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World Music 'Indian Tabla '
Indian music has been Gerald's passion since visiting Calcutta in 1978. It is both a mental and spiritual discipline. The art is taken up as a way to link with the music of the cosmos. The origins of Indian scriptures refer back to spiritual mantra and music has been an acceptable spiritual path. Daily practice or 'rhias' is an offering to the 'universal spirit' of music. That Hindu deity is Nataraj.
Purchase CD $25 Aus. plus postage This 14 track CD includes the music of Dan Tao playing flute, zither together with members of Bamboo Ochre band members on flute, tabla, bass, organ, mandolin.
Booking form for CD's Name.............................................................. Address............................................................................................................. number of CD's............................ Send form to; PO Box 633 Stawell Vic 3380 Australia Note; Postal order or international bank cheque made in Australian dollars. Make the cheque to G.Menzel
Drums; Dholak, Naal Below; manjira cymbal
Famous Tabla virtuoso Ahmedjhan Thirakwah
Books Suggested The Tabla Gharana of Lucknow - James Kippin Cambridge Uni How to Play -Tabla BK Chaturvedi Tabla 1 and 2 -Ram Avtar Vir
Teental Rhythm16 Beat Vilambit Teental vilambit is the slowest metre one second per beat Dhateta dhinteta dhindhin dha / dhateta dhinteta dhindhin dha dha teta tin teta tintin ta / taketirkit dhinteta dhindhin dha 16 beats matras 1 cycle of beats ; averta - 4 bars ; vibhaga 1 2 3 4 / 5 6 7 8 / 9 10 11 12 / 13 14 15 16 /Dha dhin dhin dha / dha dhin dhin dha /dha tin tin ta / ta dhin dhin dha / + sum 0 kali
Picture; Nasneen @ Flinders Uni. concert (middle)
buying tablas in Dehra Doon Terrragonma Dreaming @ Adelaide
Festival Centre
Learning area 1 The Arts - Sources and Cultural ContextsGerard Menzel
‘Drums and Indian classical Music’ Drums
and Indian classical music
Preamble This topic will analyse the history of Indian drums and look at various relevant aspects of the art which makes it unique. In particular I will highlight the teaching style and student/teacher relationship, the rhythms, the structure of the music and its spiritual aspects. Introduction
Indian music has both a mental and spiritual discipline. The art is
taken up as a way to link with the music of the cosmos. The origins of
Indian scriptures refer back to spiritual mantra and music has been an
acceptable spiritual path. Daily practice or 'rhias' is an offering to
the 'universal spirit' of music, dance and art and that Hindu deity is
Saraswati. The drums have a verbal language of their own, bols with a mathematical basis and a time honoured oral tradition of teaching. The variety of Indian drums is vast and it is a delight to the ears to hear the subtle nuances, infinite rhythms, speed and trance - inducing beat of the skins as it is first recited and then played. The number of rhythms includes over 300. The formal teaching by the Guru is a tradition in itself is best undertaken in India.
The Ancient Guru Disciple relationship A teacher will give you the historical background to these ancient drums, which are steeped in history and religious connections. He tells you of his experiences in India finding a master drummer and becoming a student in the traditional way and the many sacrifices he has made. During this discipleship the student or shishya will be expected to undertake severe training and develop endurance, stamina, mental concentration and rasa or feeling for the music. All of these qualities take time and patience. To be accomplished it will take over 10/15 years of daily training
The Guru and the Student (shisya), is a special relationship of
trust and love. This relationship is not taken on lightly by both
parties. It is a journey of the spirit and the heart, of the body and
the mind. The Guru will take his shishya on like a new family member
and will put him /her to many tests on all human levels.
Drums Dimensions Tabla The parts of the drum are the dayan or Tabla (treble) which is a conical drum or right hand drum made from shisham wood or rose wood. The base of the drum has a larger diameter. The left drum is called the duggi or bayan (base) and is hemispherical bowl shaped made from brass, copper and bronze. Both drums are approx. 25 cm. High. The tabla head is 14 cm. across and the duggi 22cm. Translated, “Dayan” means right hand and “Bayan” means left hand.
The Pakawaj; is another famous instrument of Nth India played in classic music and chanting in the ashrams or temples. It is a double ended barrel drum with leather tuning or metal tuning hardware. Its speciality is to accompany druphad type vocal music. Its used in compositions like Sadra, dhrupad and Dhamar and accompanies the instruments, Rudra bin Surshringar and Surbahar. These being old classic instruments known in the courts of the Maharajas of India or the Dhabar. Nowadays they have only a small elite following and many of the Pakawaj Gharanas have almost gone to extinction. The Pakawaj was very well known in the Moghul period as it combined with vocal or dancing and was played with the Bin.and/or Rebab. (see rao www.trenton.edu)
Most of the Indian drums are hand drums, and are famous for their
unique sound and the variety of rhythms, some 350. Then the guru shows
you how a teacher gives the student the music in a special language
only used by the drummers of India and it is often a highly kept
secret between Guru and student. Schools have a special rivalry and
try to out invent music and play special things, which other musicians
don't know. These rhythms are never written traditionally but must be
memorised and only special students have access to the knowledge of
the Gharana or school. // Dha Dhin Na Dha Tin Na // A six beat rhythm
;which is movement of a bird. Many of the rhythms relate to animals
and these are explained. There is a beat for a horse, donkey, a camel
etc... Many talas replicate nature sounds and are inspired by nature.
ie water dripping, fire crackling, birds flapping or horses running, a
camel walking or a elephant moving. Usually a fellow student studying another instrument will be asked to practice with the disciple on flute or organ while the student practices his drills. The organ player will play a scale over and over again varying the speed of Laya so the student gets practice on the musical variations and drills given by the teacher in a realistic setting. It is one thing to play music alone but the tabla player or percussionist is an accompanying musician and essential for any band, vocal or sitar performance. A student must learn timing and sympathetic accompaniment skills with his fellow music student who often becomes a special friend or Guru Bai. Spiritual Connection Indian music as we know it today has its roots in temple music and devotion by the people to their gods. The temple was the source of praise and the bhajaan was the form since time immemorial. To study with a Guru one often had to study in a monastic manner. That meant severe discipline of up to 8 hours practice per day if one wished to excel. There are numerous stories of teachers who were ultra disciplinarians. One told of a master who locked his son in a small outside room and fed him via a hole in the door for 12 months until he excelled. He became unmatched. Each day he would practice for hours. My teacher Mr Sharma had a teacher who tied him to a tree regularly and he did not get his food until he practiced for some hours daily. These techniques were used by the teacher to breed discipline into the student. The practice was then a form of devotion to their favoured God. These devotions are called rheas. The aim or a tabla player is to be able to one keep the rhythm solid and inspire the sitar player with his perfection of variations. Together they ought to create a Rasa or emotion according to the Raga or melody. This Rasa created by Nadha Brahma is akin to Godliness. The aim is to find beauty in the music in the form of rasa or God in his/her full splendour and variety of forms. Goswams speaks of Rasa…. …-it could be a song about love- in- union ….or the final realities of life – a certain lifting of the spirits among the listeners becomes noticeable. Module 5.2 p18 Goswamy.
The study of the tabla is a spiritual discipline or Yoga. It is Nada Yoga or sound yoga. The ultimate sound is OM and there are 2 sides to the Brahma or universe ; 1 ahat and anahat which is the struck sound and the unstruck sound. The tabla Ji (tabla performer) uses sound bols and the pauses with no sound to recreate the universe in percussion. His concentration is focused on the first beat of the tala just like a Yogi witnesses his breath in meditation. When one masters a tala a certain mood or Bhava is expressed . For example the mood of courage is felt in the 12 beat cycle of chartala. This was used often in the Dhrupad era in the courts of the Maharaja’s. His mantra is the tala which is a endless cycle and begins and end with the Sum meaning first beat. Sum also means first or original/prime/beginning so it has an inflection towards the spiritual realm. After many years of study the teacher will release the student in a ceremony where a ritual cotton string is tied to the student, called a Bandis. The study of music is a type of action or Karma yoga as it requires great physical effort and discipline as well as mental power Chit. It is also a mental discipline or Raja Yoga focusing on sound and maths.
The Rhythms The common Tals or rhythms include the 16 beat Teentala which is the most popularly used tala for classical music and it resembles the pounding of a horses hooves on the ground. Like most Tals it has an effect on the mind the spirit or the body and is good for energising the body and giving a feeling of liveliness, if played fast in drut laya (fast).It provides relaxation if played in the slowest speed called vilambit laya or Madhya (medium).
Teentala 16 beats matras 1 cycle of beats ; averta and 4 bars ; vibhaga 1 2 3 4 / 5 6 7 8 / 9 10 11 12 / 13 14 15 16 Dha dhin dhin dha / dha dhin dhin dha /dha tin tin ta / ta dhin dhin dha / + sum 0 kali
Variations and musical Flourishings First I will explain a Kaida Kaida - Of Persian origin (law, rule) group of bols (sounds) played in different styles, combinations consisting of ; theme, variations and tihai. The special sound or bol displayed here in medium speed or Madhya laya is; tita tati and dhita dhati bhari point is where the kaida changes from the kali to both hands again Kaida Dha- dha- tita dhati dhati dhagi dhina ghina / tirkitt takata titkit ta- tati taki tina kina ta- ta- tita tati tati taki tina kina / tirkit takadha tirkit dha- dhati dhagi dhina ghina (Rishikesh Gharana in Gharwal Himal state)
Palta - variations on the main theme
Palta 1 Tirkittaka ta titkit ta ta- titkit ta titkit dha dha Dha tit dhagi dhina gina
Tihai- repitition of 3 phrases to end a cycle and Played from kali - 9th matra beatDha dhin dhin dha / dha dhin dhin dha / titkit dha titkit dha titkit / 8 matras 1 9 Tabla VocabularyDhire Dhire - bol confering feeling of Ahimsa flutter of a bird - cleansing Sum - original, first , Gur in (Punjabi) Dhun - devotional song Bhava- pure frame of mind tihai - repitition of 3 cycles Bhandis - to tie the knot between the teacher and student represented in a ritual when the guru ties a string on the wrist of the (shisha) student representing union and the students adeptness Khand, or vibhaga - bar averta - one cycle Palla - first half of the tala before kali Layakari - to show different tempo Ass - when the sound lifts us up to the higher chakras chawpally - very fast speed Chakradah tihai - total of 64 matras 4x4 Laya khari - to show different tempo Tala - (bound water) limit or bondage Sanskrito Persian origin Teental - 16 beat cycle Vilambit Teental vilambit is the slowest metre one second per beat The
daily discipline includes rhythmic drills called tukda, paran, kaida,
rela and the classical theory of the percussion cycles are memorised
and noted. There are many hundreds of rhythms and the Indian system is
one of the sweetest most subtle and complex percussion systems in the
world of music. The word for rhythm is Tala and there are
hundreds of them, which have been developed by masters over the
centuries in their various schools in different ethnic and cultural
areas of India. These Gharanas are extremely proud of their
traditions and pass on their heritage via special music variations.
They are very complex and given only to the most deserving and gifted
students. At festive times such as the Dover Lane music festival in
Calcutta annually the tabla maestros will battle it out by displaying
their technique and skills in a contest like situation. These
competitions are judged by the audience and other musicians and there
is the schools prestige and name on the line if they lose, so it is a
fiercely fought battle of the drums. I have heard of stories of how
rival tablaji will try to mentally destabilize the opponent
prior to the performance with derogatory insult in the streets if they
happen to meet beforehand.
Another story told by tantric Aghoris who follow lord Shiva says that the first drum was made after the lord slayed an enemy and then used the skin to make the drum. (See Aghora the left hand of God by .Svodboda. S) Ancient literature The best-known scientific systems of music are offered around 100B.C.E. in the Nardiyasiksa and the Natyasastra by Bharata. This describes Vedic and ghandhava music. The Natyasastra describes Talas (ghanas) and time (kala) while Laya called kalapata was divided into the present divisions as said above. (tabla.com. p2) The ghandarva music led to the Vedic 600BCE period which was the precursor to the classical period. In this Vedic time the drum used was the bhumi-dhundubhi, a giant earth drum made from a empty pit covered with skin. This was used to signal an enemy approaching. . The Mridanga, Pakhavaj, Dhol, Duff, Dholak, are also some of the ancient names of drums. It is also said that the present day Tabla is an improved form of a very old drum called Durdur. According to another story, the Tabla was born when the Pakhavaj drum was cut into two equal pieces thus isolating the bass and the treble.
Gharanas There are various “Gharanas” (meaning households) of Tabla. Each has a distinctive style developed by different families at different times. One of the first known performers who succeeded in popularising this drum was Kallu Khan of Delhi. Each school has its own special style of playing and notation and was founded by a particular legend. Major districts in Nth India such as Bengal /Calcutta, Lucknow in U.P, Delhi Bhaj and Farukahabad Garana and Mahabarati Sangeet Bombay have their Gharanas. In Bombay Nikil ghosh is the legend there who studied with one of the most famous Tabla Ji in India Mohamidja Thiraqwa who is said to have no equal in his day. He was very selective about his students and Ghosh was his one and only Hindu student. Many of the great musicians in India were Islamic from Khan families because the Moghuls held the power and financed their courts.
Recent Past
From the study of the history of music and social developments in
Arabia, we find that the tabla style of instrument was widely used in
the Middle East. With the coming of Muslims to India, the instrument
called the “Tabl” was introduced. By deriving technical skills from
the highly evolved Indian drums such as the Mridangam and Pakhavaj, a
new stylistically evolved instrument called the Tabla has become the
percussion instrument of choice in North India.
There are conflicting stories as to the modern tabla’s origin. Some say it’s a hybrid version of the mrdangam and the puskara. The latter found in cave paintings in Bombay region. It was played on the lap together with other drums. Another possible origin was when Amir Khusro invented it by splitting the pakawaj in two. Nevertheless the earliest literature on the tabla comes from the 18th century. Over time it became the primary instrument for classic and popular music.
Modern times The Tabla drum set has become the elite percussion sound of the modern Indian music scene. Although today it has found a permanent home in the classical music tradition of North India, it has also been the rhythm instrument of choice in folk and film music. But as trends change, today’s film music is lessening its use of traditional Indian instruments giving rise to a more “Western” sound. Indian timbres are being relegated to movies stereo casting olden times. This is breeding a new generation of young Indians who are shying away from their heritage. (Batish/Dayal p2-5) With the popularity of selected western Indian musicians like the Bhangra music from London and the world music influence of the kawal singer Fateh Ali Khan, blending with rock musicians and the improvisational popularity of Trilok Gurtu who plays jazz/improvisational rock then traditional Indian music is effecting the whole world and vice versa.
Although there are many books and learned texts on Indian drums the music traditionally was passed on from teacher to student and memorized. The student was to secretly keep the tradition in his or her head and pass it on to the next generation. Each Gharana would guard their music tradition and keep it close to their chests. If a teacher did not get an advanced student to pass on the music, much of it would die with him forever. To learn tabla well, you have to learn to say it well. Simply stated, learn to vocalize the language of this drum .By language I mean.... learn all its sounds (similar to learning the alphabets) such as Ta, Tin, Ti, Ta, Dha etc.... and then learn the various combinations (like making various words with these alphabets) for example KaTa, TiTa, DhaGe, NaTi, TiTaKiTa, and so on ...... then combine these into sentences as Dha Dha Ti Ta | Dha Dha Tu Na ..... then join these sentences to make paragraphs as
Dha Ti Ta Dha | Ti Ta Dha Ti | Dha
Dha Ti Ta | Dha Dha Tu Na
Conclusion Indian drums as you can see are a rich source of culture and entertainment as well as being steeped in the tradition of religion and art. This brief introduction to the art does little to explain its real beauty nor give true justice to its intricacy. Hearing is believing. Resources / BibliographyThe Tabla Gharana of Lucknow James Kippin Cambridge UniDrumming on the edge of Time Ch 5 Zakir Hussein How to Play Tabla / BK Chaturvedi Tabla 1 and 2 / Ram Avtar Vir Music and spirituality vol 4 Hazrat Inayat Khan / Sufi press Delhi www.tablaworld.com.in Ashwin Batish and Pandit Shiv Dayal p1 to 10 Website Links www.tabla.com Tabla Player Shen Flindell http://www.ethnosuperlounge.com/people.htm Listen to Chris Sprague a Persian Oud player from Melbourne, just search his name @ http://www.indie-cds.com/main.htm
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