SUGGESTIONS TO BEGINNERS

TABLA – AN OVERVIEW OF THE INSTRUMENT

TablA is not as melodious and easy an instrument when compared to other instruments,
when it comes to the way of production of sound. Hence a TablA ShAgird
(“Student” hereafter) needs to have a lot of patience, perseverance, love and dedication
towards the instrument.

A ShAgird has to primarily realize that since TablA is a percussion instrument, it needs a lot of power, balance and crispness in the fingers to bring the maximum sound out of it..!!.

The Following are the points (Best Practices) he has to register in his mind when he sits
for RiyAz (“Practice” hereafter) :
A typical TablA set consists of a TablA and a Duggi.

Do’s :
1) He/She should remember that learning TablA without a guru is like learning to swim in a pool without water.
2) He/She should fix up a regular, convenient time for practice and should stick to the schedule.
3) He/She should always play on a tuned TablA.
4) A RiyAz of 1 hr on a daily basis is quintessential.
5) Special attention should be given to the following while rendering the lessons:

       a)Finger positioning and alignment.
       b)Order of playing the MAtrAs (“syllables” hereafter).
       c)The Speed and sequence of the MAtrAs.
       d)Clarity and Crispness of the MAtrAs.

6) Play, Replay the MAtrAs in different Laya (“Speeds” hereafter) maintaining the crispness and clarity.
7) Slow – Medium – Hold - Fast – Hold – Slow......and so on ...should be the order of RiyAz.
8) Chanting of the MAtrAs while playing is very much essential. This is how, the ShAgird can remember which sound is called what in TablA.
9) Every RiyAz session should end with a group of MAtrAs played at the ShAgird’s maximum speed possible.
10) Improvement/Progress in every practice session with respect to Laya and Clarity/Crispness is a must for a ShAgird.


Do Not’s:
1) He/She should not give frequent breaks inbetween RiyAz sessions.
2) He/She should not force his/her RiyAz timing. In Other words, do not perform RiyAz when you are upset, moodless or tired.
3) Do Not play without applying the Powder.
4) Do Not overspeed beyond your maximum. (Maximum speed should always be equal to such a fast rendition in which all MAtrAs are heard with considerable clarity/crispness).
5) Do Not deviate from the Guru’s direction with respect to the method of playing and best practices.
6) Do Not be complacent / Over-confident on your skills and capacity. Because, May it be any artist, but He/She is not above Music and should not consider himself / herself..