Instrument Knowledge and Maintenance
This section tests whether you can name the parts of your instrument and keep it sounding right. Answers must use the standard vocabulary, not vague description.
Parts of the tabla
- Dayan (right drum): syahi (black tuning patch), maidan (skin around it), kinar/chat (rim area), gajra, puri (braid), tasma (leather thongs), gatta (wooden pegs).
- Bayan (left drum, dagga): copper, brass or steel shell; syahi, kinar, puri, tasma, gatta.
Pakhawawj essentials
Barrel-shaped shell with two heads, syahi on each, puri and tasma lacing, tuned by tapping the gatta.
Maintenance rules
- Tune the dayan by tapping alternate gattas with a small hammer, in small increments.
- Never strike, press or smear the syahi.
- Keep the instrument away from damp and direct sun; slightly slacken tension before long storage.
- Replace a cracked puri; check tasma for dryness and fraying.
Worked example
A dayan sounds thuddy and will not hold pitch. Reasoning order: first check that all gattas are evenly tensioned, since uneven pull kills the maidan's resonance; then look for a lifted or dried puri; then examine the syahi for flaking or a hairline crack in the skin. Only after these is the shell suspect. Pitch depends on high, even tension across the maidan, so a slack braid or damaged syahi is the likelier cause.
Traps
- Overtightening until the wood or shell cracks.
- Forcing bayan pitch by slackening the tasma unevenly.
- Wetting the dayan skin to "clean" it.
- Naming the syahi as the tuning device.