Second-term Review

The last few days of camp have been very fulfilling. Compared to the first week, I seemed to be able to grasp concepts of the Jathi’s better than when this camp started. The last week has been something of an adventure where the more I learn about this heritage the more I want to dive into it.

The different Jathi’s that we learned have increased my knowledge tenfold of what can really be down in tabla. The last week has been kind of like a roller coaster. Trying to learn one composition and then rendering it and then quickly moving onto the next composition.

Compared to the first week, I feel I had more control over my hand. I was able to pay better attention to it and notice where I was making mistakes.  I still feel that I was having trouble sometimes trying to keep my fingers closed while playing dhir-dhir. It is something I will have to practice a lot of I wish to have it corrected for next camp.

Many of the last days I learned lots of theory behind what was happening with the jati’s that we learned. I have noticed that music is a very emotional thing as well as mathematical. The math behind how some things worked was unbelievable and sometimes even impossible. But that’s what music is sometimes, doing the impossible in the possible.

The last week of camp was most enjoyable, from watching movies to late night practices, to early riyaz. The skeleton of practice that has been made at this camp shall be followed strictly. Playing something from tha-laya and then speeding it up with clarity.

All in all, the last days were very enjoyable.