TABL ALEARNING THE TABLA THROUGH WHOLE

CLASS ENSEMBLE TUITION (WCET)

Leicester-Shire Schools

Music Service

Leicester-Shire

Education HubMusic

The Tabla is an Indian percussion instrument consisting of two drums: the Baya and the Daya.

During the WCET programme children will learn the different techniques needed to play the Tabla well.

These will include:

The drums are struck with fingers and where and how

they are struck is an important part of Tabla technique

and obtaining the rich varieties of sound of which they

are capable. The combination of the two drums produces

an incredible fullness and details of different rhythm

structures come through. This fullness of expression is

perhaps unmatched by any other percussion instrument.

One of the most famous tabla players is Zakir Hussain

who played on the soundtrack of the film Apocalypse.

Here he is playing with the famous sitar player Ravi

Shankar.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLvKNlB1pB0

A key part of the WCET tabla programme is encouraging children to be confident improvisers within the framework

of the tabla tradition.

W H A T I S I N V O L V E D I N L E A R N I N G T H E T A B L A ?

W H A T I S A T A B L A ?

The Baya takes on the bass part of the drum duo. The

body of the Baya is mostly made of chrome-plated

copper. The Baya is played by the index finger and the

middle finger of the left hand in turns or with both

fingers simultaneously.

The Daya is made of different types of wood. The

tuning of a Daya depends on the skin diameter. The

smaller the skin is, the higher is the sound of the Daya;

the bigger the skin diameter, the lower it can be tuned.

The Daya is played using the length of the fingers

on the right hand as opposed to just the finger tips

which are used on the Baya. The Daya accentuates the

virtuosic aspects of playing tabla where high speeds of

playing can be achieved with complex finger patterns.

T H E B A Y AT H E D A Y A

Open and closed tabla syllables:

Ka, Ti, Ta, Ghe, Na, Tun

Some basic finger strokes of the daya and baya

Playing different ‘layas’ (tempos) and introducing

the ‘Jaati’ practices – different classes of tempo and

rhythmical feel

How to create ‘grooves’ over the ‘Jaati’

Correct hand positions and posture

Games for learning various rhythmic sequences

A look into music used at important festivals e.g

‘Garba’ (a Guajarati dance rhythm seen at the Hindu

Navratri Festival)

‘Taal Rupak’ a seven beat Taal

‘Rela’ a cyclical rhythm

I enjoy playing tabla. Its fun!

Its very interesting.

Slowly, I developed and

progressed my learning

I enjoy playing on the tabla

and there are lots of different

sounds that I have learned.

Although the main focus of WCET tabla lessons is on learning the techniques necessary to become a good tabla

player, a lesson will include many different activities to support the learning of these techniques and wider musical

learning. These include:

W H A T I S A T A B L A W C E T L E S S O N L I K E ?

Call and response activities

Working together in small groups to create their

own music using the sounds they have learned and

performing it to other class members

Learning how to improvise as one of the key

elements of Indian Classical Music

Playing the tabla to accompany singing

Exploring different sounds creatively

ExploringthemusicinfluencedbyIndianClassical

Music such as Bollywood

Looking at different schools of tabla playing

‘Gharana’

Guided listening and making decisions about

their performances

Musical games

Performing to peers and teachers in the classroom

H E R E ’ S W H A T T H E C H I L D R E N A T K I B W O R T H S A I D :