This past March 16, Ragleela played our first concert since being in the studio this past January. It was really great to be back in action, performing with the group. We played a mix of old and new tunes. Cédric, who recorded with us on contrabass, wasn't available for the performance, and so we had Matthieu with us as a special guest. The concert took place at the Église St-Francois-Xavier in Prévost, which is just a little bit past Saint Jerome, in the Laurentians.
I had just received my TransTabla the Monday prior, and so this concert was a perfect opportunity to test out the TransTabla and its alternative tuning mechanism. Just before beginning the concert, it seems that there was a very significant temperature change, and so my tabla was very flat; almost a full semi-tone. With just a small crank of the TransTabla, I had my tabla back up to pitch in record time. Of course, I could have easily re-tuned the traditional way, but the TransTabla certainly saved me a lot of time in this instance! Also, when I fly with tabla, or when the temperature is below freezing, I prefer to loosen my tabla for transport, as a precaution. This was also much faster with the TransTabla.
In a way, the TransTabla reminds me of the early timpani tuning mechanisms. At first, timpani were tuned with individual tension rods, each with its own tuning key. Later, mechanisms were developed so that by turning one key, the tension around the entire drumhead could be adjusted simultaneously, and eventually, this was replaced with the timpani pedals that we have now. Hmm, a pedal to re-tune tabla? Probably not! :)
Thanks to Caroline Tabah for the concert photos!
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