stuff with it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfsGUvxrx48
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I also played it a bit (playing it for real is just out of the question).
I agree with aydee... Hussain is definitely a Master. I don't like Talvin Singh so much though. Trilok Gurtu has nice fusion things, specially in the early records, when he didn't get so poppy.
 
Muffled Tom said:
Tabla in jazz? Now I'm intrigued.
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Oh YEAH, man! Check out Miles Davis' "Big Fun" or especially "On the Corner" records. Tabla and sitar. I know a lot of people can't stand Miles' "electric" stuff, but I absolutely love it.

I always have wanted to play tabla, but was always put off by how difficult it would be to get even halfway good at it. My compromise was to get into the dumbek. It's a middle-eastern drum, you see them all the time in bellydance music bands. They come in metal or ceramic, and in different sizes, all with different sound qualities. They have three distinct notes you get by playing the edge, middle and rim, plus you can even do a low, bending pitch note by putting your fist in the bell of the drum. It can really approach the versitility of the tabla, but is very easy to learn. Check 'em out!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumbek
 
criz p. critter said:
Oh YEAH, man! Check out Miles Davis' "Big Fun" or especially "On the Corner" records. Tabla and sitar. I know a lot of people can't stand Miles' "electric" stuff, but I absolutely love it.

I always have wanted to play tabla, but was always put off by how difficult it would be to get even halfway good at it. My compromise was to get into the dumbek. It's a middle-eastern drum, you see them all the time in bellydance music bands. They come in metal or ceramic, and in different sizes, all with different sound qualities. They have three distinct notes you get by playing the edge, middle and rim, plus you can even do a low, bending pitch note by putting your fist in the bell of the drum. It can really approach the versitility of the tabla, but is very easy to learn. Check 'em out!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumbek
Click to expand...

If you want to get closer to tabla, try with an Udu or with a Zarb. Zarb is not so easy to master, but it's also one a kind.
 
Ah man I love the Tabla! I've bean learning on and off for about 5 years and dammit yes they are hard! In India they say tabla players are gifted by God.
I was lucky enough to be off work fully paid for 3 months with a snapped achilies tendon. I say lucky, hardly with the injury, however... as it was just when I had started to learn the Tabla's. I could just about shuffle with the huge pot on my leg into a position to play the Tabla, so ended up getting in a good 2-3 hours practise a day for a while. Helped to get all the different strikes sorted out. My tutor used to come to me to give lessons too!

I think without that time, they'd probably be in the cellar now going mouldy!

Anyway, if you are going to do it, as mentioned, definetly get lessons. It is pointless without. Invest in a good set if you are going to buy some. There are so many cheap untuneable tourist drums available.

It does not matter how good a drummer you are, the sticks are no good on the tabla, the technique is totally different. It is like starting again but very rewarding if you can get going.

There are rudiments you learn and also as I found out in India, repetative tunes you need to be aware of and commit to memory. Indian music is disciplined improvisation around a form at it's best and a marvel to witness.

I'm no master now, can play a few rudiments ok and am comfy when I play. Ask me to make up a beat for a song and I'm snookered! Well not completely but you know what I mean, on a kit you can just drop on a 1 & 3 beat. On Tabla's you are all
DHA DHA TIRE KITA
DHA DHA TUN NA
TA TA TIRE KITE
DHA DHA TUN NA... etc etc

That above counts / speaks as follows btw
1 2 3&4&
1 2 3 4
1 2 3&4&
1 2 3 4
 
TABLA THE AMAZING INSTRUMENT

Tabla is an amazing instrument. Its played with your hands. The capacity it has to produce different sounds is marvelous...
 
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