You have purchased your tabla and you have a teacher. You have been studying for a bit and you are completely confused. What you learn doesn’t seem to have anything to do with what you hear on the recordings. Furthermore you have talked to other students from other teachers and they are using different bols and different fingerings. It seems that the further you go the more confused you get.
Does this sound familiar? Don’t blame your teacher, it probably isn’t his fault. He is just following a tradition of teaching which is centuries old. Don’t blame yourself, there is probably nothing wrong with you.
You need to buy this book to put things in perspective. It will give you a good overview of the various techniques used by different gharanas. It will also give you a vast amount of material which will put you ahead in the game.
This is the fifth edition of “Fundamentals of Tabla” (293 pages). It is the first volume of a series of books on tabla. The second is entitled Advanced Theory of Tabla, the third is entitled Manufacture and Repair of Tabla, while the fourth is entitled Focus on the Kaidas of Tabla. Here are the contents:
| Preface | vii | |
| Chapter 1 | Introduction | 1 |
| Chapter 2 | Getting Started | 27 |
| Chapter 3 | Elementary Material | 39 |
| Chapter 4 | Other Bols | 63 |
| Chapter 5 | Theka and Prakar | 71 |
| Chapter 6 | Purbi Baj | 95 |
| Appendix 1 | Notation | 105 |
| Appendix 2 | Quick Reference Chart | 109 |
| Appendix 3 | Sample Questions | 111 |
| Appendix 4 | Misc. Tal | 121 |
| Appendix 5 | Misc. Prakar | 175 |
| Appendix 6 | Videos of Basic Strokes | 223 |
| Appendix 7 | Smart Phone Apps for Students | 225 |
| Appendix 8 | Paluskar Notation | 227 |
| Appendix 9 | Technique | 229 |
| Appendix 10 | Writing the Bols | 247 |
| Glossary | 259 | |
| Bibliography, Discography, and Web Sites | 271 | |
| Index | 279 |
Purchasing
This is available around the world. Check your local Amazon.