We sell, set up and rehead tabla in Mumbai, and these are the questions that come up most often, from students buying a first set to players writing from abroad about an instrument that has stopped behaving. The answers are written from our own bench experience. If something here does not match what you are seeing on your drum, send us a photograph or a short video and we will look at it with you.
Calcutta, Bombay and how a tabla makes its sound
What is the difference between Calcutta and Bombay style tabla?
The two styles differ in the shell and in the head. A Calcutta (Kolkata) tabla has a taller, slimmer shell and a wider syahi, which gives a mellow, singing tone with long sustain. A Bombay (Mumbai) tabla has a squatter, wider shell and a smaller syahi, producing a tighter, drier, more cutting sound that projects well. The baya follows the same logic: Kolkata bayas are usually larger with a deeper gab. Neither is correct; it is a matter of the sound you want and often of which gharana you learned in.
How much of the sound comes from the shell and how much from the head?
The head does most of the work. The skin, the thickness and placement of the syahi and the tension of the strapping decide the pitch, the clarity of the na and tin strokes and how long the note rings. The shell sets the character underneath all that: the wood species, the wall thickness and the depth of the bore. A good head on a poor shell will still sound reasonable. A poor head on a fine shell will sound poor. That is why we will not sell an instrument without checking the head ourselves.
What are the tabla and baya made of?
The tabla shell is turned from a solid block of hardwood, usually sheesham (Indian rosewood) or occasionally khair. The baya is traditionally copper or brass, sometimes nickel-plated, and there are also clay and aluminium bayas. The heads are goat skin, with an outer ring of the same skin (the kinar) braided on, and the black syahi is a paste of iron filings, rice flour and gum applied in many thin layers. The strapping is buffalo hide.
Heads, syahi and wear
How long should tabla heads last?
With daily practice, expect one to three years from a tabla head and rather longer from a baya head, which takes less punishment. Heads in dry climates crack sooner; heads in very humid ones go slack and lose definition. A head that has lost its ring, gone dull in the syahi, or started to split around the braiding is finished, and replacing it will make far more difference than any amount of retuning.
There is a small crack in my tabla shell. Does it matter?
A hairline crack in the wood, away from the rim, is common in dry weather and usually harmless. It matters when it reaches the rim the head sits on, because then the head cannot seat evenly and the tone dies. Crazing of the syahi is different: fine cracks in the black patch are normal with age, but flaking or a lifted edge means the head needs attention. Send us a photograph and we will tell you which one you have.
My tabla buzzes. What causes it and what can I do?
The usual causes, in order of how often we see them: the syahi has lifted or cracked, a strand of the braiding has come loose, the head is not seated evenly on the rim, the tuning blocks are sitting unevenly, or the strap tension is uneven around the drum. Take the blocks out, retension the strap a little at a time working around the drum, and reseat the head. If the buzz is coming from the black patch itself, it is a reheading job.
What do I do when the heads wear out?
Have them replaced. Reheading is skilled work: the skin has to be cut, the braiding made, the head seated and the syahi built up in layers and left to dry between coats. Done badly it will never sound right. We rehead instruments in our Mumbai workshop, and for customers outside India we supply matched replacement heads in the correct size along with the videos showing how the job is done, so a local craftsman can fit them.
I ordered a 5.5 inch head and it arrived marked 5.75. Why?
Because tabla heads are measured across the skin, not across the drum, and different workshops mark them differently. The number you need is the outside diameter of the wooden shell at the rim, and the head is made slightly larger so the braiding can wrap over the edge. A head marked a quarter inch larger is usually the correct one for your drum. Our tabla head sizing guide shows exactly where to put the tape measure, and if you send us the measurement we will confirm the size before we despatch.
Straps, hooks and hardware
The strap on my tabla or baya has broken. What now?
A broken strap is not the end of the drum. The head and strapping are replaced together as one operation, because the strap is what holds the head under tension. Do not try to patch a broken length of buffalo hide; the tension around the drum will never be even again. This is a workshop job, and it is a good moment to decide whether the head is worth keeping or should be replaced at the same time.
Are there alternatives to the traditional hide strap?
Yes. Nylon and synthetic strapping is now common, and there are systems that use metal hooks and a tuning ring instead of a strap altogether. Traditional buffalo hide is still what most serious players use, because it stretches a little and holds tension in a way that suits the instrument. The alternatives exist mainly for convenience and for climates where hide behaves badly.
How does nylon strapping compare with hide?
Nylon holds tension extremely well, does not care about humidity and is very stable for touring or for players in wet or very dry countries. What it gives up is a small amount of warmth: hide flexes slightly with each stroke and many players hear that as a rounder tone. If your instrument is going to travel or live in an extreme climate, nylon is a sensible choice. If it will sit in a practice room in India, hide is hard to beat.
What about tablas with metal hooks instead of a strap?
They tune quickly and evenly, which is genuinely useful for a beginner or for a player who has to retune on stage. The trade-off is weight, cost, and a slightly different response, since the hooks pull on the head in a different pattern from a strap. They are a practical instrument rather than a concert one. We are happy to advise on whether they suit how you play.
Damage and repair
My baya has a dent. Is that serious?
A shallow dent in the metal shell, away from the rim, does very little to the sound. What matters is the rim: if the dent has distorted the circle where the head seats, the head will not sit flat and the baya will buzz or refuse to hold pitch. Roll the baya on a flat surface and look for a wobble. A dented rim can often be reshaped, but it is workshop work, not something to attempt with a hammer.
Where to go next
If you are buying, start with tabla sets, or look at single tablas and single bayas if you are replacing one drum. For measuring before you order a head, use the tabla head sizing guide, and the reheading videos show the whole job from start to finish. We deliver across India in seven to ten days and ship worldwide from Mumbai, insured.