In the rich culture of South Asian music, the tabla is a major accompanying percussion instrument. Its name is derived from the Arabic word tabl which simply means drum. The origin of the instrument is still debated but it is suggested to have evolved from existing drums such as the naqqara, pakhawaj and dholak from over 300 years ago. It is most commonly found in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

In its earlier evolutions, tabla is just one drum. It is just the dayan. It means right in Hindi and is named as how it is played - with the right hand. Its body is small and made of wood. The tabla we have today now includes the one played by the left hand called bayan, which is translated as left in Hindi. It is larger and is made of metal.

Both drums have similar parts. The head of the drums, called the puri, is made up of goat hide. An extra ring of hide is laid over the head as well as on the bottom of the drums. These rings hold the lacings, or tasma, on the side of the drums, which in turn control the tension and pitch of the drums through a number of wooden cylindrical blocks called ghatta. These are placed between the body and the lacings. There is a black circle in the middle of the drum heads called syahi made up of gum, soot and iron fillings. There is a difference, however, in the position of the syahi of each drum as the dayan’s is in the middle while the bayan’s is slightly off the center.

The defining sound of the tabla is its bell-like timbre made possible by the syahi. The dayan is tuned to the tonic note of the vocalist or the instruments accompanying it. It has the higher pitch between the two. The low end of the instrument is produced by the larger bayan. It is interesting to note that the tune of the bass is not confined to a single note but can cover a whole scale based on the position and pressure of the left wrist on the syahi. One can also do sliding notes on the bass because of the ease in controlling the tune.

Playing the tabla can be difficult to some percussionists as its principles are slightly different from the Western styles of music. The beats are conceptualized through mnemonic syllables called bol. To better understand and play it, one has to also understand the basic conceptualization of Indian rhythm.

Table can provide not only the beat and rhythm but also some melody, and just as the Western style has the beat, measure and cycle, so does the Indian style. The only main difference is that the latter focuses more on the cycle unlike the former which focuses on the measure and the beat. Timekeeping when playing the tabla is based on claps and waves. These claps and waves basically describe the measure of Indian music. It is important in the conceptualization and execution of the whole song as the other instruments also follow this rhythm as a guide. The cycle is constant but the syllables played throughout the song may vary depending on the player.

The sound and feel of the tabla is rich and exotic. As an instrument, it can stand on its own when played just right but will also do very well when combined with vocals and other instruments. It may not be easy to learn but with time and dedication plus a good understanding of Indian musical concepts, one is bound to produce beautiful music through this instrument.

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