TABLA

Tabla is a percussion instrument made of wood, metal, brass, cloth, clay, copper, aluminum, steel, rice, wheat, charcoal powder, plant fiber, iron, nickel, gum, soot, buffalo skin, goatskin, leather, and glue. This is a traditional instrument that is found in various parts of North India. It is an important rhythmic accompaniment to solo and instrumental music ensembles as well as a solo performance instrument.
Tabla is derived from an Arabic word tabl, meaning an instrument facing upwards, with a flat surface or drum. A similar percussion instrument was first seen in a 200 BCE Buddhist carving in Bhaja caves, Maharashtra. Discovered in 1799, it depicted two women, one playing a pair of drums while another dances on its beats.
Tabla has a complex playing technique. It involves extensive use of fingers and palms which produces a wide variety of different sounds and rhythms called mnemonic syllables (bol). It is played in two ways- band bol (tali) and khula bol (khali).
Frequently used as an accompanying instrument for vocal, instrument and dance performances, tabla has lately acquired the status of a solo instrument as well. Its function is to maintain the metric cycle in which music/composition is set. Used in various forms of music- classical music, qawali, bhajan, kirtan, ghazal, folk music, etc.
The most popular percussion instrument of North Indian classical music. Consists of two drums - the ‘bayan’ or the left made of plated copper and the ‘dayan’ or the right made of wood. The left is a small spherical drum resembling the shape of the kettle drum. It is almost the same height as the right but has a much wider playing surface and a smaller bottom compared to the right. The playing surface of both the drums is made of goat skin, stretched across the top. A narrow membrane on the periphery on top of the full membrane is called Kinara or Chanti. The parchment called pudi or chhavani is tied to a plaited strip called ‘gajra’ made of four or five leather braces. Gajra is fixed to the mouth of the drum by means of leather braces called ‘baddhi’, which is tied to another ring at the bottom of the instrument. There are sixteen holes or ‘ghar’ to which the braces are tied at equal distance. In the right drum there are eight tuning blocks or ‘gatta’ which are moved up or down to vary the tension of the pudi. A black paste loaded in layers on the parchment, called syahi. An important rhythmic accompaniment to solo and instrumental music ensembles as well as a solo performance instrument.