Tabla Reheading

Reheading a tabla is the most demanding job in Indian percussion. The skin has to be cut and braided by hand, seated dead square on the shell, laced and tensioned evenly all the way round, and then the black syahi has to be built up in dozens of thin layers with drying time between each one. Done well, the drum sings for years. Done badly, no amount of tuning will rescue it.

These videos follow the whole job from a worn-out head to a finished drum. They are here for two kinds of people: players who want to understand what they are paying for, and craftsmen outside India who are fitting heads we have supplied.

When a head needs replacing

Replace the head when the ring has gone out of the tone, when the syahi has begun to flake or lift at the edge, when the skin has split anywhere around the braiding, or when the drum will no longer hold its pitch however carefully you tension it. With daily practice a tabla head lasts one to three years, a baya head rather longer. Fine crazing across the syahi with age is normal and not on its own a reason to rehead.

The reheading process

Part one: removing the old head and preparing the shell

Part two: cutting the skin and making the braided ring

Part three: seating the head and lacing the strap

Part four: bringing the head up to tension

Part five: building and finishing the syahi

Before you order a head

Getting the size right is the part people most often get wrong, because heads and shells are measured differently by different workshops. Our tabla head sizing guide shows exactly where to put the tape measure. Send us the measurement and we will confirm the size before anything is despatched.

Having it done for you

We rehead tabla and baya in our Mumbai workshop, on our own instruments and on drums brought to us by players across the city. If you are elsewhere in India, write to us before sending a drum so we can tell you whether it is worth the carriage. If you are outside India, shipping a tabla both ways almost never makes sense: instead we supply the correct matched heads, strap and blocks, and we will talk your local craftsman through the job over a video call.