Jake Acker
MUSC102
Charry
12/1/23
What is the Tabla?
The tabla is a percussion instrument created in Northern India in the early 18th century. It is believed to have been made by a drummer named Amir Khusu, who was tasked with making a new, more subtle percussion instrument that fit the new style of music called Khayal. The basis of modern Indian classical music is a combination of the taba and Khayal. The tabla’s versatility made it the most popular drum in India, and its level of elegance has made it one of the most respected instruments among percussionists. The tabla is a set of two drums, one larger than the other, played on the ground. The larger, left-handed drum is called “Bayan,” and the smaller, right-handed one is called “Dahina.” These two drums produce different sounds with different sound textures, thus allowing the player to be highly creative while playing with the wide range of sounds they can produce (Phinney).
What Are Parts of the Tabla and How Is It Played?
The Bayan and Dahina are comprised of many of the same parts—the first part of each drum in the syahi. The syahi is a metal circle on the top of the drum and is attached to the main part of the drumhead called the maiden. The gajara is the rope that runs along the head of the drum, and it is one part of where the braces that run along the sides of the drum are attached to. The braces are known as the baddhi. Only on the Bayan drum are there small wooden blocks called gattas that serve as a way to tune the drum by moving them up and down. Lastly, the tabla rests on cloth pillows called gedi that keep the drums stable while something is playing them (Kasliwal).
How Is The Tabla Traditionally Made?
The tabla’s two drums are constructed similarly from many of the same materials but produce different sounds. The Bayan used to be constructed using hollowed-out clay for its body but is now constructed of hollowed-out metals such as steel, brass, and copper. The Dahina’s body is constructed from seasoned wood that is hollowed out. Both drums are assembled by applying two layers of goat skin at the top and bottom to provide a surface to play on. The top has a circular cut of goat hide that only covers the rim of the drum, while the bottom has a cut of goat hide that stretches and covers the entire drum (Phinney). On the top of each drum, the syahi is made of a mixture of iron, water, and wheat, allowing the player to make a wide variety of sounds while playing (“Syahi”). Each drum also has braces that are made from buffalo skin, which are called the baddhi. The baddhi are tied to 16 holes on the drum’s bottom. Each brace is equally spaced apart to ensure the drum has equal tension around the drum’s body. The Bayan’s gattas are made of wood and control the drum’s pitch. There are no gattas tied to the Dahina. Lastly, the gedi that both drums sit on are made of cloth and serve to provide stability while playing (Kasliwal).
How to Tune The Tabla:
The Dahina is the only drum that is tuned by using a tuning hammer to strike either the gajara or the gattas to raise or lower the pitch of the drum. When striking the gajara, you must strike along each point of the drum to tighten it and raise the pitch. To lower the pitch, you must loosen each point of the drum along the gajara. The gattas are hit up and down for fine-tuning the Dahina (“Tuning a Tabla Drum”). The Dahina is tuned to the pitch of the tonic pitch of the composition that the artist is performing, while the Bayan is not tuned to a particular pitch (Phinney).
What Is The Cultural Context of The Tabla?
The Tabla is used in the vocal genre of Indian classical music known as Khyal to accompany the introduction of a song called an alap. The alap establishes the melodic framework and the tone of the song. The tabla is used in the newer vocal genre of Hindustani music called Kyhal to assist the short alap played at the beginning of Kyhal music. The tabla serves to articulate the rhythmic cycles of the music by being stroked in specific patterns within the cycle (Charry). The tabla is also used in both North and South Indian dance styles, such as Kathak in the North and Bharatanatyam, Kathak, and Odissi in the South to guide the singer of the music. Additionally, the tabla is also used in Indian folk music by serving as the primary percussion instrument in their music (Shitut).
My Tabla:
The first thing I did was determine what I would use for the body of both drums. Since Bayans are constructed out of silver-colored or copper metal, I used an old, silver metal-colored waste basket for my Bayan. For the Dahina’s body, I used an old faux-wood flower pot in my shed since Dahinas are typically constructed out of wood. I decided to first construct the larger of the two drums: the Bayan.
The first step was to go to the arts and crafts store to buy materials to construct both drums. I bought a few sheets of brown and gray leather, I bought all-purpose spray adhesive, spray pump fabric fusion (glue), various-sized screws, several fabric strips, and about 10 feet of rope. Then, I ordered two 7-inch silk brocade cushion pillows to serve as the gedi of the drums.
The first step of constructing the Bayan was to cut two circular-shaped pieces of leather, one brown and one gray, from the sheets of leather, as a traditional Bayan has two layers of leather in the drum. I then attached both pieces of leather to the base of the drum by using multiple self-tapping screws. Once both layers of leather were attached, I wrapped the rope (gajara) around the leather and over the screws to further hold the leather onto the base as well as to hold the baddhis onto the side of the drum. I attached the above-referenced parts using the spray adhesive and the fabric fusion. To mimic the syahi, I simply took a sharpy and drew an off-centered black circle, as the syahi of the Bayan is always off-centered. Lastly, I sprayed the bottom of the drum with the adhesive and the fabric fusion to attach the gedi to the drum, thus completing the construction of the Bayan.
I then turned my attention to the construction of the Dahina. I did the same thing, except the body of the drum was made of faux wood, and I did not use screws to attach the leather to the body of the drum. Instead of using screws, I used metal wire to attach the leather to the body of the drum. Again, I wrapped rope around the top and bottom of the Dahina to serve as the gajara while also securing the baddhis to the drum. I then gathered several old wine corks to serve as the gattas of the drum. I again used the fabric fusion and spray adhesive to secure the corks between the braces. Similar to the syahi of the Bayan, I drew a centered circle on the leather, as the syahi of the Dahina is always centered. Lastly, I applied the adhesive and fabric fusion to secure the gedi onto the bottom of the Dahina.
The construction of these drums took about 15 hours since every time I applied the adhesive and the glue, I had to wait at least 30-45 minutes to ensure proper adhesion of the glue. I did the entire construction process over Thanksgiving break since I could gather materials easily and use proper tools to construct the drums.
Link to Google Drive With Photos of the Tabla:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/15wleKoKnAKKu-sMRywivA3Pc1hn7UmJLxAurOWzxac8/edit
References:
- Phinney, Eric. “Tabla.” Bloomingdale School of Music, www.bsmny.org/instrument-discovery/tabla/#:~:text=Whether%20that%20is%20true%20or.
- “Syahi.” Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias, 2010, en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/685167. Accessed 9 Dec. 2023.
- Kasliwal, Suneera. “Tabla – India Instruments.” India-Instruments.com, 2019, www.india-instruments.com/encyclopedia-tabla.html.
- “Tuning a Tabla Drum.” Ure Music, 9 June 2015, www.uremusic.org/2015/06/tuning-tabla-drum.html. Accessed 9 Dec. 2023.
- Charry, Eric. “South Asia.” Wesmoodle.wesleyan.edu, 2 Oct. 2023, wesmoodle.wesleyan.edu/pluginfile.php/1516991/mod_resource/content/1/5_Asia_South_Charry.pdf. Accessed 9 Dec. 2023.
- “Hurt and Grow!” Times of India Blog, 10 Aug. 2021, timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/we-manifested-covid-19/hurt-and-grow-36204/.