Tabala

The tabla (or tabl, tabla) (Hindi: तबला, Marathi: तबला, Kannada: ತಬಲ, Telugu: తబల, Tamil: தபேலா, Bengali: তবলা, Nepali: तबला, Urdu: طبلہ, Arabic: طبل، طبلة‎) is a popular Indian percussion instrument (of the membranophone family) used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres. The term 'tabla is derived from an Arabic word, tabl, which simply means "drum." ^[1]

Playing technique involves extensive use of the fingers and palms in various configurations to create a wide variety of different sounds, reflected in the mnemonic syllables (bol). The heel of the hand is used to apply pressure or in a sliding motion on the larger drum so that the pitch is changed during the sound's decay.

Contents

• 1 History
• 2 Nomenclature and construction
• 3 Tabla Notations
• 4 Basic Strokes
• 5 Gharānā — tabla tradition
• 6 Jori / Jodi and Dhama Style Tabla
• 7 Tabla terminology
• 8 Eminent Tabla Players
  • 8.1 From the past
  • 8.2 Present
  • 8.3 Promising youngsters
• 9 See also
• 10 Further reading
• 11 References