Advanced Theory of Tabla, Vol. 2 (The Complete Reference for Tabla) [Spiral-bound]

David Courtney (Author), David Courtney (Author)

Book Description

Series: The complete reference for tabla | Publication Date: August 1, 2000

"Advanced Theory of Tabla" is the second volume of the series "The Complete Reference for the Tabla" It deals with the various aspects of acoustics, compositional theory, rhythmic theory, as well as stagecraft and other topics of interest to the performing tabla player.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Courtney has been performing on the tabla since 1972.  He first studied pakhawaj (an ancient barrel shaped drum) under the famous Zakir Hussain at the Ali Akbar College of Music.  He then moved to India and spent a number of years learning tabla under the late Ustad Shaik Dawood Khan of Hyderabad.  He has performed extensively on stage, TV, disk, and radio, in India, Europe and the United States.  Along with his wife, he composed the theme music for Houston's Indian TV program called "ASIANA" and recorded the theme music for the radio program "INDIA FILE" which aired in the Austin area.  He has accompanied many great musicians including Ashish Khan, Lakshmi Shankar, and Pandit Jasraj He is well versed in the academic side of music.  During the 80s he received great acclaim in academic circles for his pioneering work in the application of computers to Indian music.  This work is found in his doctoral dissertation "A Low Cost System for the Computerization of North Indian Classical Music".  He is the author of numerous books and articles on the subject of Indian music including, Introduction to Tabla, Elementary North Indian Vocal, Learning the Tabla, Fundamentals of Tabla, Advanced Theory of Tabla, Manufacture and Repair of Tabla and Focus on the Kaidas of Tabla.  His articles have appeared in "Modern Drummer" and "Percussive Notes".  He is presently on the Board of Directors of the Texas Institute for Indian Studies.  Recently along with his wife Chandra, he was given an award of recognition for outstanding contributions to the arts by the American Telugu Association. He is very active today in musical activities.  He is an artist with Young Audiences.  He is also the percussionist in the fusion group Vani, and has several CDs to his credit.  Recently he composed and performed some music for the film "Dancing in Twilight", a film staring Erick Avari, Louise Fletcher, Mimi Rogers, Kal Penn, Sheetal Shet.

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 233 pages
• Publisher: Sur Sangeet Services; 1st edition (August 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963444794
• ISBN-13: 978-0963444790
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,551,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic resource, May 12, 2001

By 

Mr J D Leadbeater (Aveyron, France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Advanced Theory of Tabla, Vol. 2 (The Complete Reference for Tabla) (Spiral-bound)

A fantastic resource for anyone who wishes to learn the complexities and joys of tabla. The book neatly links into his first (Fundamentals of Tabla), although it stands on its own as a tuition book. A very wide range of topics is covered and Mr.Courtney has the knack of providing detail that will be relevent to tabla players of all levels. It is incredible that such a resource is now available when for so long it has been almost impossible to get a balanced overview of the art of playing tabla. If you are interested in learning tabla or already play, buy this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Basic reference for amateur composition, September 5, 2007

By 

Enrique Crespo Molera (Madrid, Spain) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Advanced Theory of Tabla, Vol. 2 (The Complete Reference for Tabla) (Spiral-bound)

Since health problems began to affect to my beloved tabla guru, i had been forced to continue my tabla training by myself...
By now i have not found another guru (Spain is a country with no tradition in this kind of instruments so...) and this book has become my best ally to go on playing this beautiful instrument.

It includes all the basic theory for an amateur tabla player to make his own compositions (and understand the professional ones), mainly focused into every cadential and cyclical form (Tihai, Gat, Rela, Mukhada, Peshkar, Mohara, Kaida...). But the content does not go very deep in each kind of compositional form.

The other part of the book are loose chapters with additional and varied content about tempo, bol dymanics, improvistion, acoustic physics of the tabla timbre, stagecraft recommendations to live perform and more.

Like the first volume of this series, this book also "travels" in my tabla bag anywhere i am going to play, specially if i am going to compose or perform with other musicians.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Book but .., September 9, 2008

By 

Rajiv Menon (New York, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Advanced Theory of Tabla, Vol. 2 (The Complete Reference for Tabla) (Spiral-bound)

I feel that this is a good source of reference for someone who is doing extensive research into the instrument and its acoustics but as a tabla player, I was expecting to see some difficult compositions, some in-depth analysis of lahariya, more into differences in playing styles of various gharanas etc. but folks, this is as good as it can get with this instrument. You can only do so much justice to it in writing after all .. not a substitute for a teacher. And the respected author has very eloquently brought out several useful pointers for tabla players of all levels.