People who are starting to dabble in music can increase their repertoire by indulging in the very rich arena of world music. When we talk about music, we are not merely talking about singing and playing musical tracks. The hardcore musicians play musical instruments.
The normal route is to start it with a musical instrument in guitar. Why not increase your range to include a percussion instrument called electronic tabla? Through it, you are not only dealing with a mere exotic instrument, you are also digging through a little bit of the Indian culture.
Tabla, which comes from the Arabic word tabl: meaning drum, is an popular piece of percussion in the Indian subcontinent. It is also an important musical instrument in popular, classical and religious circles of the Hindustani people. The instrument is a curious combination of a pair of two hand drums of different sizes and contrasting timbres.
The uncertain history of the instrument points to it being regularly paired with the other popular Indian instrument called sitar. As been said, there are two drums in a set of tabla: the smaller one is called dayan while the bigger one is called bayan. Dayan is played with the dominant hand (meaning if you are a lefty, you use the left hand for dayan) while the other hand is for bayan. This playing mechanism makes the tabla to have distinct range, rhythm and tone when played along. While learning to play tabla takes a decent amount of serious practice, the playing techniques depends on the extensive use of the palms and fingers in various combinations to create a variety of sounds. For the beginners, you can just thump yourself away with the tabla.
In the Western world, the more popular variation is the use of technology to enhance the sound of tabla. Electronic tabla, also known as Etabla, uses technology to recreate the genuine sound that is patterned after the Indian instrument. Due to its ability to produce varying and sophisticated music, Etabla is suitable for solo or group performances. It is also great for dance rhythm if you are after the more groovy tunes.
The technical aspect of Etabla is difficult to describe on paper but it has digitizing sensors that are positioned just like the traditional tabla technique of the Indian percussion. The electronic sensors convert hand slaps and finger strikes to binary codes which can be read by computers. The binary codes are then triggered to produce real sound and graphics of a tabla. Many online sellers distribute pieces of electronic tabla for around $300. You can sample the kind of sound of this instrument in the Website.
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