I am fiercely bummed out and disappointed in myself for having not been at the Anoushka Shankar performance a couple days ago at The Dakota. Anoushka is the daughter of Indian classical music’s most revered figure, the internationally-acclaimed Ravi Shankar.
Anoushka and Ravi both play sitar, the primary instrument in Indian classical music, a form of music I really love. Besides the sitar, traditional Indian classical performances typically include percussion instruments known as tabla drums, pictured above (photo by Todd Anderson at Tuesday’s Dakota performance). I enjoy all the elements of Indian classical music, but I was initially drawn to it because of the incredibly complex nature of playing tabla drums. I informally studied the instrument for a few months a while back, and let me tell you, tablas are VERY DIFFICULT to play well.
The world’s most decorated tabla player is a guy named Zakir Hussein. I have one of his solo records and it’s mind-numbing. Check him out playing with Ravi in the clip below, and after beholding such dominance you might want to ask yourself if Travis Barker is really as cool as everybody thinks…
7 comments
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April 22, 2010 at 12:58 pm
JimmyMayor
Not difficult,
certainly not impossible,
just unfamiliar.
🙂
April 22, 2010 at 1:01 pm
stevegoold
well-played Jimmy…
April 22, 2010 at 2:35 pm
natebabbs
2:10-2:15. Shut. Up.
April 22, 2010 at 3:15 pm
Bill R
I dunno. Travis Barker IS pretty cool…
I’m gonna have to think on this one, Steve.
April 22, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Andrew
Yo steve I saw her at Luther, it was quite a nasty performance. I didn’t understand a thing that was going on though… but i was exhausted trying to figure it out.
April 23, 2010 at 7:45 pm
JoeS
I have an easier time with Ravi’s other daughter, Norah Jones.
April 26, 2010 at 11:13 am
danny
I think the best analogy for understanding classical indian music is jazz. Both genres have some strong stuctural rules and certain predictable aspects. But then that opens up so much space for individual and group exploration rhymically and melodically. They are both music forms which require a some intellectual understanding to appreciate more than the unique timbres. Neither tries too hard to impress the casual listener. The good news is with a brief conversation, the crucial elements of a piece (raga) can be given to follow the main parts of what’s happening.
Finally, jazz and indian music both require tremendous commitment to and freedom on the instrument. A true jazz or indian musician is as comfortable expressing their ideas on their instrument as I am with the english language-literally. I love and respect pop genres for different reasons, but classical indian music is beautiful, complex and thought provoking. Bummed I couldn’t make it to that show. Haven’t seen a god tabla player for awhile.