Achievements
Achievements
Press Report Indian Express
Bombay Wednesday November 22 1995
Learning tabla via the computer
Learning tabla via the computer
Shub'd Deshpande
Learning tabla via the Computer
Kiran Vyas who has been teaching music for several years at his Vyas Sangeet Vidya Mandir in Bombay has developed a special programme on his computer that enables students to learn at their own pace, continue practice and even get on to the new lesson without a teacher around.
And if all goes according to plans Vyas will soon have students all over the world making use of his user friendly package and the world of tabla (and perhaps other instruments) will never be the same again.
“Right now we are experimenting with tabla and the sitar but we plan to make this package available for flute and mridangam players as well,” says Vyas before plunging into the details about his project.
And if all goes according to plans Vyas will soon have students all over the world making use of his user friendly package and the world of tabla (and perhaps other instruments) will never be the same again.
“Right now we are experimenting with tabla and the sitar but we plan to make this package available for flute and mridangam players as well,” says Vyas before plunging into the details about his project.
For a moment Vyas looks lost as he tries to put it in as simple words as possible. “There are about 45 Bols in tabla” he begins, “Every bol is recorded here. A student of tabla is required to pick up one bol, play it for a duration follow it with the next one and so on.
How it is accomplished
While some students may pick up a certain bol within a given time they may require more practice with the others. My programme is designed to meet the needs of each of my student,” enthuses Vyas.
While synthetic prerecorded compositions have been widely available in the market they lose out on tonal quality. Vyas demonstrates this by playing both. Also a student may not be able to hear a piece as many times as needed without having to rewind.
“Apart from variations of speed a student can access other facilities like paractising a duel item. Usually these items require that the student practises along with the partner to get the real feel of time and rhythm.” says Vyas calling out to some of his students practising nearby.
The students bring their tablas and settle down eagerly, “I’ll try a new composition on them,” says Vyas punching in commands on his keyboard and then speakers connected to the computer reverberate with the sounds which the students begin tapping out on their tablas concentrating on the sounds.