௫ TABLA

The Tabla (Hindi: तबला, Bangla: তবলা, Nepali: तबला, is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in the classical, popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent and in Hindustani classical music. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres. The term tabla is derived from an Arabic word, tabl, which simply means "drum."

Playing technique involves extensive use of the fingers and palms in various configurations to create a wide variety of different sounds, reflected in the mnemonic syllables (bol). The heel of the hand is used to apply pressure or in a sliding motion on the larger drum so that the pitch is changed during the sound's decay.

The smaller drum, played with the dominant hand, is sometimes called dayan (lit. "right"; a.k.a. dāhina, siddha, chattū) but is correctly called the "tabla" representing the 'yin' (female) energy. It is made from a conical piece of mostly teak and rosewood hollowed out to approximately half of its total depth.

The larger drum, played with the other hand, is called bāyāñ (lit. "left"; a.k.a. dagga, duggī, dhāmā) representing the 'yang' (male) energy. The bāyāñ has a much deeper bass tone, much like its distant cousin, the kettle drum. [wikipedia]

She plays tabla with a lightning speed and full of zest.

௫ BEATBOXING

Beatboxing is a natural 'noise' without the cables linking to machines where it's some sort of vocal percussion mimicking sound of drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds by what nature has given us, our mouth, lips, tongue, voice, and more. Beatboxing seems to be connected to the popularity of hip hop in the 1980s and has been an in-thing with the new generation albeit it has been in existence for quite a long time.

Vocal imitation of percussion sounds has existed for a very long time. One tradition is thought to have originated in India several thousand years ago: the tradition of bol, and the Chinese developed Kouji, a type of vocal performing arts. These had little or no relation with hip hop, however, and have no direct connection to modern Eastern Hip Hop. Some African traditions use performers' bodies (clapping, stomping) to make musical sounds to maintain a steady musical pace. They made sounds using their mouths by loudly breathing in and out, which is done in beatboxing today. An American style called eefing first emerged in rural Tennessee near the beginning of the 20th century. The term "beatboxing" is derived from the mimicry of the first generation of drum machines, then known as beatboxes. 

Recently, a 2009 beatboxing world championship took place where over 52 beatboxers and many female beatboxers competed for the title. The female British winner Bellatrix, and the male Swiss winner, ZeDe, are now the holders of the largest beatboxing title. Michael Jackson is also a well known beatboxer in songs like 'Cry' and 'Who is it', which throughout the songs he uses his natural voice to beatbox. [wikipedia]

2x UK beatbox champion, Beardyman chats to Ray Shah at oxygen 2008, and gives us a sample of what he does best!

Guess you have had great fun with your very first experience in beatboxing watching the 7 Steps video #4, hope you did not wet your monitor screen too much with your saliva eh! Good try!

௫ ANGKLUNG

Angklung is a musical instrument made out of two bamboo tubes attached to a bamboo frame. The tubes are carved so that they have a resonant pitch when struck. The two tubes are tuned to octaves. The base of the frame is held with one hand while the other hand shakes the instrument rapidly from side to side. This causes a rapidly repeating note to sound. Thus each of three or more angklung performers in an ensemble will play just one note and together complete melodies are produced. Angklung is popular throughout Southeast Asia but originated from Indonesia (used and played by the Sundanese since the ancient times).

Green Green Grass of Home Angklung Cinta Nada in Viernheim Germany Deutschland



Malam Indonesia Juni 2007 di Frankfurt-Jerman. KJRI Frankfurt

Angklung had also been adopted by its Austronesian neighbours, in particularly Malaysia and the Philippines, where they are rather played as part of bamboo xylophone orchestras. They are generally played using a pentatonic scale similar to the Indonesian slendro, although in the Philippines, sets also come in the diatric and minor scales used to perform various Spanish-influenced folk music. In the early 20th century, the angklung was adopted in Thailand, where it is called angkalung (อังกะลุง) [wikipedia]

Whoa! Rihanna's 'Umbrella' man this is cool..




Indonesian Students with Angklung Performance in 17th Kyoto Foreign Students Music Festival 2005