Big thanks to my Bro Johnny
Kalsi & The
Dhol Foundation
The following rhythms are presented for a right handed player , they
should be reversed for a left handed player.
The thin thilli cane is held in the right hand, it strikes the high
pitched end of the drum.
The thick bent cane is held in the left hand and strikes the bass end of the
drum.
There are a number of strokes which are either single hits or
combination hits. The method of learning uses 'bols' (words) and each word
represents one of those strokes. Players use these to teach, learn and pass on
information. Johnny uses them to tell the players what is coming next, he can
even teach over the phone, It is fascinating to experience.
Dhol 'Bols'
- Na/Ta - Treble side only
- Ge/Gi - Bass side only
- Dha - Bass and treble sides together
- Ke - Bass side struck and stick left on the head to
mute
- Kin/Kran - muted bass stroke with open treble
stroke
It is
most common to hear the rhythms as a 'shuffle' feel almost like a dotted eighth,
the rhythms are actually regarded as straight and the 'shuffle' is merely an
slight advance of every second beat. For the purposes of this introduction, I'd
advise treating the rhythms as a shuffle to get the feel of the flow of the music
.
The base
rhythm is known as the Chaal, most rhythms use this or variations thereof as the
foundation It
translates excellently to djembe (and bodhran :)
Dha Na..Na .Na .Na .Dha Dha.Na
B ..L...L.. L ..L.. B.. B.. L
1 ..2 ..3 ..4 ..5 ..6 ..7 ..8
The
underlying feel is like a light shuffle, if you play it like a dotted eighth
you're close enough, it is bit square [?] when played straight.
Here's
what it feels like, note how the beats are grouped, it skips along when played
slowly but rocks at 200+ bpm on the dhol! :))
.. ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8
B o o o o B B o B
o o o o B B o
You can hear it on
Johnny Kalsi's New Year's day set for BBC Radio,
There's a
different version which realy rocks as a base rhythm, you will hear this in The
Dhol Foundation set too
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
o...o o o.. o o o
. o o o . o o
B ........B B ..B ........B B
Paul Marshall - |

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Paul is the owner of Drumdojo and the Dojo Sites, He is responsible for writing and collating a lot of of the material that you see here on drumdojo.
Playing drumset since age 5, Paul has been a drummer on and off for most of his life. He plays every drum he can get his hands on. Paul works as an instrument designer, has designed many instruments for the Stomp orchestra and more recently in Holywood Movies. Paul is a prolific web designer and currently has a portfolio of around 40 business and hobby sites.
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