Tabla For Accompaniment or Practice
By Ashwin Batish
This is a collection of 10 CDs of the hottest rhythm cycles of North India. This unique collection has been compiled especially for musicians wanting to practice classical and folk music of North India. It is also an invaluable resource for Jazz/World musicians and composers interested in jamming with Tabla grooves. For this recording project, each tempo was picked selectively by Ashwin and his father Pandit Shiv Dayal Batish so as to allow a perfect rhythmic environment for practice as well as performance. The sound is crystal clear. The recording were originally made direct to Digital Audio Tape at 48k sampling and latter stepped down to the Compact Disc 44k rate. What that means is that they sound great! Each tempo is played for about 15 minutes and was recorded with a metronome beat. It is therefore very steady. When listening to this and other tabla talas (rhythm cycles) one must remember that good tabla players will add ornamentations to their playing. Sometimes a rhythm sounds barren without these added ornamentations. Please understand, this CD is not some virtuoso solo Tabla performance. We have purposely kept the grove steady and repetitive with some subtle variations of the main groove (Theka prakars). The playing doesn't deviate much from this main groove. Our intent was to create a work that is usable for practicing and jamming with. Too much virtuoso playing would have distracted from this goal. As a practice tool, we recommend you pop this CD into your machine, select a tempo and start jamming with it on your favorite instrument. All the tracks have been recorded in the key of C. Here is a list of all the 10 Tabla CDs we have made to date. You can order all of these individually from the Amazon.com catalog. Each CD consists of the Theka in three different tempos - slow, medium and fast. Each track is 15 minutes per tempo. In the case of Tintal and Ektal, we have included bonus tracks of the very slow Theka. Rupak Tal
- 7 Beat Cycle, Catalog# BR7501CD, UPC#: 745756750129 Dadra Tal
- 6 Beat Cycle, Catalog# BR7502CD, UPC#: 745756750228 Keharwa
- 8 Beat Cycle, Catalog# BR7503CD, UPC#: 745756750327 Dhamar Tal
- 14 Beat Cycle, Catalog# BR7504CD, UPC#: 745756750426 Ek Tal
- 12 Beat Cycle, Catalog# BR7505CD, UPC#: 745756750525 Jhaptal
- 10 Beat Cycle, Catalog# BR7506CD, UPC#: 745756750624 Deepchandi Tal - 14 Beat Cycle, Catalog# BR7507CD, UPC#: 745756750723 Jaltital
- 16 Beat Cycle, Catalog# BR7508CD, UPC#: 745756750822 Tintal
- 16 Beat Cycle, Catalog# BR7509CD, UPC#: 745756750921 Jhumra Tal
- 14 Beat Cycle, Catalog# BR7510CD, UPC#: 745756751027
Review
Here's one of the more innovative boxed CD sets I've seen in a long time. "Bob Tarte" --Technobeat Central
About the Artist
Ashwin Batish has been teaching music for over 25 years. He is a virtuoso sitar and tabla player. He and his father have pioneered in self help products that teach music of India. Ashwin is also producing instructional videos to teach the various Indian musical instruments. Sitar, Tabla, Dilruba, Harmonium, Vichitra Veena, Violin, Tanpura are some of the instrument tutors that are presently available through the Institute. Ashwin is frequently invited to various Universities for lecture demos. Here's a recent review mentioning Ashwin as a teacher.... "A student of Batish once remarked that what she liked about studying with him was his cheerful, playful approach to Indian music. It is true. With Ashwin Batish, you don't feel constrained by the tradition of centuries. You learn how to open your ears and your mind to new sounds, new possibilities. "India Currents Magazine."
