--- url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-de/instrument/tabla' title: Tabla author: name: drupler url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-de/user/1' date: '2023-07-03T22:30:11+00:00' updated: '2026-11-06T00:32:05+00:00' type: product summary: 'The tabla is a pair of tuned hand drums from Hindustani music: a wooden dayan and a copper or brass bayan. It is played through spoken bols in six gharanas.' tags: - Membranophones - Tabla image: 'https://files.kalasudha.com/styles/d12_standard/public/2026-09/tabla-drum.jpg?h=d1cb525d&itok=ULcyJURi' published: true og: site_name: KalaSudha 'image:url': 'https://files.kalasudha.com/styles/d12_standard/public/2026-09/tabla-drum.jpg?h=d1cb525d&itok=ULcyJURi' 'image:secure_url': 'https://files.kalasudha.com/styles/d12_standard/public/2026-09/tabla-drum.jpg?h=d1cb525d&itok=ULcyJURi' 'image:type': image/jpeg 'image:width': '1200' 'image:height': '675' 'image:alt': 'Tabla, Indian drum instrument' --- Hindustani instrument · Drum pair # Tablaतबला A tabla is a pair of hand drums. The smaller drum, the dayan, is wooden, sits under the right hand and carries the pitch. [Ask for a quote](/en-de/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=38) [Learn the tabla ](#learn) ## Buy from KalaSudha £250 to £1,500 - Sold by quote or made to order - Packed for shipping and delivered worldwide - Serviced and repaired by us, wherever you bought it FamilyDrum pair DrumsDayan and bayan TuningHammer, gatta and gajra OriginNorth India Buy from us ## Choose your tabla [Ask about a custom order ](/en-de/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=38) - Entry level ### Entry level tabla From £250 Entry sets pair a sheesham (Indian rosewood) dayan with a brass bayan. [Ask for a quote](/en-de/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=38) - Mid-range ### Mid-range tabla Up to £500 Mid-range sets have a copper bayan and better skins. [Ask for a quote](/en-de/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=38) - Professional ### Professional tabla £500 to £1,500 Professional pairs come from master craftsmen in Varanasi or Delhi and need a waiting period. [Ask for a quote](/en-de/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=38) ### What to look for A student tabla and a professional tabla differ most in the bayan and the skins. Entry sets pair a sheesham (Indian rosewood) dayan with a brass bayan; mid-range sets have a copper bayan and better skins. Copper is more expensive than brass and generally considered the best, and it sounds warmer. The dayan's walls set its tone: thinner is brighter, thicker is warmer. David Courtney, author of Manufacture and Repair of Tabla, advises a beginner to buy a medium-priced pair and avoid a cheap one, because a poor instrument makes learning hard. Professional pairs come from master craftsmen in Varanasi and Delhi, and need a waiting period. Prices reflect the drum pair; stands and hammer are additional. When the heads wear, we re-face them and renew the syahi. Ask us for a quote, or for a tabla made to order. ### After you buy Delivered worldwideWe pack every instrument for international shipping; ask us about cases and insurance. Service and repairWe service and repair any tabla, wherever you bought it, worldwide: ask us. Strings, parts and casesAsk us for strings, spare parts and cases, and about a size for a younger learner. Help with your instrumentAsk us through the chat on any page, or by email, for help with your instrument. Gifts, schools and travelAsk us about gift vouchers, class sets for schools, and flight cases and travel help. Read the tabla care guide - **Tuning:** Warm the drum by playing first, as cold skin gives an unstable reading. Move the gatta for coarse changes, then tap the gajra with the small hammer, downward to raise pitch and upward to lower it, a little at a time, checking against a tanpura or tuner. Tune the dayan to the soloist's Sa, or Pa; most players leave the bayan untuned. - **Heat and moisture:** Keep the heads away from water, sun and air-conditioning vents: heat and cold swing the pitch and crack the skin. Wipe the syahi dry after playing and never touch it with wet fingers. - **Storage:** Keep 40–60% relative humidity, as dry air cracks the dayan shell and the skins; use a humidifier in dry climates. Store each drum in a cloth bag or padded case, never face-down, and wrap them separately for travel. - **Heads and lacing:** A dull, uneven tone warns of a failing head. We can cement small maidan cracks; a cracked syahi needs a new head. Replace split gatta and stretched tasma. Every few years, have us re-face heads, renew syahi and replace lacing, like professionals. KalaSudha Academy ## Learn the tabla with us [All courses ](/en-de/courses) Start the tabla with KalaSudha at Foundation level, online or in a workshop. The first stage covers hand placement and the basic bols, the spoken syllables for each stroke. Children learn with us as well as adults: ask us what age suits a child starting the tabla, and about a size for a younger learner. Returning learners pick up where they left off after a long break. Our courses run in levels, and your teacher reviews where you stand first. - KalaSudha-designed course [Tabla ](/en-de/course/tabla) Tabla course online, prepared by KalaSudha: Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced levels, live lessons one-to-one or in a cohort, and feedback on practice. - [Foundation](/en-de/course/tabla/foundation) - [Intermediate](/en-de/course/tabla/intermediate) - [Advanced](/en-de/course/tabla/advanced) [Ask about learning the tabla](/en-de/form/learner-enquiry?source_entity_type=node&source_entity_id=38) ### Your route, stage by stage 1. 1 Hand placement and basic bols Beginners start here, at Foundation level in KalaSudha's courses. Sit with both drums on padded rings, as your teacher sets you up. Learn the single strokes one at a time: na, tin and te on the dayan, ge and ke on the bayan. Na takes the index finger at the edge of the syahi, and dha joins ge and na. Speak each bol aloud as you play it, slowly, before you combine them. 2. 2 Taal cycles Internalise teentaal (16 beats, 4+4+4+4), keherwa (8 beats), dadra (6 beats) and jhaptaal (10 beats, 2+3+2+3). Recite and clap each theka, the basic tabla phrase of a taal, before you play it. Learn to find sam, the first and most stressed beat, and khali, the 'empty' section of the cycle. 3. 3 Laya and layakari Develop control of laya, tempo and density. Practise each theka at vilambit (slow), madhya (medium, about double vilambit) and drut (fast, about double madhya) within one taal, keeping sam clear. Then practise layakari, dividing the beat into threes and fours without losing the cycle. 4. 4 Compositions: kaida, rela, tukda and tihai Study at least two complete kaidas, the theme-and-variation form of solo tabla, in your gharana's style; each variation keeps the theme's syllable count. Learn relas, fast flowing compositions, and tukdas, short fixed pieces. Recite each in bols before you play it, and memorise the tihais, a phrase played three times to land on sam. 5. 5 Solo performance Structure a full solo in one taal: open with a vilambit kaida and its variations, build through a madhya laya rela, and peak with drut tukdas and tihais that land on sam. The Lucknow and Farrukhabad gharanas cultivate this solo form. Practise accompaniment too, until listening and answering the soloist come naturally. The instrument ## About the tabla ### What makes a tabla ### What is a tabla? The **tabla** is the pair of tuned hand drums of Hindustani classical music, and ours suits the beginner and the professional accompanist alike. The right-hand **dayan** (dahina) is a hardwood treble drum; the left-hand **bayan** (duggi) is a copper or brass bass kettledrum. Each goatskin head carries the **syahi**, a black paste of iron or manganese powder and rice starch built up in coats: centred on the dayan, off-centre on the bayan. The syahi gives the dayan a true pitch, tuned to the soloist's Sa, which sets the tabla apart from most percussion. A palm pressed into the bayan mid-stroke bends its bass into a vocal slide. Professional pairs come from master craftsmen in Varanasi and Delhi. Every stroke has a spoken name, a **bol**: na, tin, te and re on the dayan, ge, ke and ka on the bayan, dha, dhin and tun together. Teachers pass compositions on by voice, without notation. Six **gharanas** (schools) shape the repertoire. Delhi, the oldest, from Siddhar Khan, with clarity and simplicity; Ajrada, near Meerut, with lyrical flow between the drums; Lucknow; Farrukhabad, blending Delhi and Lucknow strokes with versatility; Benares; and Punjab. Your training will follow one gharana, with its own kaidas, strokes and priorities. The tabla accompanies singers, instrumentalists and Kathak dance, and has its own solo tradition. A well-matched tabla player's replies shape a performance as much as any melodic choice. ### History The tabla's origin is contested. Legend credits Amir Khusrau (1253–1325) with splitting the [pakhawaj](/en-de/instrument/pakhawaj) in two. The drum emerged in the 17th or early 18th century, as Mughal court music asked for lighter accompaniment. The gharanas formed in the 18th and 19th centuries around courts and cities, each passing its strokes from master to live-in student. Delhi, the oldest, traces to Siddhar Khan; Lucknow grew at the Awadh court; Benares favours open, resonant strokes and a distinctive bayan wrist-press; Punjab plays with power, suited to folk and semi-classical settings. Court rivalry drove ever more complex kaidas, relas and tihais. Alla Rakha (1919–2000) took the tabla to world audiences through decades beside Ravi Shankar, including the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh, and through his own solo concerts. His son Zakir Hussain (1951–2024), the best-known tabla player worldwide, kept a rigorous Hindustani training. He worked with jazz musicians such as John McLaughlin and Charles Lloyd, with world music artists and with Western classical ensembles, and taught at universities. Both trained in the Punjab gharana, in the lineage of Mian Qadir Bakhsh. Universities in Europe and North America now teach the tabla, and players of many nationalities train in its gharanas. How a tabla is made Makers carve the **dayan** from a single block of sheesham (Indian rosewood), teak or neem, by hand or on a lathe, in centres such as Delhi, Varanasi and Kolkata, and sand the interior smooth for resonance. The shell tapers inside to focus the sound. Walls of 6 to 10 mm set the tone: thinner is brighter, thicker is warmer. A standard dayan pitched to C or B is 24 to 28 cm deep. The **bayan** is a kettle-shaped shell about 20 to 25 cm wide and 25 to 28 cm deep, cast in copper or brass; copper sounds warmer and suits professional pairs. Its rounded base holds an air column that reinforces the bass. Some bayans have a small hole at the base so the drum breathes during the bass press. Each head, the **puri**, is goatskin: the open maidan and the **syahi**. The braided gajra and the straps are buffalo rawhide; on the dayan the strap runs over eight wooden **gatta**. Craftsmen layer the syahi from iron filings or manganese powder and rice or wheat starch over several days. A true syahi sings; a misplaced one means a new head. Each master guards their own recipe. ### At a glance ClassificationMembranophone (avanaddha vadya): drum pair Drum pair namesDayan, also dahina (right, wooden treble drum); bayan, also baya or dagga (left, bass kettledrum) Tuning methodHammer strikes adjust skin tension: move the gatta (wooden dowels) for coarse tuning, tap the gajra for fine tuning Bol systemSpoken syllables (bols) map to specific strokes: na, tin, dha, dhin, ge, ke, tun, among others Key figuresAlla Rakha and his son Zakir Hussain (Punjab gharana) Primary roleAccompaniment for singers, instrumentalists and Kathak dance in Hindustani music, with a solo tradition (tabla vadana) built on the kaida Full specifications #### Physical dimensions Dayan height24–28 cm Dayan head diameter12.5–15 cm Bayan diameter20–25 cm Bayan depth25–28 cm Combined weight (pair)3–5 kg #### Shell materials Dayan shell woodSheesham (Indian rosewood), teak or neem Dayan wall thickness6–10 mm Bayan shell metalCopper (professional) or brass (student); also steel, aluminium, clay or wood Bayan wall thickness2–4 mm (cast metal) Surface treatmentLacquered or oiled (dayan); bare or lacquered (bayan) #### Membrane & syahi Dayan head skinGoatskin (three-layer construction: keenam, maidan, inner keenam) Bayan head skinGoatskin (buffalo rawhide for the gajra rim) Syahi compositionIron filings or manganese powder with rice starch; some makers add gum, charcoal or soot Syahi applicationMulti-layer, applied over several days and baked to hardness Syahi diameter (dayan)6–8 cm (centred) Syahi position (bayan)Off-centre #### Tuning system Tuning mechanismHammer strikes on the gatta (cylindrical wooden dowels) and the gajra Lacing materialBraided leather (tasma) of rawhide; rope or synthetic on some bayans Gatta count8 on the dayan Pitch range (dayan)C3–F3 (matched to the soloist's Sa, sometimes Pa) Tuning frequencyBefore each performance (the bayan is often left untuned) #### Acoustic characteristics Dayan frequency range~130 Hz–700 Hz Bayan frequency range~55 Hz–200 Hz Tonal characterTuned, melodic; syahi suppresses unwanted overtones Dayan sustain1–3 seconds Bayan sustain0.5–2 seconds (varies with wrist-press technique) Explore the music ## Hear the tabla Hear KalaSudha's [recordings](/en-de/releases) and [concert videos](/en-de/videos). ### Recordings to start with - [ Raag Miyan ki Malhar \| Jhaptaal \| Slide Guitar & Tabla \| Debasis Chakroborty, Akram Khan \| KalaSudha Debasis Chakroborty, Akram Khan 5:20 ](/en-de/video/raag-miyan-ki-malhar-jhaptaal-slide-guitar-tabla-debasis-chakroborty-akram-khan-kalasudha) - [ Raag Bhairav \| Rekesh Chauhan & Shahbaz Hussain \| Live \| The Duke’s Hall Rekesh Chauhan, Shahbaz Hussain 5:10 ](/en-de/video/raag-bhairav-rekesh-chauhan-shahbaz-hussain-live-the-dukes-hall) - [ Mountain Dhun by Ajay Prasanna \| Live \| Raga Unison at Edinburgh Ajay Prasanna, Shahbaz Hussain, R. N. Prakash 9:20 ](/en-de/video/mountain-dhun-by-ajay-prasanna-live-raga-unison-at-edinburgh) - [ Raag Kirwani \| Deepak Shah \| Piano \| Reading \| Kala Festival 2025 Deepak Shah, Hanif Khan 15:02 ](/en-de/video/raag-kirwani-deepak-shah-piano-reading-kala-festival-2025) - [ Yaad Piya Ki Aaye \| Ajay Prasanna \| London Raga Fusion \| Flute, Piano, Tabla & Ghatam \| KalaSudha Ajay Prasanna, Shahbaz Hussain, Rekesh Chauhan, R. N. Prakash 12:32 ](/en-de/video/yaad-piya-ki-aaye-ajay-prasanna-london-raga-fusion-flute-piano-tabla-ghatam-kalasudha) - [ Ustad Akram Khan \| Tabla Solo in Rupak Taal \| Live in Reading \| Kala Festival 2025 Akram Khan, Satwinder Pal Singh 8:14 ](/en-de/video/ustad-akram-khan-tabla-solo-in-rupak-taal-live-in-reading-kala-festival-2025) ### Players - [ Hanif Khan Artist ](/en-de/artist/hanif-khan) - [ Durjay Bhaumik Artist ](/en-de/artist/durjay-bhaumik) - [ Kousic Sen Artist ](/en-de/artist/kousic-sen) - [ Shahbaz Hussain Artist ](/en-de/artist/shahbaz-hussain) - [ Akram Khan Ustad of Ajrada Gharana ](/en-de/artist/akram-khan) Ask us to book a tabla player for a concert, event or recording. [Book a tabla player ](/en-de/book-indian-classical-musicians) ### Hear it live - [ A Hundred Strings in Oxford: Two Strings, One Pulse 18 Nov 2026 Oxford ](/en-de/event/a-hundred-strings-in-oxford-two-strings-one-pulse) - [ A Hundred Strings in Manchester: Strings of Kashmir and Delhi 20 Nov 2026 Manchester ](/en-de/event/a-hundred-strings-in-manchester-strings-of-kashmir-and-delhi) - [ A Hundred Strings in Bournemouth: Ragas by the Sea 21 Nov 2026 Bournemouth ](/en-de/event/a-hundred-strings-in-bournemouth-ragas-by-the-sea) - [ A Hundred Strings in London: Plucked and Struck 22 Nov 2026 London ](/en-de/event/a-hundred-strings-in-london-plucked-and-struck) [All events ](/en-de/events) Keep exploring ## More around the tabla - [ Discipline Tabla Hindustani classical music's leading drum: a tuned pair played with the fingers ](/en-de/instrumental/hindustani-classical/tabla) Questions ## Tabla: common questions Buying, learning, care and the instrument itself. ### What is a tabla? A [**tabla**](/en-de/instrument/tabla) is a pair of hand drums. The smaller drum, the **dayan**, is wooden, sits under the right hand and carries the pitch. The larger drum, the **bayan**, sits under the left hand and gives the bass. The bayan is most often copper, sometimes clay or wood, and the player bends its bass by pressing the heel of the palm into the head while striking. Each head carries a black circle of **tuning paste**. The paste weights the skin and adds overtones. The dayan rings at a clear pitch, and the bayan gives a deep bass with a looser pitch that the palm can shift. ### How do I start learning the tabla? Start the [tabla](/en-de/instrumental/hindustani-classical/tabla) with KalaSudha at **Foundation** level, online or in a workshop. The first stage covers hand placement and the basic bols, the spoken syllables for each stroke. Children learn with us as well as adults: ask us what age suits a child starting the tabla, and about a size for a younger learner. Returning learners pick up where they left off after a long break. Our [courses](/en-de/courses) run in levels, and your teacher reviews where you stand first. ### What does the tabla player do in a concert? In a Hindustani concert, the [tabla](/en-de/instrumental/hindustani-classical/tabla) player keeps the tala, the rhythmic cycle, by playing its theka, the pattern of strokes that marks each cycle. The tabla player and scholar Aneesh Pradhan asks for a clear, balanced theka at a steady pace, shaded in answer to the melody. The tabla stays silent through the opening alap and enters with the composition. A khayal singer gets the theka with short diversions; an instrumental recital gives the tabla longer solo passages. In a sawal-jawab, a question-and-answer passage, the tabla echoes the soloist's ever shorter phrases. The passage closes with a tihai, a phrase played three times to land on the first beat. The tabla has its own solo repertoire too. ### What is the black spot on a tabla? The black spot on a **[tabla](/en-de/instrument/tabla)** is the syahi, a disc of loading paste, set in the centre of the dayan and off-centre on the bayan. Sources name starch or dough, iron filings or iron oxide, gum, and charcoal or soot among its ingredients. In 1920 Raman and Kumar showed that this loaded head gives harmonic overtones in the same relation to the fundamental as a string. ### Can you replace a tabla head? Yes, the head of each **[tabla](/en-de/instrument/tabla)** drum, the puri, is a replaceable part: ask us to replace it, as we service and repair any tabla, wherever you bought it. Both heads are goatskin, with an outer leather ring, the chanti, and a braided outer ring, the gajra. Tuning and care must be learned from a teacher, so ask us or your teacher before changing a head yourself. ### How do you tune a tabla? A **[tabla](/en-de/instrument/tabla)**'s right-hand drum, the dayan, is tuned in two stages: the eight wooden gatta under the straps are moved up or down for coarse changes, and the braided gajra is struck with a small heavy hammer for fine tuning. The dayan is usually tuned to the soloist's Sa. Learn the process from a teacher before using the hammer. ### Do you tune the bayan? Most players leave the bayan, the left-hand drum of the **[tabla](/en-de/instrument/tabla)**, untuned, because they modulate its pitch constantly. Pressure from the heel of the left hand on the head changes its tone colour and pitch during a stroke. Where it is tuned, it sits roughly a fifth to an octave below the dayan. ### Should I buy a copper or a brass bayan? Brass is the most common metal for the **[tabla](/en-de/instrument/tabla)**'s bayan, and copper is more expensive and generally considered the best. Bayan bodies are also made of steel, iron sheet, aluminium, bronze, clay or wood, and museum examples include chromed copper and tinned copper. Judge the pair as a whole: David Courtney advises learners to avoid a cheap pair, because a poor instrument makes learning hard. ### What are the six tabla gharanas? Six **[tabla](/en-de/instrument/tabla)** gharanas, or schools, are conventionally named: Delhi, Ajrara (Ajrada), Lucknow, Farrukhabad, Benares and Punjab. Delhi is usually held the oldest, founded by Siddhar Khan in the 18th century. Delhi and Ajrara belong to the Dilli baj, Lucknow and Benares to the bolder, open purab baj, and Farrukhabad balances both, while Punjab has a strong pakhawaj base. Best-known tabla players include Ahmed Jan Thirakwa of Farrukhabad, Kishan Maharaj and Samta Prasad of Benares, Alla Rakha and Zakir Hussain of the Punjab gharana, and Swapan Chaudhuri of Lucknow. ### What kind of tabla should a beginner buy? David Courtney, author of Manufacture and Repair of Tabla, advises a beginner to buy a medium-priced **tabla** pair and avoid a cheap one, because a poor instrument makes learning hard. KalaSudha's tabla suits the beginner and the professional accompanist alike, and the [tabla page](/en-de/instrument/tabla) gives the price of each grade. Entry sets pair a sheesham (Indian rosewood) dayan (the right-hand drum) with a brass bayan (the bass drum); mid-range sets have a copper bayan and better skins. When the heads wear, KalaSudha re-faces them and renews the syahi, the black paste on each head. For lessons, KalaSudha's [online academy](/en-de/courses) teaches every discipline of Indian classical music, tabla included. ### Where can I buy a tabla set outside India? You can buy a tabla set from KalaSudha outside India: we sell each pair by quote or made to order, and we deliver worldwide. We pack every instrument for international shipping, and you can ask us about cases and insurance. We service and repair any tabla worldwide, wherever you bought it, and you can ask us for spare parts. For help later, use the chat on any page or write to . We can also arrange gift vouchers, class sets for schools or a flight case for travel; ask us. ### Where can I get a sitar or tabla repaired outside India? KalaSudha services and repairs any sitar or tabla outside India, wherever you bought it and wherever you live: ask us. On a sitar, that includes the setup and the jawari, the buzzing bridge. On a tabla, we re-face worn heads and renew the syahi, the black paste on each head. We pack every instrument for international shipping, so ask us about a case and insurance for the trip. For help with your instrument, use the chat on any page or email . ### What is a good gift for someone learning an Indian classical instrument? A good gift for someone learning an Indian classical instrument suits the instrument they play and the stage they have reached, so ask their teacher if you are unsure. An instrument of their own, or a better one, also makes a gift: KalaSudha sells every instrument by quote or made to order. For something smaller, ask us for a case, or for strings and spare parts to suit their instrument. Lessons make a gift as well. KalaSudha teaches online and in workshops, and beginners start at Foundation level: see our [courses](/en-de/courses). Ask us about gift vouchers. ### Can I book a tabla player for a concert, event or recording? You can ask KalaSudha to book a tabla player for a concert, event or recording. A tabla player can accompany a singer, an instrumentalist or a Kathak dancer, or play solo. Tell us which you need through our [booking service for Indian classical musicians](/en-de/book-indian-classical-musicians). Before you book, hear KalaSudha's [recordings](/en-de/releases) and [concert videos](/en-de/videos). ### Who are the best-known tabla players? Well-known **tabla** players include Alla Rakha (1919 to 2000) and his son Zakir Hussain (1951 to 2024). Both trained in the Punjab gharana, in the line of Mian Qadir Bakhsh. Alla Rakha accompanied Ravi Shankar for decades, at Monterey in 1967, Woodstock in 1969 and the Concert for Bangladesh in 1971. Zakir Hussain co-founded Shakti with John McLaughlin, recorded with Charles Lloyd and taught at Princeton and Stanford. ### Still have questions? Our support team can help you find the right answer. [Contact support](/en-de/form/learner-enquiry?source_entity_type=node&source_entity_id=38) Talk to us ## Tell us about the tabla you want Ask for a quote on an instrument made to order, or about learning to play it with our teachers. [Ask for a quote](/en-de/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=38) [Ask about learning](/en-de/form/learner-enquiry?source_entity_type=node&source_entity_id=38) Stay close ## Keep KalaSudha close. Receive news of concerts, learning opportunities, recordings and the work taking shape at KalaSudha. - Concert news - ·Learning opportunities - ·Recordings and stories We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time. Buy a tabla from KalaSudha [Ask for a quote](/en-de/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=38)