Tabla

The name tabla has probably been derived from the Arabic word "tabl" and possibly to some extent from the Turkish word "dawal" meaning ?drum', due to the close ties India had with Persia for many centuries. Over the last two hundred years, tabla has become the most popular percussion instrument in the Indian classical music.

Tabla consists of two drums - the masculine drum (bayan) to produce base tones and the feminine drum (dayan) to produce treble tones. The musician has to tune these drums to a certain pitch before the performance. Tabla is played today both as an accompanying instrument and a solo one.

The knowledge of the percussion instruments in India is very old. It is
said that all types of percussion instruments have developed from the huge earth drum called bhumi-dundubhi which was used by the Aryans to give warning of danger. During the gandarva-music period, before the classical period, two the most important books on musicology, Natyashasthra and Nardiyasikasa were written. These contain complete descriptions and teachings of music including also the percussion instruments. During the classical and post-classical period, the drums were given complex designs and were tuned to defined pitches such as Ga, Sa, and Pa. It is believed that tabla developed as a hybrid drum from the existing versatile drums, particularly from the puskara which consisted of two horizontal drums and a vertical one. Tabla finally came into its present-day shape in the 18th century.