Dholak: India musical instrument

The dholak also called the dhool in the Netherlands and Suriname is a Southe Asian two-heasded hand drum. The musical instrument may have traditional cotton rope lacing or screw-turnbuckle tensioning or both will be combined. In the cotton rope lacing, steel rings are used for tuning. The dholak is well-known as a folk musical instrument that lacks the exact tuning and playing methods of the ‘tabla’ or the ‘pakhawai.’ The drum is pitched; this depends on the size of the instrument and it is pitched with an interval of a perfect fourth or perfect fifth between the two head of the drum.

source of picture: vinoddholak.blogspot.com

This musical instrument is widely used in qawwali, kirtan, Marathi and bhangra. Dholak was formerly used in classical dance. Indian children sing and dance to the tone of the instrument during their pre-wedding festivities and it is also used in filmi sangeet; indian film music, inchutney music, baithak gana, tan singing and the native Indian music of Jamaica, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago where it was brought by their immigrants. The dholak’s higher pitched head is a simple membrane while the bass head that is played with the left hand has a compound Syahi to the lower pitch and allow the typical dholak sliding sound. Most times, the caked left over of mustard oil pressing to which some sand and oil or tar may be included.

The drum can be played while either being kept on the laps or standing, slung from the shoulder or waist or pressed down with one knee while the player is sitting on the floor. The shell of the musical instrument is sometimes produced from ‘sheesham wood’ although cheaper dholak may be manufactured from any wood such as the mango wood. In some style of playing the instrument, an iron is thumb is used to give out a different rim sound, in some other styles, all fingers are used. Dholak masters are often skillful at singing and usually provide a primary entertainment or lead drumming for a dance group. On large dholak like the dhols the high-pitched head can be played with the use of a thin long stick of rattam or bamboo while the lower-pitched drum head can be played using thicker and angled stick.

The dholak is usually a bit narrower in diameter and uses tabla-style Syahi masala on the treble skin of the instrument. The instrument which is also known as the ‘naal’ has its treble skin stitched onto an iron ring in a similar manner as the East Asian Janggu or Shime-daiko drums which tights the head before it is fitted. The bass skin is the same with that of the an ordinary dholak that is being fitted on to a bamboo ring, although sometimes they may have a kinar and press folded Gaira as seen in tabla to help it withstand any extra tension. Heavy hard wood dholak has been sensed to produce better and refined sound more than those ones carved of cheap and unseasoned sapwood.