Learning the Tabla

Book excerpt: The tabla, a hand drum which originated in India, has become very popular throughout the world. This method covers everything you need to know to learn to play the tabla, including the history and parts of the tabla, tuning and maintenance, positioning, basic exercises, and numerous techniques and patterns. A glossary is included to help the student decipher the many mnemonics and foreign terms which are essential to the tradition of the tabla. the accompanying CD illustrates many of the exercises, so that this book may be used either with or without a teacher.