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On a professional level, the popularity of the tabla can be gauged from the fact that there are a larger number of well-known practitioners (or ‘tabalchis’) as compared to any other Indian instrument. However, playing the tabla is not as easy as it seems, and it requires hours and hours of practice and dedication, and a natural rhythmic skill, to master it. It is in many cases the first instrument that a child or a teenager is introduced to, as it is taught in schools and at basic music initiation courses. On an amateur level, the tabla is perhaps the most commonly played Indian instrument.
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Naturally, it would be appropriate to begin with this instrument. I shall focus on how the instrument is used in different genres, and mention the leading performers in each style.Īs many are aware, the most popular Indian percussion instrument is the tabla, mainly popularised abroad by Ustad Allarakha and his son Ustad Zakir Hussain. I shall not go into too many technicalities and playing styles, unless really necessary. The aim is two-fold: one, to make readers aware of certain artistes they might not have heard before, and secondly, to expose relatively new audiences, mainly from the West, to the beauty that various Indian instruments offer. Many instruments used to accompany dance recitals shall be discussed too. The next few parts will feature various drums used in the north Indian form of Hindustani music, the south Indian Carnatic music, ghazals, film music, fusion, folk and devotional music, besides certain instruments played solo irrespective of genre.
To mark the birth centenary of late tabla legend Ustad Allarakha on April 29, we shall now move into Indian rhythmic instruments. So far, this series has focused on Indian melodic instruments.