Hello, anyone have suggestions on ways to play faster and cleaner? Along with practicing the phrases and compositions I want to play fast what else would you suggest?
Ive been practicing very much, and my mind is beginning to not always look at just the induvidual strokes, but at the phrases as one unit, so its making my mind be able to tell my hands to go faster.
Hey man you're lucky. . .i havent even played mine yet . .fortunately for me the drums were being worked on and fixed today keep up the practice though. . .if they were here. .i probably would have been intermediate by now in a months worth of time. .i wouldnt be able to keep my fingers off the things!
My lil'bit of humble insight in this vast area is -
1) If your a prodigy - don't worry uh'bout it.
2) If your on the cusp of being a prodigy - don't worry uh'bout it.
3)If not , (thats me) it's practice,but smartly. Tabla is very physically demanding.Practice one finger na dhin-dhin-na for as long as you can,staying on a theka that you can play as fast as you can,before your clarity & sonority start to fall apart.Yeah baby,thats where it's at!
Monk,playing the theka is also very good to improve your endurance. I always end my practise with playing the theka in middle tempo. After a few minutes start increasing the speed a little. Hold on for a few minutes.
Do this untill you are playing fast drut tempo.
If you feel the pain coming up in your arm,hold on for a while.When you are becoming sweaty and start making funny faces its time to go back to middle tempo(do not stop playing)
Lots of SLOW practise. Did you know that is easier to play a composition fast(and PRETENDING that you are playing it well) than playing it slowly and well?
I also play with Cds of Pt Sharda Sahai, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pt Annindo Chaterjee etc, mainly beacuse I like their playing and because I like to see if I can play as fast as them(phrases such as Dere Dere are good to try) and also because I would like to reproduce or open that feeling they experience, . . in me. It does work! Did you that Pt Sharda Sahai's Punjubi Gat(ie. the one with NaRa NaRa NaRa on the dayan) and Zakir Hussain(or other player, for this matter) way of playing it are almost two different experiences?
Start your metronome at 60mm and play te with your middle finger in the middle of the gab one stroke per beat - te,te,te,te. .etc.
then add your index finger for tere,tere,tere,tere. .etc
or (tete,tete, depending on your pronounciation)
then add ke for tereki,tereki,tereki,tereki. .etc
then add te for
terekite,terekite,terekite,terekite. .etc
then terekiteta,. .etc
then terekitetaka,. .etc (ta here is index finger on gab, in fact all these strokes are on the gab - exactly in the center with straight wrist and for arm with absolutely no muscle tension. if you experience tension slow down until it passes - then continue)
contiune up to terekitetakaterekitetaka,. .etc
never continue at speed if there is tension in your hand or wrist, slow down and relax again and then resume.
begin using these within tintal
such as:
Dha-terekitetakaterekiteDha-
Dha-terekitetakaterekiteDha-
Ta -terekitetakaterekiteTa -
Ta -terekitetakaterekiteDha -
from here there are many more wonderful variations you will discover. Listen to recordings and your own intuition - always atay in good time within the cycle.
Blessings - Dean
