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Enigmatic Permutations INTRODUCTION Drumming accompanies virtually all Indian music whether vocal, instrumental (sarode, sitar, flute, etc.) or dance. In North Indian classical music, drums keep the metric cycle, tal, against which the instrumentalist, vocalist, or dancer may compose or improvise. In addition, within the form of the overall structure of Indian melody, raga, the drummer will perform solos of various length. Drumming is also done as a solo performance with melodic accompaniment, known as lahara, often on a sarangi or harmonium. The spoken words, bols, of the drummer's repertoire mimic the different sounds of the tabla. Compositions are learned and memorized through use of these bols. Even in performance, the tabla player sometimes recites the bols of a composition before playing it. In the following analysis, bols are used, written in tintal (a sixteen-beat cycle) with eight beats to a line. I will also use mathematical equations to explore the intricacies of some compositional techniques. I began studying the tabla in 1992 with a former Wesleyan doctoral student, Norman Skiba. Neely Bruce gave me the lead to Norman after I told him that I was going to Tennessee for a while. In Tennessee, studying with Norman was not convenient, as I lived four hours away from his house. Nonetheless, I made the trip three times during the semester in order to learn basic strokes and three compositions. Norman was generous with his time and welcomed any company that had anything to do with music, especially Indian music. From these first compositions, I began the interpretive part of being a tabla player. The following composition from the Benaras gharana (style) that I learned from Norman especially affected me:
This beginning composition plainly shows the elements of creating variations of a theme. I will explain later, in detail, the process of deriving variations, but for now, I wish to introduce the process of learning how to interpret these compositions. The fact that the variations are derivatives of the theme encourages the student to figure out the relationship between the theme and the variations. An abstract understanding of this relationship aids in memorization. For example, it is much easier to think of variation 1 as repeating the first four beats "dha dha tet te" three times and then the second four beats "dha dha tin na" once, than to remember each beat individually. In fact, the latter form of memorization is almost impossible after knowing the theme. Later, in my studies with Swapan Chaudhuri, I would ask if I was thinking of tabla permutations in the correct abstract way. He would reply that it was one way of looking at the composition, but his reluctance to tell me that there was a correct way would be his way of forcing me to do the creative work of deriving the relationship between theme and variation. This process of interpretation allows the tabla student a means of being able to apply the abstract processes of deriving variations in improvisation. After these few lessons with Norman, I knew that this music was something that I wanted to pursue. After some thought, I decided that the thing to do was to go to India and devote myself to the tabla. I called Deepak, the drummer from my former rock band, because his uncle's (Kinnar Seen's), father taught tabla in India. While I was arranging this project, I had the fortune of meeting John McLaughlin, who had done several projects with Indian music (Shakti and the Mahavishnu Orchestra). McLaughlin suggested that rather than go all the way to India, I go to the Ali Akbar College of Music. He affirmed that some of the best musicians of India teach in the area. Following McLaughlin's advice, I found myself in California studying with Ali Akbar Khan, Swapan Chaudhuri, and Zakir Hussain, surrounded with a very devoted community of peers. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | NEXT PAGE »
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