the dhol's story...

the dhol....or better of to be known as the punjabi drum to most of u.has actually been in existence from the 15th century....since then it has been widely used in india especially the punjab region....the drum has basically a very simple construction....its just a normal wooden barrel...fitted with a leather drum skin and a modern fiber drum skin....however simple it may sound...playing it is no easy task...even carrying it!...lol....my own dhol weighs little over 7kgs....now normally the wooden barrel or the dhol is made out of 3 types of wood....known as "taali"..or known as indian sheesham...these sheesham trees can be further divided into 3 types which are "kaali talli" or dark sheesham..."chitti talli" or white sheesham and "lal talli"...which is sort of a cross breed between the 2 mentioned woods above.....mind u dhols made from this wood are extremely heavy and there's no reason a beginner should own one cause it doesnt come in cheap too....instead the alternative that i would recommend to a beginner in this field is to get a dhol made from "amb" wood or wood from mango tree....now these types of dhols are the most common among all and although it might not sound as good as the sheesham wood dhol...it is way lighter and inexpensive...and a bit of regular fine tuning should make it sound perfect!...my dhol is made from mango wood and trust me...its light...and its loud ;).....the instrument is normally played using 2 different types of sticks called the "tilli" and "dagga"....it takes a while to learn the basics...but oncer u've mastered it.. it becomes a smooth sail frm freshmen to pro...hehehe...no joke....seriously...just getting the basics such as the beat and tempo right can send a person to therapy....anyway....i've been playing this instrument for little over 5 years now....and i have a couple of pics of my dhol ...enjoy :)







as u can see...my dhol is totally the original wood colour....




the treble side is a normal drum skin u may find in your local music store...




many dhol players prefer this version of remo drum skins cause of its sharp and loud sound...




the front view.....there are 2 options as to the type of barrel...straight or rounded...in this case...mine is rounded




the bass skin head is normally made from goat's skin...it should be maintained and kept away from humid areas...




this is one of the ways to attach the leather drum skin to a dhol... but no doubt it has been agreed to be the best way....




this is the normal way of attaching the treble drum skin to the dhol...notice the double ring??....the above piece has been fitted to prevent the hooks from piercing the skin and tearing it...plus the ring also distribute the stress evenly ard the circumference of the head...which gives it a better sound....




this bag was custom made to fit...normal dhol bags are a rare thing to find here in malaysia and normally their ordered or made from scratch....




the "tilli" and "dagga" used for playing....this is my collection...




"tillis" are on the right and the "daggas" are on the left....




and of course wats a musical instrument without his master??... :P