Tabla

                       

                                 ABOUT TABLA

The tabla  is a membranophone percussion instrument (similar to bongos), 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."The tabla is used in some other Asian musical traditions outside of India, such as in the Indonesian dangdut genre

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

                    HISTORY OF TABLA    

The invention of the tabla is commonly attributed to the 13th century Indian musician Amir Khusrau.He supposedly split the mridangam or the pakhawaj in two. ('toda, tab bhi bola - tabla': 'When broke, it still spoke' - a fairly well known Hindi pun). However none of his writings on music mention the drum.
This explanation is unlikely, however, because there are Hindu temple carvings of double hand drums resembling tabla that date back to 500 BC.

Rebecca Stewart suggested that the tabla was most likely a product of experiments with existing drums such as pakhawaj, mridang, dholak and naqqara. The origins of tabla repertoire and technique may be found in all three and in physical structure there are also similar elements: the smaller pakhawaj head for the dayan, the naqqara kettledrum for the bayan, and the flexible use of the bass of the dholak.