The tabla is one of the most important instruments to middle eastern dancing. It creates the deep, rich rhythms which our hips shimmy, thrust, and twist to. It is the heart of the music. Understanding it's rhythms and how they form our favorite songs is one of the keys to great dancing. When you understand the basics of the rhythms you can better match all your movements to them. Tabla's are used in countries all over the world and are known by many different names. Some of those names are Darbuka, Darbeke, and Doumbek. A close relative to this drum is the Djimbe. The difference between a Djimbe and a tabla, is that a tabla has a head with a curved rim while a Djimbe has a flat head and rim. Both drums are hourglass shaped and produce the same sounds however, when you play middle eastern rhythms the tek's and ka's are easier to play on a tabla. The curved rim of the tabla allows your fingers to roll off easier. When the rhythm doesn't have a lot of fill (the intricate tek and ka patterns) it is still fairly easy to play them on a Djimbe. Tabla's are made out of numerous materials including wood, clay, metal, and plastic; all of which help determine it's sound quality. The newer designs made of heavy duty plastics or metal are often a more crisp clear sound which makes it easier to hear over long distances or loud noise (like the rest of the band). The newer drums also come with 6 or 8 bolts which you use to tighten and tone your instrument. The drums with 8 bolts do not produce the teks and kas as well as the 6 bolt drums. Therefore the 8 bolt drums are used along with a 6 bolt drum in a large band to make the doums more audible. That is why there are often two drummers in a band. One is focusing on making deep resonating doums, while the other's main priority is producing crisp and clear tek's and ka's.
Here is a clip from Hossam Ramzy's Sabla Tolo CD called Kholkhal Taheyya (Taheyya's Ankle)
