[Figure] Table
of tabla bols and
mode of production
The two drums of the tabla can produce a vast number sounds. Many of these sounds have been named forming an alphabet of percussive sounds. The tabla is distinguished by the tonal beauty if its sounds, from ringing bell-like tones to throbbing, resonant bass strokes. These sounds can roughly be classified into three major sound groups:
1) Ringing bell-like tones. These tones are
distinguished by a clear sense of pitch, sharp attack and long sustain. Ta, tin and tun are examples.
2) Resonant bass strokes. This is the stroke
ghe. Unlike other
sounds ghe is the
only sound that is continuously varied. The tabla player is able to control the
tension on the skin of the bass drum using base of his palm, allowing for pitch
variations. Although there is not necessarily a clear sensation of pitch there
is a frequency peak which allows us to clearly hear the bass tones as higher or
lower relative to each other. The pitch of the bass stroke is controlled in
basically two ways. At the time of striking a precise amount of pressure is
applied producing a higher or lower pitched ghe, or after striking pressure is applied
or relieved to give a continuously rising or falling pitch to the bass tone.
3) Closed, crisp sounds. These sounds have
sharp attacks and decays and sound damped. Kat, te, and dhere are examples of this family. They are often used to create fast,
rushing drum-roll textures.
The division
into families is not completely rigid. There are sounds which connect the
families together both timbrally and structurally.
All activity in a solo tabla
recital takes place in the context of a rhythmic cycle (tala). Tala,
like all metric music is based on a regular pulse. Tala arranges these pulses, or beats, into a cyclic
structure. The cyclic structure means that there is a correspondence between
beats separated by a fixed number. When we say that a cycle has, for example,
sixteen beats, we mean that beats separated by this amount are functionally
equivalent. Tala goes further and
defines the function of the beats in the cycle. Certain beats are structurally
stronger than others. These structurally accented positions mark the positions
where phrases are most likely to begin and end. They build our expectations.
Typically the two most
important places in the cycle are the sam, the first beat and the khali. The sam is the point of
maximum rhythmic resolution. The khali is usually placed as close as possible to the middle of the cycle and
marks the beginning of the build-up of tension which is characteristic of the
approach to sam. The khali is often
marked by the closing of the bayan.,
i.e. when bass strokes are replaced with damped, crisp sounds. The sudden
absence of the bass stroke, ghe,
is an cue that we are beginning our return to sam. Typically there are other subdivisions of the cycle. The beginning of these
subdivisions are also accented beats, but weaker than the sam and khali, creating a beat hierarchy. This beat hierarchy is a framework which
focuses attention on certain beats leading to a flow of tension and relaxation.
4 The Nagma
When accompanying, the tabla plays a fixed sequence of
strokes (although often with embellishments) called the theka. The association of strokes with positions within
the cycle help the soloist and listener keep track of the cycle. A feel for the
cycle in turn helps the listener to hear the musical activity against it.
In a solo tabla recital this
function is taken over by the nagma.
The nagma is a melody, lasting one cycle, that is
repeated throughout the presentation of that tala. One of the most important first steps in listening
to a tabla solo is familiarizing oneself with the nagma. The nagma makes it possible to be constantly aware of our position in the time
cycle without having to count. Because the same melody is repeated over and
over we connect parts of the melody to parts of the time cycle.
The nagma, in addition to helping us keep track of the sam, helps is to keep track of the beat hierarchy. A nagma is usually chosen that mirrors the subdivision the
the time cycle. For example, Ramesh Mishra chooses a nagma for the slow tintal piece that is broken into four equal phrases, parallel
to the subdivision of tintal.
Because of the
compact design of the tabla and innovative fingering techniques, tabla players
are able to produce sounds with an economy of motion. This compactness allows
the tabla player to juxtapose a wide variety of syllables. Tabla players have
developed words (bol
sequences) from these basic syllables. Over time tabla has developed a
vocabulary of words that embody the melodic aesthetic of tabla music. Sequences of bols considered beautiful or interesting have been retained and
disseminated through compositions and performances. These words are the building blocks from which larger
phrases are formed. As with language words combine to form sentences and then
paragraphs. This is similar to building melodies in a raga. Small note sequences are combined to
form larger phrases, which are in turned used to form even larger phrases.
Recognizing that
larger phrases are typically built from smaller expressions greatly simplifies
our ability to understand these phrases and to follow their development. During
listening this decomposition into recognizable parts makes use of two features.
After listening to tabla music for some time we internalize and remember the
syllable combinations which appear most often. And, as we have noted, the tala
establishes strong beats
where phrases begin and end. These beats act as boundary markers, giving us
clues as to where one word starts and another begins.
Sometimes common
phrases are purposely started on weak beat positions. This causes a tension between our two grouping clues,
accented beats and common words.
For example the first line of qaida one ends gentunakena. If we divide the phrase based on strong and weak beat
positions we would get genatu and nakena . On the other hand genatu and nakena are not as familiar as
gena , tuna and kena. This causes a grouping ambiguity.
Depending on how we feel it, we might hear the grouping across the beat as in
the second case or we might hear the words genatu and nakena
as in the first case. In this example is likely that we could hear
either grouping and that we might even hear both simultaneously, rewarding
repeated listening. In other cases the phrases created by breaking at strong
beat positions might be so unusual that we would instead hear the more common
phrases grouped across the beat. This play of grouping with the beat and
against the beat is a central source of rhythmic tension. The feeling of
syncopation, off-beatness, is most often a result of this tension.
Internalization of the tala, and the metric structure it establishes, and familiarity with bol patterns is a natural part of listening to solo tabla music. We form expectations and intuitions about the music. We unconsciously anticipate when phrases will start and end and what the continuation of a bol sequence will be. The way in which these expectations are satisfied or frustrated is central means of building and releasing musical tension. It is this tension and release which allows intense climaxes and profound, cathartic resolutions. Solo tabla is able to build and sustain musical tension, and then dramatically release it in a way that few musics can match.
The tremendous density of information delivered to our
ears in the fast
portions of the solo
causes our brain to separate the sounds into families of sounds. This
phenomenon, called auditory streaming, is a result of the way in which the
brain tries to make sense of incoming auditory stimuli. Very often we are
placed in an environment in which there are many sound producing bodies. Each
of these bodies produce sound waves that reach our ear. However, when they
reach our ear they are all mixed together along with reflections from walls or
other surfaces. In order to make sense of the environment, to separate, for
example, the speaker next to us
from the fan in background, the auditory system uses grouping clues to group
together information that belongs to one body and excludes information that
does not belong to that body. Timbre (which is itself a complex attribute) is
one of the parameters by which this grouping takes place. Sounds which are
close in timbre are grouped together. Pitch, and spatial location are other
attributes that can be used.
At slow speeds our
auditory system assumes that one body could have sufficient time to produce
widely varying timbres. As the tempo increases there is a point of fission
where we can no longer hear the sequence of events as one continuous sequence.
Instead we hear it break into streams. A parallel example is a melody which
skips from high notes to low notes and then back again. At slow tempos we are
able to hear it as one (perhaps disjointed) melody. At fast tempos the high
notes are grouped together in one stream and the low notes in another stream,
leading to a polyphonic texture.
Tabla playing actively exploits this feature. Typically at high speeds we will hear it break into the three sound families described above, ringing sounds, damped sounds and bass sounds. The amazing power of this insight is perhaps clearest in the presentation of qaidas. Qaidas often have an even number of strokes per beat. They are also usually played at a medium speed and then doubled. At slow and medium speeds the beauty of the expressions, the melodic beauty of the words stand out. When the qaida’s speed is doubled an amazing transformation takes place. A qaida which may have been rhythmically straightforward now is heard as three separate lines, each line with its own rhythm, creating a polyrhythmic texture. Tanmoy is careful to show nearly all of his qaidas at medium and fast speeds. The delight of seeing how a composition is transformed is one of the great pleasures of solo tabla.
[Example] See qaida 7 under transcriptions and analyses where I give a detailed example.
A bit of advice: focus on
one sound family at a time in dense, confusing sections. In some compositions
the kinar sound might be
prominent. In that case try and follow just the rhythm of the kinar sounds. In another the bass may be easier to
follow. As familiarity with the
passage increases one will be able to hear each part clearly and slowly the
interaction and interrelation of the parts will emerge.
Tabla playing has always
made extensive use of rhythmic complexity. Syncopated structures, complex
subdivisions of the beat, and asymmetric time cycles abound. Certain forms,
such as the peshkar are largely
based the feeling of syncopation. The subdivision of beats into fives, and
sevens in addition to the more usual, twos, threes and fours has recently
become more common. The overlaying of one time cycle onto another for brief
periods has also become an accepted device. All this has further increased the
potential rhythmic possibilities of a performance.
In the hands of a skilled,
imaginative performer all the processes that have been discussed come together
creating emotions that are abstract, sweet, profound, ecstatic and poignant.
Solo tabla is an art unlike any other.