TABLA

pair of small drums played in the chamber music of northern India. The higher-pitched drum, also called tabla, or sometimes dahina (right), is a one-skinned drum usually of wood and having the profile of two truncated cones bulging at the centre, the lower portion shorter. Skin tension is maintained by thong lacings and wooden dowels that are tapped with a hammer in retuning. It is usually tuned to the tonic, or ground note, of the raga (melodic pattern). The bahina (left) is a deep kettledrum, usually of copper but also of clay or wood, with a hoop and thong lacings to maintain skin tension. Pressure from the heel of the player's hand varies the pitch. A disk of black tuning paste is placed on the skin of each drum to give it harmonic overtones. The drums are played with the fingers and hands, the bahina to the player's left.