What I Learned Today about Drones and the Indian Tabla Drums

I hate being an onlooker, though that's where I excel, where I feel most comfortable, letting other peoples' ideas take shape, while I race to meet the product documentation deadline. I stick my head into the specifications and code that made the product possible, understanding its purpose, limitations, intended users, and how I should tell others about it through the written word.

How could I help people in need that are really far away, stranded wandering inhospitable lands.. What if I could make something that helps people far away, that delivers aid by air, yes! A humanitarian aid drone! That must exist, surely!

It does! Better yet, Windhorse Aerospace is working to make an edible drone! 

The latest article is from February. I sent them an offer to help get their drone, the "Pouncer" airborn and landing safely.

If they don't respond I'll have to try contacting them on a business day.

Next: Tabla

I've had my tabla set for over three years, but haven't gone much further than mimicking classical taals, using the standard bols, which are the notes produced by specific techniques on the drums.

The first test was to see how well the tabla notes harmonize with a Tangos in A (Phrygian Dominant) scale.

As my daiyan is tuned to A#, the flat 2 of the A Phrygian Dominant, Na on the tabla matches the root of the A# chord on guitar. 

The note Tun conveniently produces approximately the note C, which is the flat 3 of the A Phrygian dominant scale, and works well enough when transitioning from say a A# major chord to a C7 chord.

While there are surely other sounds and rhythmic effects yet discovered, finding the tones on the tabla is an important step for trying to incorporate the instrument gracefully into Flamenco music.

I downloaded GarageBand to support the tracks I'll record to compose a Tangos piece with tabla.