vocalizations by tabla players
gnu-power
I have heared several tabla players (Trilok Gurtu, Zakir Hussain,
among others) use their voice instead of their instruments to create
absolutely amazing tabla-sounding rythms (on John McLaughlin's album
"Que Alegria" Trilok Gurtu actually re-records himself thus creating
*two* voices duelling and competing with each other at warp speed -
absolutely breathtaking and amazing!)
I remember somebody telling me that this is actually a classical tabla
technique known by all tabla players. Is this so? Where can I learn
more about this? What is this technique called? Are there CD records
entierly dedicated to this technique?
Many thanks in advance,
GP
PS: I know Trilok Gurtu's work from his association with the group
Oregon and with John McLaughlin. I also know Zakir Hussian from his
association with John McLaughlin. Since this is a classical indian
music group, I was wondering if somebody could tell me how these two
musicians are viewed in classical indian music circles. Many thanks!
Swar Systems
This is called tabla bols (bol = word in Hindi) . As you probably know,
tabla has been transmitted orally for ages, and that's the language the
masters used (and still use!) for sharing this knowledge with their
students. Each one of these bols like dha, dhin, tu, etc... corresponds to a
specific tabla stroke (well, sometimes a bol can mean different strokes and
a stroke can be described by more than one word, but that's another story;-)
In fact a tabla player usually learns the bols of a rhythm before actually
playing it. But it requires a very good practice to be able to read these
words at such high speed.
Otherwise, Zakir Hussain is one of the great legends of tabla, one of the
greatest tabla players of our times. Trilok Gurtu has also an excellent
reputation as a classical tabla player, but is more famous in the fusion
styles.
Cheers!
Mariano
"gnu-power" <gnu-...@list.ru> a écrit dans le message de
news:76887239.04093...@posting.google.com...
Town Crier
> This is called tabla bols (bol = word in Hindi).
Yes, individual sounds of that language are indeed called bols. A
vocal recitation of a whole composition or a substantial part thereof
is called paDhant. All tabla solo recordings I have heard contain
some paDhant. YMMV. You may also want to catch Pt. Suresh Talwalkar
live. Each time I heard his solo he did some paDhant too. (see
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=22ce8086.0408061942.36af5f7f%40posting.google.com)
DG
gnu-power
> This is called tabla bols (bol = word in Hindi) . As you probably know,
> tabla has been transmitted orally for ages, and that's the language the
> masters used (and still use!) for sharing this knowledge with their
> students. Each one of these bols like dha, dhin, tu, etc... corresponds to a
> specific tabla stroke (well, sometimes a bol can mean different strokes and
> a stroke can be described by more than one word, but that's another story;-)
>
> In fact a tabla player usually learns the bols of a rhythm before actually
> playing it. But it requires a very good practice to be able to read these
> words at such high speed.
>
> Otherwise, Zakir Hussain is one of the great legends of tabla, one of the
> greatest tabla players of our times. Trilok Gurtu has also an excellent
> reputation as a classical tabla player, but is more famous in the fusion
> styles.
>
> Cheers!
>
> Mariano
Hi Mariano,
Thanks for your information. Do you know of any records fully, or
largely, dedicated to tabla bols? I simply cannot get enough of this
- it is absolutely stunning for a jazz guitarist like myself to hear
what tabla players are capable of doing. Even my kids want to hear
the table-bols segments over and over and over again :-))
Or do you know of any websites where I could look up more info about
this?
Kind regards,
GP
Nick H (UK)
This vocalization of percussion is one of the things that I have always
found attractive in Indian music. In Southern Indian music it can be
called Konnokol (which I probably spelt wrong).
Try this CD for a South Indian percussion introduction including some
speaking; I think you may enjoy:-)
http://www.worldmusicstore.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=5915
NB: I don't know the company, I just took the first google result.
--
Nick H (UK)
Spam prevention...
my real domain name is mridangam
which is a dot-com.
You can email nick there.
Kid Orion
gnu-...@list.ru (gnu-power) wrote:
Sandip Burman has a brief but excellent bol-exchange with several
members of Bela Fleck & The Flecktones on BF&tF's DVD "Live at The
Quick," if you want to watch this being done. Likewise, Zakir Hussain
has a section of spoken bols on Tabla Beat Science's DVD "Talamanam
Sound Clash." Incidentally, as you're a jazz guitarist, you might enjoy
both DVDs in their entirety anyway. :)
My tabla guru, Achyut Ram Bhandari of Kathmandu, does a wonderful tabla
solo-- with alternating sections of spoken bols-- on the CD "Shringara
Nepal," by his trio of the same name. It's a bit hard to find, though.
Swar Systems
Usually all tabla solos contain such recitations, but you may check out the
various items suggested by other people in the forum.
Just as you seem interested by this subject, I should mention that our
Indian music software SwarShala (and our VST plugins) include the
possibility of playing any tabla rhythm as strokes or as Bols. Of course,
the Bols playback is more of a gadget, but it can sound quite cool
sometimes;-) More information about it at www.swarsystems.com/SwarShala/
<end of the commercial part;-)>
Cheers!
Mariano
"gnu-power" <gnu-...@list.ru> a écrit dans le message de
news:76887239.04100...@posting.google.com...
gnu-power
> Hi,
>
> Usually all tabla solos contain such recitations, but you may check out the
> various items suggested by other people in the forum.
>
> Just as you seem interested by this subject, I should mention that our
> Indian music software SwarShala (and our VST plugins) include the
> possibility of playing any tabla rhythm as strokes or as Bols. Of course,
> the Bols playback is more of a gadget, but it can sound quite cool
> sometimes;-) More information about it at www.swarsystems.com/SwarShala/
> <end of the commercial part;-)>
>
> Cheers!
>
> Mariano
>
Hi everybody!
Thanks a lot for the info! I am totally transfixed every time I hear
a tabla player (and I usually am *not* a fan of percussion
instruments, but a tabla is so much more than a mere "percussion") and
I will definitely research this further.
Kind regards to you all,
GP
gnu-power
> Hi,
>
> Usually all tabla solos contain such recitations, but you may check out the
> various items suggested by other people in the forum.
>
> Just as you seem interested by this subject, I should mention that our
> Indian music software SwarShala (and our VST plugins) include the
> possibility of playing any tabla rhythm as strokes or as Bols. Of course,
> the Bols playback is more of a gadget, but it can sound quite cool
> sometimes;-) More information about it at www.swarsystems.com/SwarShala/
> <end of the commercial part;-)>
>
> Cheers!
>
> Mariano
>
Hi everybody!