The tabla is the most popular percussion instrument in India. It is especially prevalent in the northern regions of the country, as well as in Pakistan. The tabla can be heard in Indian classical music, dance, religious, folk, and film music, as well as in modern-day fusions. The tabla is an integral part of North Indian classical music, where it can be performed solo, in dance accompaniment (kathak), or to accompany melodic instruments (sitar, sarod, voice, violin, etc…). The instrument dates back approximately 400 years, though it is descended from drums that have a history dating back over 2000 years. There are six different stylistic schools of playing (gharanas), many varied techniques, and a repertoire made up of a multitude of cyclic and cadential compositional forms.

The tabla is actually two drums - the smaller, right hand drum called the dahina or tabla, and the larger, left hand drum called the baya or dagga. The dahina is made of shisham (Indian rosewood) and the baya is made of copper or brass, and is often nickel plated.
The tabla has traditionally been taught through an oral tradition, from teacher to student, a system referred to as guru-shishya-parampara. Different regions of India developed their own styles, resulting in what we now refer to as the six major gharanas of tabla; Punjab, Delhi, Ajrada, Farukhabad, Lucknow, and Benares.
Compositions are learned through a system of bols - oral representations of the sounds themselves; a sort of solfege system for drums. Through the system of bols, one can recite, notate, or read any combination of sounds on the tabla in one single line of text; the sounds of both drums can be expressed either individually, or when two sounds are produced at once, simultaneously.
I like to break down the main sounds into resonant and non-resonant categories, as follows:
Dahina | Baya |
Resonant Sounds | |
NA, TA | Ge, Ga, Gi |
Tin | |
Tun, Din | |
Ra | |
Non-Resonant Sounds | |
TeTe, TiRa, Ta | Ki, Ke, Ka |
TeRe | Kut |
Combination Sounds | |
Dha = NA + Ge | |
Dhin = Tin + Ge | |
Dhe = Te + Ge | |
DheRe = TeRe + Ge |
These are then put together to form compositions, for example:
Teentaal Theka |
Dha Dhin Dhin Dha Dha Dhin Dhin Dha Dha Tin Tin NA NA Dhin Dhin Dha |
Beginner's Kaida |
Dha Dha Te Te Dha Dha Tin NA TA TA Te Te Dha Dha Dhin NA |
As a musician with a background in both Western classical and Indian classical music, I have long been working to bring the two together by commissioning new works for tabla from composers of new music. For a selected list of repertoire, click here. If you know of any other works for tabla, or if you are a composer who may be interested in writing for tabla, please contact me. I look forward to hearing from you on the subject!
Le tabla est constitué en réalité de deux tambours - le plus petit, à la main droite, appelé dahina ou tabla et le grand, à la main gauche, baya ou dagga. Le dahina est fait de shisham (bois de rose indien) et la baya, de cuivre ou de laiton et souvent plaqué de nickel.
Traditionnellement, le tabla s'enseigne oralement, de maître à élève, tradition appelé guru-shishya-parampara. Différentes régions de l'Inde ont développé leurs propres styles, auquels nous faisons référence aujourd'hui comme les six principaux gharanas de tabla : Pubjab, Delhi, Ajrada, Farukhabad, Lucknow et Bénarès. Je me spécialise dans le style Bénarès, fondé par Pandit Ram Sahai, qui a vécu de 1780 à 1826 approximativement. Cliquez ici pour plus d'information à propos de ce gharana.
Les compositions sont apprises en utilisant un système de représentation orale des sons, une sorte de solfège pour tabla, que l'on appelle bols (prononcé "bôl"). Avec ce système, on peut réciter, noter ou lire n'importe quelle combinaison de sons en une seule ligne de texte. Les sons des deux tambours peuvent être formulés individuellement. Lorsque deux sons sont produits simultanément, un autre terme décrit cette combinaison.
Dahina | Baya |
Sons résonants | |
NA, TA | Ge, Ga, Gi |
Tin | |
Tun, Din | |
Ra | |
Sons non-résonants | |
TeTe, TiRa, Ta | Ki, Ke, Ka |
TeRe | Kut |
Combinaisons de sons | |
Dha = NA + Ge | |
Dhin = Tin + Ge | |
Dhe = Te + Ge | |
DheRe = TeRe + Ge |
Teentaal Theka |
Dha Dhin Dhin Dha Dha Dhin Dhin Dha Dha Tin Tin NA NA Dhin Dhin Dha |
Kaida pour débutant |
Dha Dha Te Te Dha Dha Tin NA TA TA Te Te Dha Dha Dhin NA |
En plus de jouer du tabla dans des contextes traditionnels, je collabore souvent avec des compositeurs de musique contemporaine occidentale dans le but de développer un nouveau répertoire pour cet instrument. Cliquez ici pour une liste de répertoire sélectif. Si vous connaissez d'autres oeuvres contemporaines pour tabla ou si vous êtes un compositeur intéressé à écrire pour le tabla, n'hésitez pas à me contacter.