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Someone already has emile did you not see my post? http://www.swarsystems.com/SwarShala/Cafe/ Pat Pagano, Director South East Just Intonation Society http://indians.australians.com/meherbaba/ http://www.screwmusicforever.com/SHREESWIFT/ ----- Original Message ----- From: Emile Tobenfeld (a.k.a Dr. T) <emile@foryourhead.com> To: <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com> Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2001 8:24 PM Subject: Software Re: Looping Drummers who play tabla > > A software version of this would be really cool. (I used to write > music software, but I'm way too busy with video software these days, > so don't ask me.) Someone who knew Max and Indian music theory could > probably cook one up. > > At 8:00 PM -0400 6/21/01, James Pokorny wrote: > >>I also have a "tabla machine" > >> > >more info please.....michael > > > >Sure. Tabla machines have been discussed on-list before, and the > >archives contain some pointers for sites to listen to some of these > >devices, as well as places to purchase them. > > > >Basically, the "tabla machine" is an electronic device preprogrammed > >to play the "theka" or basic pattern of beats in a "taal" (rhythmic > >cycle) of Indian music. I've worked with two different machines, > >the Taal Mala and the Riyaz Master Pro. Each of these has a > >selection of preset taals, most of which are in common use in Indian > >music, some more obscure or lesser-heard taals are represented as > >well. There are controls for volume, pitch (since the smaller drum > >of the tabla pair is tuned to the tonic of the vocalist or > >instrumentalist), and tempo. There are also controls for "speed" > >(as opposed to tempo) since the theka usually changes when playing > >at different speeds. This control varies the theka for "vilambit" > >(slow), "madhya" (medium) and "drut" (fast) speeds. Within each of > >these speeds you can also accelerate/decelerate the tempo. > > > >From my experience with the two machines I've used, I prefer the > >Riyaz Master Pro. However, to be fair, the version of Taal Mala I > >had was from about 10 years ago -- in fact, it was the first > >"electronic tabla." It used very plinky/thuddy synthetic tones that > >tried to replicate the high and low drum sounds of the tabla, and > >had a very tinny speaker that only seemed to function properly at > >distoring volumes. But I've heard an updated version of the Taal > >Mala which uses sampled tabla and sounds very good. The Riyaz > >Master Pro also uses sampled tabla sounds and has a good speaker. > > > >One major caveat, though - none of these machines are going to sound > >anything like a live tabla player. They were designed as a practice > >tool for vocalists and instrumentalists. In India you generally pay > >a tabla accompanist a fee to come over and practice with you, > >particularly if the tabla player is senior to you in terms of age or > >experience. While practicing, perhaps 95% of the time the tabla > >player will play a steady "theka" while the vocalist or > >instrumentalist practices rhythmic improvisations within the > >framework of a composition. So the tabla machine serves this same > >purpose - to give that "theka" to practice over. > > > >My advice if you're interested in a tabla machine (or any other > >Indian instrument) is to see if someone you know is going to India, > >then ask them to bring one back for you since the markup in the West > >tends to be shockingly extreme. > > > >James > > -- > > "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man > persists in adapting the world to himself. Therefore, all progress > depends on the unreasonable man. > > -- George Bernard Shaw > > Emile Tobenfeld, Ph. D. > Video Producer Image Processing Specialist > Video for your HEAD! Boris FX > http://www.foryourhead.com http://www.borisfx.com >