7 Tips For Tabla Players

Are you interested in playing tabla? If so, you may be looking for some useful tips to improve your skill. Given below are a few tips that can help you improve your practice and techniques with time.

1) Go for Clarity (Don’t Just Focus on Speed)

First of all, you should keep in mind that clarity has its importance as far as playing tabla is concerned. What you need to do is produce a high quality tone. Speed is important but it’s not the most important thing. At first, you should try to maintain your pace and work on the clarity level.

2) Keep it simple

Simplicity is the key to a great composition. Great tabla players perform with clarity and simplicity. Therefore, you don’t have to show off how well you play. Your tone will speak volumes about your art.

3) Respect The Art

Classical music has uplifted the lives of people. Here it’s important to note that there is a big difference between an artist and a performer. Music attracts more than the performer. The reason is that the artists behind the curtain respects his art and doesn’t want to show off. So, he tries his level best to improve his art. So, your first step is to respect your tabla.

5) Keep Practicing

It’s very important that you continue to practice your art. Regardless of the musical art, practice is of utmost importance. For instance, if you are practicing a composition, you have to play it over and over again to the point that you can play it for 60 minutes non-stop.

6) Focus Your Attention

As said earlier, music is a type of spiritual practice and devotion. If you want to play good, you need to clean your mind. Once you have cleaned your mind, you will be thoughtless. And then you will be able to focus on your art and your output will be amazing. When you are in the right frame of mind, you will be able to give your best.

7) Listen to a Variety of Music

You should listen to other artists as well. This doesn’t mean you should listen blindly. You should pay attention to know how their music is structured. Aside from this, you should focus on the type of instruments they use and the taal they are playing at that time. For the sake of inspiration, you should listen to different types of music on a regular basis.

9) Timing is Very Important

You should know different variations, such as compositions and taals. But “timing” is the basic tool that you may want to focus on. Without this thing, you will have to struggle a lot. And what can you do to adjust your timing? Well, it all boils down to practice.

So, these are 7 points that you should keep in mind if you want to be really good at playing tabla. You may also consider taking tabla classes for a few months, especially if you don’t know the basics. Hope this helps.