Tabla anyone?

Bo Eder

Platinum Member
So, for years I've been admiring guys like Zakir Hussein and whoever the original guy that played with Ravi Shankar....and of course, Christmas is coming and the wife asked me if there was anything frivolous and that I absolutely didn't need, but wanted for Christmas - she notices that everything I get for myself is part of a masterplan to use and make money with - I never have anything lying around the house that doesn't get used for something.

I know it's a difficult instrument to play, but I was thinking about finally getting a pair of tabla just to learn. Joe Porcaro said he plays tabla and it helps to keep his fingers limber too. Anyone here play these already? What was your learning curve like? Was it really difficult?
 
I'm getting myself a pair for Christmas.

If you're an experienced drummer/musician the concepts shouldn't be hard. It takes a lot of time to get get good clear sounds out of them, though.
 
What was your learning curve like? Was it really difficult?

If you spend a reasonable amount of time and have a teacher, or at least some good resources, you should be able to coax something approaching the correct sounds out of them relatively quickly. Get the best set you can and you are likely to be more satisfied with your sound. The difference between a beginner and pro set are only a hundred bucks or so.

I've touted this place before, but I honestly trust them and have bought multiple tabla and other instruments from them. They are top notch, and very helpful on the phone. http://www.aacmstore.org/ Also, this is the place that Alla Rakha (Zakir's father) actually taught. And finally, in my opinion, ask for a C# tabla.

I'd hardly consider myself an authority, and I certainly don't consider myself "good" but I've spent about 10 years messing with tabla and have managed to learn at least a little about what works for me.
 
If you spend a reasonable amount of time and have a teacher, or at least some good resources, you should be able to coax something approaching the correct sounds out of them relatively quickly. Get the best set you can and you are likely to be more satisfied with your sound. The difference between a beginner and pro set are only a hundred bucks or so.

I've touted this place before, but I honestly trust them and have bought multiple tabla and other instruments from them. They are top notch, and very helpful on the phone. http://www.aacmstore.org/ Also, this is the place that Alla Rakha (Zakir's father) actually taught. And finally, in my opinion, ask for a C# tabla.

I'd hardly consider myself an authority, and I certainly don't consider myself "good" but I've spent about 10 years messing with tabla and have managed to learn at least a little about what works for me.

Thanks! I'll definitely take a look at the link to the shop. Some of my preliminary information led me to a site called www.tablasitar.com and they were touting that everything was good, or at least tested and tuned before they send it out with student models starting at $169 and going up to $500 depending on what you wanted. Obviously price makes a bit of difference , but they felt genuine about what they were doing. We'll see. thanks again!
 
Once you master the techniques, you'll still need to master the theory of Indian music (which should take about the next 50 years, give or take a few). Good luck though, they're really fantastic instruments to play.
 
Ok Marc, you have a great app in the pipeline. But...
It's NOT ok to post the same stuff across various threads, esp. if it has a commercial background. That would be free advertising - which is basically not allowed on this forum. So please avoid posting the same info a 3rd etc. time in every thread with the term 'tabla' appearing somewhere.

Apart from that... kudos for your work, and welcome to the forum!

I think it would be a good idea to create a dedicated thread on your app - we already had this with a metronome app. But then don't continue advertising your product or maybe even delete your first posts and focus on giving infos etc. on your app in that dedicated thread.
 
Me too!
I never got far with learning tabla, I stayed rooted to Doumbek and congas in the end.

I use the itabla pro desk top app.
and play drums to the patterns , it's also nice to use them as samples in rock music , table and tambourine ..
then we all sound like Kula Shaker
Simon
 
So, for years I've been admiring guys like Zakir Hussein and whoever the original guy that played with Ravi Shankar....and of course, Christmas is coming and the wife asked me if there was anything frivolous and that I absolutely didn't need, but wanted for Christmas - she notices that everything I get for myself is part of a masterplan to use and make money with - I never have anything lying around the house that doesn't get used for something.

I know it's a difficult instrument to play, but I was thinking about finally getting a pair of tabla just to learn. Joe Porcaro said he plays tabla and it helps to keep his fingers limber too. Anyone here play these already? What was your learning curve like? Was it really difficult?

I have been playing tabla for about 12 years. If you play any other instrument, that will definitely help. Traditionally students memorize thousands of tintals (rhythmic motifs) and recite them as bols (verbal expressions of the rhythms). The intricacies will bend your mind. It is the most complex solo drumming on the planet.

I learned from a cassette by Aloke Dutta and his book, as Boise is not a hotbed of classical Indian music. YouTube is also a good source of tabla instruction. I've recorded with the tablas and I've jammed with a few sitarists and everything from a banjo to a Hang drum. I'm not a master but I can hold it down well enough.

Do not get a cheap set with an aluminum bayan - steel, brass or copper is best. Also, I prefer bolt tuned tablas to cope with variable weather.
 
DMC- I plan to purchase some , I am looking at about 500 bucks to spend. Tonewise is Brass BETTER than copper? Is it a style choice?

I love ALoke Dutta playing/tone.

I have thought of buying that EXACT book/video by aloke.

I can play conga,djembe, bongo, and drum set as well as anytihng involved in a classical/symphony setting.

I have read it is the small muscle movements, and atually PROPERLY achieving tone on the drum that is hard to get at first.
 
Seems to me that whenever tabla is mentioned it's always the complexity and the multitude of techniques involved. It's hard to think of an instrument more rooted to its traditions.

Has anyone tried experimenting and playing the instrument in a non traditional way? All instruments have a range of interesting possibilities outside of their traditional use.
 
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