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India’s most famous drum set is strikingly versatile, combining intricate, mathematical flurries with pitch-bending bass motions

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–Raga instruments (full list)–

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—Zakir Hussain (Tintal)—

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“From the age of 2 or 3, I’ve been with my best friend: my tabla. My buddy, my best toy in the playpen. With that connection, I did not feel a void of any sort. For me, the tabla was the whole universe, the Milky Way, begging to be explored. If you’ve been doing something for 30, 40 years, you might feel bored. That moment has not arrived yet for me. I cannot imagine that we will ever tire of each other…The spirit in the instrument has accepted me as a friend, and I am eternally grateful for that privilege. But that hasn’t stopped me from absorbing and assimilating information of all sorts, from all over the planet. In that way, I have grown as a tabla player and, hopefully, made my instrument a bit more universal.” (Zakir Hussain)

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—Tabla Basics—

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The tabla – South Asia’s most famous percussion instrument – is the world’s most versatile drum set. Carved from tropical hardwoods such as mango or rosewood, both drums (bass: bayan, treble: dayan) are skinned with multiple layers of animal hide, and finished with a central ‘dot’ of blackened wheat or rice paste designed to control the overtonal balance. Performers use the fingertips, palms, and heels of both hands, producing a multitude of textures likened by some to the varied sounds of water (splashes, flowing ripples, rapid rain-patters…). The skins are tied to the bases with leather straps, wound tight enough to bring real volume.

 

Masters of the instrument combine ear-melting speed and precision with a playful, mathematical approach to improvisation, drawing on everything from Vedic spiritualism and Mughal-era mythology to mimicry of modern-age machines – with several compositions of the 1850s explicitly aiming to replicate the clacks, whistles, and booms of the new Colonial railway system. Exponents are also able to ‘speak’ any rhythm they play, reciting them using a set of syllables known as bol, designed to mirror the full range of drum timbres (e.g. ‘Na Dhin Dhin Na; Na Dhin TiReKiTe…‘: see my brief guide to bol below).

 

Both drums are pitch-tuned: the right-hand dayan’s partially-muted Na stroke will emit the home Sa of the raga at hand, and its fully resonant Tun stroke gives an overtone-laden ‘ringing’ timbre, tuned around a whole-tone higher than Na (=shuddha Re). The left-hand bayan is also tuned to a corresponding bass tone, which can be pitch-bent upwards by sliding or pressing the palm along the skin. Tuning is a fine art, involving tightening the leather straps and striking the drum edges with a small metal hammer (a skill which must also be mastered in mid-performance, while continuing to keep time with the other hand…).

 

While its precise roots are unclear, it seems probable that the tabla evolved from existing folk drums some time in the 18th century, sparked by the infusion of Islamic design philosophies into longstanding Hindu aesthetic traditions (tabl is Arabic for ‘drum’). Similar-looking percussion instruments turn up in numerous Indian temple carvings from the first millennium A.D., although it is unclear how their lineage may connect to the modern design – with the earliest pictorial evidence of the tabla itself dating to the mid-18th century, and the first widely acknowledged masters arising around the same time.

 

(Ram Sahai / Bhairav Sahai / Durga Sahai)

Inevitably, colourful origin myths also abound: such as the tale of how a double-headed pakhawaj drum was split into two halves by Sufi saint-musician Amir Khusrau in the 13th century (or, alternatively, by a furious percussionist in Emperor Akbar’s royal court around 300 years later). Indeed, tabla history is interwoven with a rich canon of fantastical tales and flamboyant exploits: Kale Khan is said to have charmed the birds with his bayan tones during a competition at Delhi’s Red Fort in the early 19th century, and Anokhelal Mishra is fabled to have practiced so hard that the marble floor beneath him buckled from the cumulative vibrational energy – while Pratap Mishra once played to a statue for nine days straight, transforming it into a living form of the goddess Kali, who proceeded to gift him with supernatural rhythmic abilities.

 

The instrument’s ‘real’ stylistic history is just as intriguing. Over the centuries, several distinct gharanas emerged: notably those of Ajrara, Benares, Delhi, Farrukhabad, Lucknow, and Punjab, pushed forward by pioneers including Siddhar Khan (Delhi), Bakhshu Khan (Lucknow), Haji Vilayat Khan (Farrukhabad), and Ram Sahai (pictured above: who, as told to me by his great-great grandson Sanju Sahai, “retreated to the Uttar Pradesh jungle for two years with his tabla, surrounding himself with nature…this is part of how the Benares style was formed…”).

 

These gharanas continue to dominate the landscape of tabla today – although the latter part of the 20th century has seen the boundaries between them begin to blur, as modern exponents seek to expand on the vocabulary of their forefathers. Many artists have now taken their drums around the world, as well as exploring its multifaceted fusion possibilities: a duality exemplified by Punjab master Alla Rakha – immortalised as Ravi Shankar‘s principal accompanist on countless global tours – and by his son Zakir Hussain, now the tabla’s foremost modern ambassador, having collaborated with a dizzying array of world-leading virtuosi (notably jazz guitarist John McLaughlin in their longstanding Shakti group).

 

This spirit of experimentalism will doubtless persist into the future. After all, the tabla reigns supreme as North India’s foremost drum set, and continues to attract international attention as one of the world’s most uniquely versatile instruments. The next generation of performers will carry forth the expansive ethos of their ancestors – in Sanju Sahai’s words, “The core is to teach my students how to play, rather than exactly what to play. A student who truly cares can find their own path. As children we’re taught to walk, but not to run: we work that out for ourselves…”.

 

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• Notable performers: Anuradha Pal (1975-), Sanju Sahai (1968-), Yogesh Samsi (1968-), Anindo Chatterjee (1954-), Kumar Bose (1953-), Zakir Hussain (1951-), Swapan Chaudhuri (1947-), Kishan Maharaj (1923-2008), Alla Rakha (1919-2000), Anokhelal Mishra (1914-1958), Ahmed Jan Thirakwa (1892-1976), Bhairav Sahai (1815-1894), Kallu & Miru Khan (c.1800-?). Ram Sahai (c.1780–1826), Haji Vilayat Khan (c.1779-1826), Bakhshu Khan (c.1770-?), Siddhar Khan (c.1700-?)

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• Also see my Tala Index •

—Kumar Bose (Tintal)—

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• Get started with learning raga! •

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—Classifiers—

• Form: barrel-drum pair (high-pitched wooden dayan & low-pitched metal bayan), played with the fingers and palms
• Origin: evolved from a c.18th-century fusion of Islamic design concepts with existing Indian drum traditions
• Sa pitch: variable depending on context (the dayan’s Na stroke is tuned to the raga’s Sa: necessitating tabla in all keys)
• Range: the dayan can produce Sa (‘Na‘), and also the Re 2 semitones above (‘Tun‘); and the bayan can be pitch-bent up to around an octave (depending on tension)

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• A Brief Guide to Bol •

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‘Bol‘ refers to a set of spoken syllables, essentially constituting the ‘language of Hindustani rhythm’: word-fragments designed to mimic the sounds of different drum strokes. These are the most important bols:

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(Bols below: recorded on my tabla)

—Dayan strokes (treble drum)—

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• Na: Index finger strikes the edge of the maidan with force, producing a ringing, sustained tone (tuned to the raga’s Sa) – as the 3rd/4th fingers lightly mute the inner circle to control resonance patterns. Roughly akin to the tabla’s ‘snare drum’, Na is probably the most important single stroke in the repertoire.

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• Tin/Ta: Index finger strikes between the syahi and maidan, with the 3rd/4th fingers resting on the edge of the syahi to mute. Similar to Na, except less forceful and emphatic, with a strike point closer to the drum’s centre.

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• Ti/Te: Some combination of the middle/ring/pinky fingers (depending on context) strike the centre of the syahi, producing a sharp, non-resonant sound.

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• Ta/Ra: Index finger strikes the centre of the syahi (essentially, the ‘index finger version’ of Ti/Te). Typically played immediately after Ti (e.g. TiTa) – and sometimes referred to as ‘Re’ in fast passages (e.g. TiReKiTe).

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• Tun/Thun: The middle joints of multiple fingers simultaneously strike near the syahi/maidan boundary, activating the dayan’s full, unmuted resonance (typically tuned two semitones above Na: i.e. to the raga’s shuddha Re).

—Bayan strokes (bass drum)—

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• Ga/Ge/Gi: Middle and ring fingers strike near the front of the maidan, with the heel of the palm resting on the opposite side of the drum – a ‘cobra-shaped’ position, allowing the hand to slide across the skin to manipulate its pitch (successive ‘Ge-Ge-Ge…’ patterns alternate with the index finger). A resonant stroke, Ge is the near-exclusive occupant of a raga’s ‘deep-bass spectrum’.

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• Ka/Ke/Ki: The palm slaps the maidan, with fingers held flat (and extending slightly beyond the drum’s edge) – producing a brief, non-resonant sound. Notably, Ke tends to be used in place of Ge during the khali (‘empty’) portions of a tala – as well as in rapid ‘TiReKiTe’ sequences.

—Compound strokes & more—

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• Dha/Da: Simultaneous ‘Na + Ge’, producing a loud, clear ‘double resonance’ – often used to mark out the most emphatic matras of the tala. To add further accentuation, Ge will often be palm-intoned to a higher pitch than its open, ‘resting’ frequency.

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• Dhin/Din: Simultaneous ‘Ta + Ge’, producing a clear but somewhat less emphatic ‘double resonance’ (thus, ‘Dha is to Dhin as Na is to Tin‘) – allowing for complex pitch-shifting of the sustained Ge tone (e.g. tintal’s ‘Dha-Dhin-Dhin-Dha…’).

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• Dhere (‘Dhir-Dhir’): A loud, ‘full-surface slap’ of the dayan, executed by placing the whole hand further forward than usual, and striking with both sides of the palm in alternation (often as loops of ‘Dhe-Re-Te-Re‘, with the bayan only included every 4 dayan strikes). Sonically and visually distinctive, the bol is usually deployed in dedicated percussion passages rather than for instrumental accompaniment.

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• Kran/Kra: A combination of ‘Ka + Ra’, played as a non-simultaneous ‘flam’ (i.e. Ka is struck very slightly before Ra), allowing for a subtle disbalancing of the stroke’s timing [n.b. other ‘flam bols’ also exist, including ‘TreKre’: a ‘rolling’ motion onto the syahi with fingers spaced out, interspersed with Ka].

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• Ti-Re-Ki-Te (‘TRKT’): A loud, emphatic phrase used for intricate ‘rain-pattering’ sequences, often at lightning pace. Despite its name, TiReKiTe may in fact refer to several distinct technical approaches (e.g. Delhi artists favour an ‘independent middle finger’, whereas those of Benares tend to group the middle/ring/pinky) – with high-speed loops often played as ‘Ti–Re–Ki–Te Ta–Ka…’ to avoid same-finger repetitions. During my research I’ve come across a vast range of TRKT variants, including the following (1:index, 2:middle, 3:ring, 4:pinky, K:Ka):

2–1–K–34 (Delhi, ‘full loop’)
2–1–K–2 (Delhi, ‘two-finger’)
23–1–K–23 (Purbi, emphatic)
234–1–K–234 (Benares/Punjab)
1–2–K–1 (Lucknow, ‘reverse’)
1–23–K–23 (Purbi, ‘reverse’)

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“You have to practice: you have to go crazy really. I played 12 hours a day, renting a room away from the city to focus on my riyaz. I didn’t have to, but I wanted to escape distraction…” (Sanju Sahai)

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• More Info •

• Tabla tales: For more tabla lore, see my Twelve Days of Tabla overview, Tihai rhythmic breakdown, and interview with Sanju Sahai (for Darbar), as well as my short blog series for Ragatip – including Anokhelal Mishra’s rags-to-riches rise, Kishan Maharaj’s globetrotting flamboyance, Ram Sahai’s forest-dwelling isolation, Kale Khan’s animal-charming exploits, Lacchu Maharaj’s chilla-drenched grooves, and Zakir Hussain’s teenage summer living on the Grateful Dead’s ranch – plus a concert demystifier, more instances of mimicry and a rundown of raga-jungle similarities (from which my site takes its name!). And elsewhere, check out Shawn Mativetsky’s fantastic breakdown of the Benares lineage, as well as DigiTabla’s gharana guide (“The Delhi gharana is believed to be the oldest…From Delhi came Lucknow [and] Ajrara…From Lucknow came Farrukhabad [and] Benares…The Punjab gharana developed more independently…”).

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—Zakir Hussain demo—

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“Indian rhythm – and percussive instruments – have attracted musicians and music-lovers across cultures and continents. Indian drums are now heard and seen in virtually every situation: in traditional music, cross-cultural projects, or even in Hollywood soundtracks. Not only does this indicate the capacity of these instruments to adapt to diverse musical situations, but it also speaks volumes about the artistry of the percussionists. The attention that Indian percussion instruments have received in the past few decades has been most heartening, as they have otherwise largely enjoyed secondary status when accompanying traditional Indian music…” (Aneesh Pradhan)

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• Hindustani Instruments: Anandi | Bansuri | Bass-Veena | Bazantar | Bulbul Tarang | Cello | Chaturangi | Dilruba | Electric Guitar | Esraj | Fretless Guitar | Harmonium | Jal Tarang | Jori | Mandolin | Mohan Veena | Nal Tarang | Pakhawaj | Piano | Rabab | Rudra Veena | Sagar Veena | Santoor | Sarangi | Sarod | Saxophone | Shehnai | Sitar | Surbahar | Sursagar | Sursingar | Swarmandal | Tabla | Tabla Tarang | Tanpura | Tar Shehnai | Taus | Vichtra Veena | Violin

–Survey of Sa tunings–