@nyartmaker We have to remember that before us in history their were many people thought to be very great..but as all of us we return to God after a life of no more than a period of a couple years. Rather we should praise God in giving them this talent and commend the person for taking their God-given talent to a level that I'm sure God appreciates
@bhilaj thanks for sharing this with the others... I know you weren't tryingto be accurate, but the Rela they are playing is DhaTirkittakTirkitDhinTirkittakDhatirkittakTirkit ... also, just for curiosity's sake, for some reason Ustad Allarakha never played DhereDhere (except in one clip where I have heard him play the rela you mentioned)
Ustad Allah Rakha was probably the greatest exponent of the tabla. I had the rare and great privilege of having dinner with him at his late daughter's house in London. I think it was the summer of 1993. He was here at the invitation of the House of Commons to play the tabla and I was there with him at his daughter's house in South London on a Sunday evening, listening to the performance on the radio later with him, his daughter, my Ustad, who was his senior disciple. Part 1... Continued
the ta tiki ta is called reciting. These syllable sounds (bols) are the sounds played on tabla. It is not a method of counting, it is the composition. In this particular duet, after the fast roll section, there is a composition called Chakardar. It is a long composition played three times. The final accent of the third time is Beat 1. They recite the whole composition first, taking turns, the third time together...then they play the whole composition taking turns,the third time together. .
Here they are paying quite fast Rela composition as well which is basically a phrase or phrases such as Dha- Tereketetaka Dhere Dhere Kitataka played at speed so that the fingers sound like a blurred roll . Also as they are playingin Teental (16 beats) they play difficult mathamatical rhythms across the beat and then arrive back at beat 1 such as 3 phrases of 11 beats played across the 4/4 16 beats and arrive back after 32 beats on beat 1 (33rd beat) and that is one of the simple calculations.
All this is good but how much of our efforts go to keep India unified and progressive. Have we taken a pledge to safeguard equality, universal brotherhood and to provide education to those who need education to improve themselves?
6:16-6:28, fantastic display of the sort of massively difficult technique it takes to accomplish these sounds... Great angle- wish more tabla videos were shot from this angle.
such an intricate rhythms! I can't imagine even starting to understand them the only thing I know is that the music is amazing, it is a bless to see the most important Tabla players together incredible! great video!
amazing, never in my wildest dreams could I have Imagined this! two masters , two generations, thousands of years of culture and history, humanity bonded by sound and vibration, this is the power of music... in awe!
Every stroke on the Tablas has a vocal syllable to match where the fingers play on the drums. I.E. Na Dha, Ghe Ta Dhere Tetekete Kata etc most being on the smaller wooden drum and some being a combination of both. here they are reciting compositions like Chakradar , Tukra. tehai in 16beats which they speak and then play. All tabla compositionsare learned orally and each Gharana (School) such as Benares, Punjab, Delhi etc have distinct ones passed down tho nowadays these are slowly merging .
Excuse me, past594, I have just spammed the bottom for comments below this one because they demean the quality and feeling this video portrays. I ask and beg of you to delete the four comments below this comment, the comment by sariinaxox, and this one once you have deleted the ones I have requested. Thank you for all you have contributed to RU-vid, -Karandebuwa3
I wasn't trying to be too specific about what exactly they were playing and you are probably correct but i dont know to be precise what the 3rd composition is, i was only trying to give IND123IEN an outline of basics as to what was going on in answer to his query.
@ffaaassssddddddddd this kind of music is not for entertainment or general public. it's their tradition for centuries, and this is the way they learn it. For people who don't understand it, they have to simplify and improvise it.
This is so fucking righteous...to see anyone so incredibly adept at whatever it is that they do...in this case Tabla...is always inspirational. Ustad is the man...(Ravi Shankar's Tabla player for decades)
Zakir-ji was born in 1950, and this looks likes its from the early 90s, so I guess in his early 40s. He looks so young! He has kids in their 20s and married! He's gonna be 60 in 2010!
@tigersforchrist, the beautiful thing about music is that it transcends your foolish dogmatic views and is available to everyone to appreciate. These two amazing masters ate doing nothin but playing music, leave the politics to your no doubt uninspired and racist rants to your ilk, and let us who appreciate beauty in all its forms enjoy it, untainted by your mindless hate filled dribble.
During the late '60s, when Shankar was already established in the west, he taught the history of Indian music at the City College Of New York. The course was open only to music majors, which excluded me. But he also agreed to play a concert for the general student body. The day of the concert was extremely cold and snowy, and Shankat was late. But Alla Rakha was there and he agreed to play solo until Shankar arrived. Rakha was fantastic, playing about an hour and the students were enthralled.
Wow nobody understands what I'm trying to say I'm not bashing their style they are fantastic musicians im trying to get my point across that playing music fast does not equal a great musician as SO many people think nowadays. For the record i know several people that play tabla so don't even pull that "you dont know what youre talking about" line I know exactly what I'm talking about. Learn to read.
@past594 Playing fast with any music style, instrument, or meter is an example of good technique. As the video shows they are playing, with a man setting a pulse in the back, and also with plenty of verbal phrasing. The original statement made is a very viable one; it also needed to be completed though; this is not music, it is amazing technique. By the way I hope your not just patronizing this style of playing based on somebody else's prejudice; your own response showed a lack of know how to.
Carnatic: I see what you see, but I disagree with the reasoning. Ustads Rakha and Hussain are different people with different 'types' of souls. Rakha is more methodical and stoic, Hussain is more visceral and expressive. What appears to be 'effort' on Hussains part is really expression, while what appears to be 'ease' on Rakhas part is simply a function of his temperament. I'm fairly confident that neither one could play something that the other couldn't play. They just approach it differently.
Although Zakir is brilliant he is still the student of one of the greatest tabla masters, which of course is Allarakha Khan Qureshi. No matter how great Zakir may become as a tabla player he can only stand in the shade of his father's versatility, inspiration and achievement. Oh, and there is no 'h' on the end of Alla Rakha's first name; though he may play like a god don't get him confused with the Muslim god Allah, and avoid spell check where applicable.
GKnight801, my hands are almost the same size and I was able to play with no problems (well, other than not as good as I want to be). You should not give up on your dream if you really want to learn. I do warn you: the tabla is EXTREMELY difficult to learn and you get no instant gratification whatsoever. You have to wrest ability from hours upon hours of rote practice. Most importantly, it is nearly impossible to learn tabla without a teacher to instruct and guide you. I wish you good luck!
cont.. For me the greatest moment of the day was when he recalled how his transit aeroplane he was flying in was mobbed by Bangladeshis in Dhaka. On hearing he was on board, the plane was surrounded by a huge crowd of people, who refused to let him go without stopping off in Dhaka. They forced him to stay in Dhaka overnight. He said he had special affection for Bangladeshis as they, he said produced some of the great musicians of the Indian sub-continent.
cont.. The most amazing thing about the experience was the humility in this amazing man. It was well known that Bollywood starlets used to queue to wash dishes at his house. He was rumoured to have 600 students and many more thousands were turned away simply because he could not give them the time. I did not understand enough about the music to fully appreciate this great maestro but I was nevertheless in awe just listening to the stories and the calm serenity of this tiny, unassuming man.
cont.. What was amazing was that, even at his advance age (I think he was 75 a that time) the affection, respect and reverence he showed when he spoke about Ustad Bade Ali Khan. The story was how Ustad BGAK, broke in to tears in the middle of a raag, when Ustad Allah Rakha reached "sum" at the same time as Ustad BGAK, on a very difficult beat. I think it was 13 1/4 or 9 ½ beat or something amazing like that
I am surprised by so many ignorance, a determined and limited mind cannot distinguish between music and noise, can not listen to what he can not know listen, the silence may also be music (without silence there is not music) and any thing that sounds can be a musical instrument, you can not understand Tablas, harmonium or no other instruments, the magic of this knowledge is not with you, you only may appreciate like your intelligence let you know.
incindentally, "cenolbaj", you are wrong about the Tabla, as you must be about any persussion instrument. it takes more than 12 years to master those two drums, to be able to play them with such fluency. how do i know? am a tabla player myself. it is apparent from your comments on this page that you understand absolutely nothing about Indian classical music, and find it titillating to blow your horns criticizing it blindly. grow up.
as culturally sacred, the ancient hindus would scatter rice on the stage before they would actually begin performing any type of musical performance. they would also circle the edges of the stage with a line of salt to keep the evil spirits or anything evil from entering because performing music was usually connected with religion and god.
Try fitting 24 notes or maybe 17 notes into 16 beats then adding another 234 notes eventually returning back to those 16 beat notes again.. and doing all that in 10000 mph.... Takes a deep understanding of Mathematics to play Tabla. Thats why I gave up after studying it for 7 years I didn't have the mathematical ability..
Incredible!!!!! The complexities are beyond my grasp, but every time I listen I hear and learn something new and inspirational about it. I've been told the "ta tiki ta" vocals are also the method of counting. If anyone can steer me towards a site where I can learn more about that, I'd like to know. Thanks~
@ffaaassssddddddddd (and to many like you) This kind of music is not about speed..or showing off one's control and skill. It is about culture, tradition and emotion. If you listen carefully... you shall witness the play of emotions relaying a story; stories carried down through generations in the hearts of not just the performers but also the audience. :)
This is a Father and Son- how can you not believe in either genetics or some higher power that is in some way related to music. They know what is expected of each other, they know what to expect of each other, and they are feeding off each other' s emotions. It is a very personal experience they are sharing with us here.
Nearly super-human talent for just one of them to play, for both to appear together and engage their "has to be seen to be believed" skills and sensitivity - while communicating with each other, is awesome. The tabla are so extremely expressive. They make Gene Krupa, Mic Fleetwood, and Ringo Starr seem like rank amateurs.
Ustad Allah Rakha is the greatest rhythmatist to have ever thought rhythm....he is missed every day. An absolutely brilliant performance here....did he ever give any that weren't....The interplay between he and Zakir...is otherworldly..any further comment I would make would be merely babbling. Mostly...it is his smile....the world lit up when he smiled.
cont.. As a person of Bangladeshi origin myself, that endeared him to me and to many more Bangladeshis reading this I am sure. With great dedication and a lot of sacrifice these men have mastered their art. If we cannot appreciate the music, we should at least show respect and admiration. May he rest in peace and tranquillity. ends!
cont.. Ustad BGAK, said Ustad Allah Rakha was the first tabla player to reach the "sum" on this raga and that was enough to bring tears to eyes of this great and some say one of the best classical singers of his time. This gives you some insight in to the characters of these remarkable people. I was so privileged to have been in his company, I will treasure it for ever.
cont.. Ustad Allah Rakha was very nice person too, years of wisdom and poise shined through. On the journey to the local Indian restaurant in my car, he would spontaneously break in to singing raags recounting old times. He reminisced about the time he accompanied the late great Ustad Bade Gulam Ali Khan. Precious and very rare moments. Continues...
they must learn to sing the basic rhythm-tabla patterns before actually learning to physical play their chosen instrument. Ustad Allah Rakha is a musical genius. besides the meditative aspect of indian music, it reminds me of jazz in that players listen and riff off each other when soloing
@sitarnut I just saw Ustad zakir with niladri kumar on sitar, great jugalbandi, although I do wish i had seen him with Pt. Ravi Shankar or Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma. Don't get me wrong niladri kumar was great but he's more contemporary and I am a bit of an old soul!!
@Ooga001 Ha ha ha ha . Abbaji (Alla Rakha Khan Sahib, when he was younger was compared to a lion on the tabla). And I know what you mean. When they did jugalbandis where his father was in his 70's it was less of a match. But this is when he was younger and had his stamina. Amazing, amazing stuff.
This video inspires me a lot. This video or such performances teaches us if we stick to our ideal and concentrate on our work nothing can stop us. Just look at the faces of Zakeer Ji and All Rakha Ji in this video. It shows they just don't care for any problem.
i must say, classical indian music is incredibly complicated. but i love it. even some of the western drummers are picking up on how valuable this knowlege is (danny carey of Tool learning tabla for the past couple of years and his drumming is some of the most creative of our time).
It very well can be for entertainment! If it pleases your senses in any way, connects with your mind and sensibilities, then it very well can be entertaining! That's why, for example, I can spend hours listening to Pandit Badhe Ghulam Ali ;)
just because you can play something ultra fast doesn't mean you're the "greatest musician"... i know this instrument is nigh impossible to learn not even counting their bizzare musical system but beating on a drum 10000 mph isnt music to me
@james20030 - Perhaps they are amongst the bunch that think rap is music and jazz drummers are the last word? - we saw wonderful ZAKIR in Dallas with Ashish Khan, Ali Akbar Khan's (rip) son- I'm still quaking and will never forget that concert.
USTAAD ALLA RAKHA father of famous pakistani tv actress ROHEE BANO and USTAAD ZAKIR HUSSAIN is step brother of rohi bano both of them are MOESTRO AND cant be compared with any other TABLIYA absolutely STUNNING and rohi is also master of ACTING 03332604292
@nyartmaker I appreciate your complimenting the greatness of their playing, which no question is remarkable..but I feel that so many times people fall in the the mistake of comparing a great accomplishment of a human being with being divine.
the chakradar that begins with the phrase dha din ta kttkdi is a farmeshi chakradar where the first palta comes to sum. the 2nd time thru the whole thing the 2nd palta comes to sum and the 3rd time thru the 3rd comes to the final sum.
can anyone enlighten me on some aspects of this video? i havent listened to too much tabla so am not able to understand whats going on. it seems the 2 guys speak out some words and start playing them.. is that right? do the two play what the other guy says.
It is not something that u Cry and become POP Songs .. LOL ... It is something called Magic ... and u do not become Tabla Player within a day it takes more that a decade ... poor guys will not u-stand ... I do feel for u guys ... ummmm
@past594 woooosh that comment went right over your head. I wasn't saying ANYTHING bad about them if you even read my comment i was giving him a compliment... I was referring to - christ sake do i need to repeat myself?
I've just read "Drumming at the Edge of Magic" by Mickey Hart (of the Grateful Dead) wherein he writes extensivly about these two men. So I had to come see for myself. I've never been so inspired. HERE is true magic.
Obviously you have no musical mind at all.. do you know how hard it is to do what they're doing? It's not about how fast they go it's about the emotion and timing they put into every note. When you can play that then talk.
Vinayak Chakravarty what made me happy bout ur comment is that the comment is under this amazing video...and u have Cliff's pic as ur profile picture! best of the both worlds me! :)
What is more interesting to me is that more I listen to them, every time I just find strange similarities in their music. Although they seem to be so different. Alaap Sikander thanks.
@abhiabhiful not only of India my brother, but jewels of all of HUMANITY, we are on the same boat, if more knoew about the masters, then I am sure there would be less GaGors, and Bibsterds and 4ZinKZ....
it is realllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllly very gooooooooooood both father and son r legend
of course you can. I have small hands too. I have been doing tabla for the past 25 yeras and gone upto Nipun. so it is possible. what you need is the speed , weight and endurance Good luck.
myy bad i was going to hit good comment thing but i accidently hit da thumbs down i'm really sorry ji.. ur truly right... :) and i'll try changing the thumbs dow to a thumbs up.. if i can't I'm sorry :(!!!
A wonderful duet--thanks. Someone should post the entire documentary "Zakir and His Friends," which was done around 1998. A grand tour of percussion worldwide, including a lot of Zakir's playing.
@zandaiscool2008 agree...patterns up to 108 beats long...try that sometime on a trapkit...these guys are the real deal, hopefully there are young Indians keeping the tradition going
Hey, what do you know? They are really good! Who would possibly have imagined? But seriously, what does the title ustad mean and how does one become one? Nice composition by the way.
cont... I arrived late and just missed Ustad Zakir Hussain, who was at his sister's house but had to fly off to concert or something. Meeting him too would have topped the day.
so what if they are Muslims? the are Humans 1st, then Indians, then Musicians... why must you put religion into everything? Music has got nothing to do with religion!!!!!!
i hope many people like these wonderful workers of beauty, know that they are loved and appreciated. i love you all, you are never alone, peace, and prosperity.
Oh...my god what a beautiful piece..... In fact two Gandharvas has come from heaven to earth show what music is to mankind..... simply amazing...I love them.
C'mon people two guys are doing what they are best in....why do you wanna bring religion into it...whether they are Muslim or Hindu....just enjoy the music...!!
WOW these guys are simply ammaaaazzzzing. they never make a mistake even with such complex pieces. this must me a lifes work to become this accomplished.
Oh...my god what a beautiful piece..... In fact two Gandharvas has come from heaven to show what music is to mankind..... simply amazing...I love them.
this is amzing ive been playing harmonium since age 5 but never herd this kind of tabula in my life would love to meet them in person or hear them live !
