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Introduction of the Dholak
Dholak also known
as dholki is a barrel shaped hand drum that is widely used in
folk and popular music in India. The dholak has derived its name
from Persian language, as it is a diminutive of Dhol. The dholak
originated and survived chiefly in North-Central and Northwest
India and Pakistan, among performers such as the qawwal (singers
of Muslim devotional music, qawwali), the Manganiyar musicians of
Rajasthan etc. The traditional dholak has simple thread lacing
that was tuned with the help of metal rings around the head.
Modern dholaks have metal turnbuckles which are easily adjusted
for desired tone. The dholak is widely used in folk music of
villages of India. It is common for folk musicians to build dholaks themselves from commonly available material. Apart from
folk music it is extensively used in popular film music and semi
classical music.
Description of the Dholak
Dholak a barrel drum belongs
to membranophone family of instruments. It is a double-headed
drum (hollow inside) with the bass head on one side and the
treble head on the other. The larger side provides the bass and
the smaller side the tenor. The bass head creates low pitched
sounds and the smaller one treble head produces higher tones. The
smaller side has a simple, single layer membrane, where as the
larger side has a special application on the inner surface. This
application known as dholak masala is a mixture of tar, clay and
sand which helps to lower the pitch and provides a well defined
tone. The walls of the dholak are usually 2/3 centimeters thick
and give it stability in the low frequencies. Dholaks have small
circular metal rings, and loop or wooden pieces that are passed
through the braces and can be pulled on either side to increase
or decrease the tension of the heads. To produce the sound the
dholak is struck on both sides by the hands, fingers, knuckles
and part of the palm. A metal ring is also sometime used to tap
on the shell of the instrument.
Tuning the dholak
There are two ways of tightening or tuning the dholak. If the
dholak is traditional with rope lacing a series of metal rings
are used to tighten the dholak. These rings are pulled on either
side to increase or decrease the sound. In modern nut and bolt
tension dholak metal turnbuckles are employed for tuning. Tuning
this dholak is easier than traditional dholak because in
traditional model the same chord does the job of tuning both the
drumheads. However in the nut and bolt model each head has its
own tuning mechanism. As a result the heads can be tuned a bit
more precisely. The treble head can go higher and brighter in
this dholak and it is also easy to change the heads.
Playing the Dholak
There are two basic techniques of playing dholak, the open hand
method used for louder playing, and the controlled finger method
for articulate playing. The positions for playing the dholak can
be various but the most popular position is to sit on your heels
with the dholak in front, the bass head to your left and the
treble head to the right. Some players also sling one of their
legs over the center of the drum barrel to stabilize it. In
India dholak is commonly played by two players. First player
strikes the two membranes with his left and right hands while the
second sits on the other side of the drum, facing the first
musician and strike the barrel with a hard object, such as a
spoon or stick, giving rhythmic hits similar to a woodblock
sound.
Care and Caution
1.
Dholak should be kept out of moisture as it can degrade the skin
of the heads.
2.
Avoid any sharp objects near the skins on the heads which could
puncture/tear them.
3.
Cover your dholak when not in use. Place a cloth on floor and
stand it upright with the base head down and treble head up. Put
a piece of cloth on
treble head and do not put anything on it.
4.
Always loosen the rope after playing otherwise the rope lace gets
ruined by overstretching.
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