Dholak - Playing Style

Playing Style

The drum is either played on the player's lap or, while standing, slung from the shoulder or waist or pressed down with one knee while sitting on the floor. The shell is sometimes made from sheesham wood(Dalbergia sissoo) but cheaper dholaks may be made from any wood (mango).Sri Lankan dholaks and dholkis are made from hollowed coconut palm stems.

In some styles of playing (i.e. Punjab an iron thumb ring is used to produced a distinctive "chak" rim sound. In other styles (e.g. Rajasthani), all fingers are generally used.

Dholak masters are often adept at singing or chanting and often provide a primary entertainment or lead drumming for a dance troupe. Perhaps the most characteristic rhythm played on the "dhol" is a quick double-dotted figure that may be counted in rhythmic solfege as "ONE -tah and -tah TWO -tah and -tah THREE-E (rest on 'and') -TAH, FOUR AND" or simply a long string of double-dotted notes, over which the bass side is used for improvisation.

On large dholaks, known as dhols, the high-pitched head may be played using a thin (1/4"/6 mm or less) long (over 14"/30 cm) stick of rattan or bamboo (rattan is preferred for its flexibility) and the low-pitched drum head using a somewhat thicker, angled stick.