Musicking

Episode 1 of a 5 part series on the North Indian Classical tabla. We are joined by Professor James Feist, student of the great Pandit Yogesh Samsi of the Punjab lineage, and in this episode, he introduces us to the background, basic notes, pedagogy, and schools of the Tabla.

This episode is part 2 of our 5 part series on the Hindustani Tabla. We start out by introducing the basic theory of a Hindustani performance, and then our guest goes on to talk about the opening compositional form of a tabla solo recital, the Peshkar. 

Ethnomusicologist Scott Linford gives us a glimpse into the music culture and practice surrounding the Ekonting, a plucked, gourd lute most well-known in the West as an ancestor to the Banjo.  

This episode is part 3 of our 5 part series on the Hindustani tabla. Our guest introduces us to the improvisational rules of the Kaida, which is the next compositional form typically performed in a tabla solo following the Peshkar. 

Following the Kaida, our guest introduces us to the Rela and Fixed compositions, which are the final, blistering compositional forms that are performed at the end of a Tabla solo. 

Joined by Performer, Scholar, and Professor of Ethnomusicology, Stefan Fiol, today's episode delves into the world of ritual Drumming in the Uttarakhand region of Northern India, exploring subjects such as drumming dialects, the influence of the recording industry, the dynamics of change, and the ever-present issue of caste-based discrimination. 

Now that we have covered the contents of a tabla solo, we now talk about the tabla in the context of accompanying, ranging from classical accompaniment, folk music, devotional music, and studio work, as well as the tabla's popular inclusion in jazz and fusion music in the west.