Abstract
This study develops a notation system that represents the repertoire of North Indian tabla drumming through the use of a hybridised form of traditional drum mnemonics (tabla bols) and Western staff notation. There is currently no standardised system for the notation of tabla music in English. The aim of this study is to create a prescriptive notation system that accurately and effectively communicates the multiplicity of inherent performative aspects in the numerous compositional forms in the repertoire. Through participant observation, as well as notational and structural analysis, the study identifies the need for a notation system that is coherent throughout each of the compositional forms of the repertoire. The study found it is critical that the notation system not only represents the individual notes and rhythms of the tabla, but also communicates and differentiates between the complexity within each of the compositional forms. Based on more than five years of study and ethnographic fieldwork undertaken in India through the period 2000 to 2010 with tabla master Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, this thesis undertakes a critical review of existing traditional and contemporary systems and notates examples of the new system in each of the compositional forms along with written analysis of the formal structure. 

Representing Tabla Music - Downloads

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