Toombi: Introduction and General Information.
Please watch the video below to learn the basic hand positions and how to play a Toombi. If you do not understand Punjabi, you may use the Close Captioning (‘CC’) feature on YouTube.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYbxlrh1lN4&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0]
Introduction and General Information about Flutes:
Please watch the video below to learn the basic hand positions and how to blow into a bansuri. If you do not understand Punjabi, you may use the Close Captioning (‘CC’) feature on YouTube.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUDr2CxDxuM&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0]
NOTE: You may see the entire series of lessons here.
Introduction and General Information about Flutes:
Please watch the video below to have a general idea about the instrument. If you do not understand Punjabi, you may use the Close Captioning (‘CC’) feature on YouTube. I have also included the English transcript below the video.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0nC4pIcqzU&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0]
Today we’ll talk about flutes. Basically, there are two types of flutes, straight flutes and side flutes.
The straight flutes such as this penny whistle, have a mouth piece like this, and these are played holding like this. Our Algozay is also another example of these.
And the side flute, like this one, these we hold on to a side to play. And, these have a blow-hole like this one right here. I’ll show you a few examples.
First of all, I have , no examples of straight flutes. First is this Penny Whistle. It is played like this
[music]
Another example of a straight flute is this Chinese flute. You’ll see that in any straight flute, there is always a hole after the mouthpiece like this one and it is always cut on an sharp angle. So it becomes the same thing,
as we blow on an angle on this side flute, The sharp cut makes our straight blow hit the edge. When the air we blow hits the edge, it goes in and out rapidly and flutters. The sound of flute is not created by our blown air. Flute already has air in it. Our blowing just gives it a push to vibrate. Our blown air itself doesn’t vibrate.
And, this is a Chinese fuke (air), I mean a flute. Of course in China it needs Chinese air to play. You may have heard its unique sound.
[music]
And, the third example of the straight flutes are these Algozas. Because it is a folk instrument, so the makers normally drill the holes without any precision, and generally these are out of tune. As you see these Bansuries.
These holes have been drilled according to the laws of physics, with mathematically precision. But as you see on these Algozas, all holes appear distributed equally. Having said that, Algozas sound really great when they are slightly, just slightly out of tune with each other. As you see here. You play these together by keeping rhythm in your blowing. For example
[music]
The second way to play these is holding the keynote on one and play the notes on the other. For example
[music]
Just like that.
Now the side flutes, I have two examples here. The first is this one, it is a standard orchestral flute (C).
Playing this is very similar to the Indian Bansuri. Making sound out of it is a little easier than a bamboo flute
as it has a mouth piece.
[music]
That is the way to play it. And the Indian flute (Bansuri), we will also talk later in detail about how to play it or not. It is also capable of producing all the notes of an octave.
But its greatness is that, the other flutes sometimes play the notes rigidly like.
[plays]
But the Indian Bansuri can also play slide so that means it can mimic vocal.
That is its greatness. We will discuss it later in detail, for now it is played like this
[music]
Like that.
Later we talk about how to blow into it and how to play notes on it.
That would be for another time.
There is always more to a good song than the ears of a general listener will catch without special directions. The first dimension or the top layer in the commercial songs is always for the general public. The first and foremost reason for releasing an album is to entertain the fans. It must fulfill its prime purpose. However, there is always more going on beneath the surface. Only the serious listeners can decode those layers.
Since the release of Kamal’s Jinday Ni Jinday, when I was thinking that no one noticed, I got many e-mails just about the Tabla in this song. For all those, who noticed that it was a little more than your average thekas, you are right. Tabla composition of this album is simple but played perfectly by an amazing table player of Punjab Gharana, Naveen Sharma. The above picture of him playing tabla in the studio was taken when other musicians were having lunch.
Some, who follow Hindustani classical music must have seen him with Ustad Zakir Hussian. Naveen has been travelling, learning and playing jugal-bandi with Ustad Zakir Hussain for a few years now.
If you interested in rhythm, please listen to the song once more (not the video version, the full album version) and pay special attention to the Tabla. There are six Tablas in this song, three with a smaller head and three with a bigger head. Every section has three layers, left, right and center. All played one by one by Naveen. Try to decode the pick-up of the last verse. Once you begin to think about it, I am sure it will keep you up at nights for a few days, but that would be a good thing. Enjoy.
Tanpura is always an accompanying instrument. It is not able to create any tone variations. Tanpura’s main purpose is to keep the performer in tune. It has four strings. The overall shape of Tanpura somewhat matches the shape of sitar, although the squash (Toomba) is a little bigger in the male Tanpura. Tanpuras come in many different sizes.
Tuning Tanpura:
Tanpura’s first three strings are steel strings and the fourth is a brass string. Only exceptions to this are the big Tanpuras. Then even the first string is a brass string. However, generally you can achieve any tuning with the steel strings.
a. First string: This string is tuned to the fifth (Pa) of the lower octave.
b. Second and third string: Just as sitar’s paired strings, these are also called ‘Jodi ke tar’. These are tuned to the keynote from the middle octave (Sa).
c. Fourth string: This is the fattest string of all and it is tuned to the keynote (Sa) of the lower octave.
Exceptions: As you see above that a Tanpura is tuned to the keynote and the fifth (first and fifth or ‘Sa’ and ‘Pa’). It creates a drone of fifths. The problem emerges when the Composition (Raag) you are about to perform does not have fifth. As we know that lots of Raags are Chhadav (hexatonic) or audav (pentatonic). If the fifth is Verjit (forbidden in ascending and descending) in a Raag then the first string is tuned to the fourth (Ma). Although ‘Ma’ and ‘Pa’ (fourth and fifth) cannot be completely absent from a Raag at the same time, some times one is missing and the other is a very weak in the given Raag. In those conditions the first string is tuned to the third (‘Ga’). If a Raag has a very inharmonic scale, the tuning of Tanpura has to be creative. As an example, When performing Marva Raag, the first string is normally tuned to the Shudh Ni (major senventh). The other three strings are never a problem because they are tuned to the keynote (‘Sa’) and a ‘Sa’ is never excluded from any Raag.
In professional situations, some performers use two Tanpuras. One is tuned to 1-4 and the other one is tuned to 1-5. With this tuning, every other note has a direct relation (minor or major 3rd) to Tanpura’s drones.
Playing Tanpura:
The middle finger plays the first string and the index finger plays the rest. Strings are played one after another. The speed of playing does not depend on the tempo of the song. Playing all four strings once, completes one loop of Tanpura’s continuously varying tone. Singers usually play Tanpura by themselves and the instrumentalists use an accompanist.
Twang:
Tanpura has a distinguish tone. This tone is achieved by setting the threads on the bridge. While a string is ringing, the thread is moved under the string to get the exact position where the string is touching the bridge. When the thread goes to that position the ring will get louder and you will hear a twang in the tone. How much of the twang you desire is matter of personal taste. The amount of twang can be adjusted by moving the thread.
Amir Khusro (1253-1325), a Sufi mystic and a spiritual disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya contributed a lot to northern Indian music. He was a famous poet and musicologist. He had a deep understanding of both Indian and Persian music styles. Although he used some Persian terms to describe Indian music in his writings, he only played and composed in Indian music.
His main contributions to Indian music are said to be defining the Indian style of Qawwali, invention of Tabla and invention of Sitar. Although these claims are not right. We will discuss his real contributions to Indian music in another post.
The actual Sitar was invented by another great musician named Khusro Khan. Khusro Khan was a royal musician and younger borther of the great vocalist Sadarang in the court of Mughal Emperor Jahandarshah (1664-1713). A historian Dargagh Kuli Khan writes that Khusro khan played a ‘strange thing’. So at that time the Sitar wasn’t even named yet. There were three strings on Khusro Khan’s sitar. The word ‘seh’ meaning ‘three’ comes from Persian and ‘tar’ means ‘a string.’ The Indian Sitar has evolved over time. Nowadays it has seven main strings.
Khusro’s ‘sehtar’ had two brass strings and one steel string. It had 14 frets. The brass strings were tune to the keynote and the fifth (Sa and Pa) and the steel string was tuned to the fourth (Ma). Its head was made from a big dried half squash. The strings were played with index finger of right hand with a finger pick. There were no rules how to hold it, although it was supposed to be played in a sitting position.
Eventually the descendants of Khusro Khan made the new version of Sitar. They first put six strings on it and then eventually added another one. Even today the greatest Sitar players of our time are from that family. They are known as ‘Seni Family’.
Tuning Sitar: Nowadays sitar has seven strings. The names and the tuning order of these strings are like this:
1. First String: This is a steel string. It is also called ‘Baj ka Tar’ or the playing string. It is tuned to the fourth (lower ‘Ma’) of lower octave. Melody of sitar is played on this string.
2. Second and Third string: These are brass strings and are called ‘Jodi ke tar’ (paired strings). These are tuned to the keynote (lower ‘Sa’).
3. Fourth string: This is a steel string and it’s tuned to the fifth (lower ‘Pa’).
4. Fifth String: This is a brass string and its gauge is double than the paired strings (second and third). This is tuned to the fifth (double lower ‘Pa’) of second lower octave. It is called ‘Lurge ka Tar’.
5. Sixth string: It is a steel string and is tuned to the fourth (Ma) of middle octave. It is called ‘chikari ka tar’.
6. Seventh String: This is also a steel string. It is the thinnest of all strings. Some people tune it to the upper keynote (upper Sa) and some tune it to the fifth (Pa) from the middle octave. This is also called ‘chikari ka tar’ or ‘papaea ka Tar’
To tune a Sitar, first a keynote is created by another instrument (a Harmonium, a tuner or a tuning fork etc.) or if it’s a solo performance the player can tune the sitar by itself. Here are the steps:
1. Jodi ke Tar (the paired strings) are first tuned to the given note or by themselves to the lower keynote.
2. The first string is tuned to the lower octave’s Fourth (Ma).
3. Then the fourth string is tuned to the lower octave’s Fifth (Pa).
4. Next the fifth (fattest) string is tuned one octave lower to the fourth string (very low fifth, or ati-mander Pa).
5. The sixth string is tuned exactly one octave higher to the paired strings (second and third) to the middle (Sa).
6. Finally the seventh string is tuned one octave higher to the sixth string. As mentioned earlier, some people tune it to the fifth rather than the eighth.
Above tuning order is important to create a just intonation scale. That is something I have totally ignored in the basic theory. We will discuss the position of notes in different scales in the advance theory.
Sitar also has secondary strings or the sympathetic strings. Normally these are not played directly. These strings are tuned to all the notes used in the composition to be played. We will discuss the exact tuning order of these strings in the advance theory. When a note is played on a primary string the sympathetic strings vibrate by themselves. Almost all original Indian stringed instruments have sympathetic strings. These strings add a special ring or sustain to every note.
Moveable and unmovable frets: If you have seen a sitar, you may have noticed that some sitars’ frets can be adjusted and some are fixed. The sitars with moving frets have 17 frets. In these sitars the Vikrat (moved or flat and sharps) notes are adjusted by moving the frets to the appropriate position.
In the fixed fret style, there are 19 frets. They are positioned with semitone differences and cannot be moved. Some fixed style sitars have 22 or 24 frets too. It depends on the designers’ and players’ choices.
Sounds of Sitar: The sitar has two basic sounds ‘Da’ and ‘Ra’. ‘Da’ is when a string is plucked towards the player and ‘Ra’ is when a string is plucked away from the player. The notation of sitar is written in these two ‘boles’ or sounds under the appropriate notes.
Such as:
If there are two notes and only one pluck, as the first and second pluck in the given example, the second note is a slurred note. On sitar, pulling the string creates the slurred notes. The beauty of playing sitar is in its unique slur style. Pandit Ravi Shankar is the most famous sitar player of our time.
Indian musical instruments are divided into four categories:
1. ‘Tut’ Instruments
2. ‘Sushir’ Instruments
3. ‘Avnudh’ Instruments &
4. ‘Ghan’ Instruments
These categories also exist in Western Music.
1. ‘Tut’ Instruments: The ‘stringed instruments’ are known as ‘Tut’ Instruments’. These instruments use one or more strings to create sound. These are further divided into two sub-categories:
a. Plucked instruments: such as Sitar, Veena, Srode, Taanpura, Guitar etc.
b. Bowed instruments: such as Sarangi, Esraj, Violin etc.
2. ‘Sushir’ Instruments: These are the ‘wind instruments’. Such as Flute, shehnai, Been, Clarinet, saxophone etc.
3. ‘Avnudh’ Instruments: These are the instruments that have heads made from animal skin. Such as Tabla, Dhole, Pkhavaj, Dejambe etc. Mostly these are rhythmic instruments.
4. ‘Ghan’ Instruments: These are the instruments that create a note (musical sound) by hitting something with hammer or stick. You may call them tuned percussions too. Such as Jal trung, Munjeera, Kartaal, Vibraphone etc.
While we are talking about rhythmic instruments, I thought I should write at least one post about Tabla’s southern counterpart Murdung.
Murdung is also called Murdungum or Mridungam. It is a very ancient drum and is mentioned in the oldest scripture available (Rigveda 5.33.6.). In ancient times it was called ‘Pushkur’. Pushkur was the favorite drum of Gods. All Godly dances were performed on the rhythms of Pushkur. There are thousands of ancient statues and carvings that give Murdung a very long history.
Pakhavaj, Muraj or Murdal are all Murdung’s other names. Murdung is especially famous in southern India. When northern Indians adapted a version of Murdung, they called it Pakhavaj. A Pakhavaj (or murdung) is considered more complicated and harder to play than a Tabla. But since Tabla’s invention, Pakhavaj’s popularity is gone down. You can only see it in the temples and religious group singings in northern India now. But Murdung (Murdungum) is still the main rhythmic instrument for the southern Indian music. All over India good musicians still know Murdung’s importance in development of Indian rhythm and they respect the instrument and its players a lot.
Shape of Pakhavaj:
As shown in the picture, Pakhavaj is made from the one piece of the wood. The bass side is bigger than the treble side. Pakhavaj’s Bayan (left side) is not inked and dough is used to get the bass sound. Higher or lower notes are achieved by putting more or less dough on the head. Because Pakhavaj is one piece, so hitting one side makes both sides ring. That ring distinguishes Pakhavaj’s all over sound from Tabla. The ring is especially obvious when a Thaap (all four fingers flat like ‘Te’ sound in Tabla) is played. A lot of Thaap sounds are used in Pakhavaj, where in Tabla lots of individual fingers are used to get different sounds.
The high side of Pakhavaj is always tuned and the procedure to tune it exactly the same as Tabla’s Dayan. So there is no need to repeat the instructions.
Sounds Of Pakhavaj:
The Pakhavaj sounds are divided into two categories:
1. Muted Boles (sounds): the sounds which do not ring are closed or muted boles
2. Open boles (sounds): the sounds, which are allowed to ring, are called open boles.
There are differences in scholars that what the basic sounds of Pakhavaj are. But the following diversion seems very practical:
Main Sounds:
Ta, te, di, thun, na, dha, d, dhay, dee, gu, khirer, jhen, mu,
Secondary sounds:
Ran, ke, gay, n. dhu, dhee, lan, thayee, daan, kee, tee, thurer,
As I mentioned earlier that Murdungum is basically a southern Indian instrument, so I will not go into details on this here. Once we have covered most of the Northern Music theory, then we may come back to it. The southern Taal structures and playing styles are different than the northern Indian ones. It is a good idea to master the northern Indian style and structure before going into the southern rhythms.
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General:
Skinned drums have been popular in India from ancient times. Some of these are played with sticks and other are played with hand. It is said that god Shiva dug a pit in the ground and skinned it with the devil’s skin and played it. That was world’s first skinned drum. This of course could be a myth, but the point is that these drums are older than to find their true origin.
Some old paintings have been found of a drum which sort of looks like a Baya (left) side of a Tabla, but the modern Tabla is not that old. Most scholars and researchers now agree that a Sufi poet and musician Amir Khusro made Tabla in the time of Emperor Alaudin Khilji (1296 – 1316 AD). He cut the Murdung (or Pukhavaj, an ancient rhythmic instrument, still popular in the southern music) in the middle and put the two pieces side by side. Later developments were made from that design. Some people say that word Tabla, evolved from Middle Eastern word ‘Tubbel’ drum. This much is sure that today Tabla is the most famous Indian drum in and out side of India.
Main Parts:
Tabla has two parts, which are simply known as the left and the right drum. The names are only correct if you are right handed. If you are left-handed, then you will be playing left side with your right hand. the good thing about Tabla is that no adjustment is necessary to change hands, just switch the drums around.
Both the left and the right parts have many other names too. You can pick any pair you would like to or you can mix and match.
1. Dayan (right) and Bayan (left)
2. Tabla and Dugga
3. Tabla and Duggi
4. Puda and Dhama
5. Jodi (the pair)
First two names are very famous everywhere. Some popular music players (non-classical) use the word Duggi for the Bayan (left). Some Quwali style players and villagers in Punjab, call them ‘Puda’ and ‘Dhama’. And religious Sikh singers mostly use the name ‘Jodi’. Generally speaking, if you say that I play Tabla, then this automatically means the both parts. But when we discuss the sounds of Tabla, then Tabla means the right side (Dayan or the higher, treble drum). To make things a little less confusing let’s settle on the names for this blog:
Tabla means both sides (the left and the right)
Dayan (right) means the right side or the smaller treble drum
Bayan (left) means the left side or the bigger bass drum
Dayan (the right side, treble drum):
The right side is the sharper side of Tabla. It is made of wood that gives it a distinguished sound. It is available in many sizes, depending on where you want to tune it. The Tabla heads are made from goatskin. A prepared skin is called ‘Pudi’. That is why sometimes ‘Dayan’ is also known as ‘Puda’. A Pudi’s edge has a crown which has 16 holes. A rawhide belt goes through these holes and 8 wooden blocks are inserted under the belt. Dayan is tuned by these wooden pieces.
It is always tuned before playing. Most players tune it to the keynote (especially classical and semi classical players), although in folk and pop music if the Key is too high or low for the available Dayan (the right side), then it is often tuned on the fifth or the fourth. It is very rare to tune it to the third and it is not recommended, unless you have no other option. The term ‘tuning Tabla’ mostly means tuning the right side’s (Dayan’s) edge (chanti), that sound is called ‘Na’ or ‘Ta’. So if you have a Tabla, don’t tune it until you really know how to create this ‘Na’ sound. The open sounds of Dayan (tu or din), are mostly semitone to a tone higher than the ‘Na’ sound.
Dayan’s top is divided in three parts:
1. The out side circle is called ‘Chanti’
2. The first circle inside it is called ‘Luv’ and
3.. the black part in the middle is called ‘Siaahi’ (ink)
Please pay attention to the picture and see where these parts are. All the sounds are made by hitting the different parts of Tabla with different kind of strokes. If a Tabla is recklessly hit or tuned, it may take hours to fix it back. It is a very delicate instrument. Although it is moderately loud instrument, but it is the technique not the force, that makes a Tabla sound good.
Bayan (Left side):
Left side is the bass side. It used to be made of clay, but now most of them are made of copper. In Punjab (Northern State of India (The Punjab School of tabla has produced most world renowned tabla players), some of them are also made of wood. A heavy brass Bayan (left) also sounds good, I have a very good sounding 5lb. brass Bayan. Normally the Bayan is not tuned to any specific note. But some very advance players, who have really good control over their palm-pressure, tune it too a certain note. If tuned, then it is generally tuned to the bass keynote. Many notes can be played by altering the pressure of palm on it. It also has the same three sections (chanti, luv, siaahi). Bayan’s Siaahi (ink) is on to a side. Most Bayans (left side) are 10″ in size. Bayan’s ‘Pudi’ (skin) has a crown too. Difference here is that the Bayan does not have wooden pieces under the hide belt (unless it is meant to be tuned).
Related Posts: 1. Tuning Tabla, 2. Tabla Sounds,
Also see more on the Rhythm Practice page.
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