Little bird tabla drumming

Little Bird Tabla Drumming

The tabla is a traditional pair of Indian hand drums. The two tabla drums make a different sound not only from each other, but also depending on where on the skin they are struck with the fingers. When tabla players learn to play, they are taught to associate the sounds of the drum with vocal sounds such as 'din' and 'dah'.

If you are lucky enough to have a pair of tabla, the children can practise playing Little with left hand (two taps) and bird with right hand (one tap). Any two, different size drums can make a satisfactory substitute. While one child plays the drums, all the other children can practise using the correct hands by tapping gently on knees.

In the video the child is playing the tabla and the other instrument is the harmonium, a keyboard instrument (see player's right hand) powered by bellows (player's left hand).