Customer Reviews

Learn To Play: Tabla

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I bought this DVD hoping for a basic introdution to the drums, a guide to positioning, the notes and how to produce them, and some simple exercises. Well, this little DVD is way more advanced than that. The teacher totally knows these drums and his material but it is very advanced. And there is no supporting material for a beginner. For example, he pronounces the different notes (Na, Tin, Ga etc). But I only know what they're called from a chart I found elsewhere (on the Web). They don't use any charts, graphs, lists, tables or other devices helpful to beginners. After talking a while, the teacher calls on his student for a demo, and this student is maybe 8-9 years old. Easy stuff, right? Wrong! This Hindu kid really knows this way around the tablas (obviously having studied and practiced intensively for several years). And they start with a couple of simple note sequences. OK, fair enough. But the next thing you know, the teacher is teaching him 24-beat talas! And this in a single sitting: teacher plays, student repeats. Poor beginner me, left in the dust! And that is a very frustrating experience for someone who seriously wants to learn tablas. I do not think it possible to learn from this DVD (not at least as a beginner, maybe after I master a few talas). Meanwhile, I tried "Tabla Tutor 1" by Ashwin Batish and it is far superior for beginners. It has a way better sense of being produced for beginners who haven't studied tabla at the feet of their guru for a couple years. So believe me: don't gyp yourself by buying this cheaper "Learn to Play Tabla" . Instead, put your money into a copy of "Tabla Tutor."