The dhantal (dandtal) is a long steel rod based percussion instrument (sounding similar to the

triangle A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...

), which was adapted from the iron "bows" which yoked the oxen that pulled the carts on the estates in

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, other parts of the

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, and

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. The original beater (which is called a kartaal/taali) was an actual horseshoe, a shape which is still retained in the modern dhantal's beater. The top of the dhantal may be blunt or tapered to a fine point to allow for greater resonance, and its end is shaped into a circle that rests on the ground, table, or other surface when it is played. Dhantal sizes can range anywhere from in length and in diametre. The dhantal is an important instrument in Indo-Caribbean music styles, such as Chutney, Baithak Gana and Taan Singing.

History

The dhantal (also called the dhandataal) is of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n origin, but most commonly found in the

and

. The instrument was invented in the

by indentured laborers from

. The instrument's name literally means "stick percussion" from ''danda'', "stick," and ''taal'', the act of striking rhythmically.

Technique

The rod is gripped with the player's weaker hand while the beater is held in the dominant hand. The amount of resonance is controlled by opening and closing the hand that is holding the rod. The dhantal's timbre is sharply metallic and provides a clearly defined ''taal'' (beat or pulse) to help the ensemble stay in rhythmic sync. The basic rhythm of the dhantal is an

ostinato In music, an ostinato (; derived from the Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces inc ...

consisting of two sixteenth-notes followed by an eighth-note. An example of how the Dhantal works can be seen in the
Dhantal Lesson
YouTube video.

References

External links

Lesson on how to play a dhantal on YouTube
{{Stick percussion idiophones Stick percussion idiophones Caribbean musical instruments Trinidad and Tobago musical instruments Fijian musical instruments

History

Technique

See also

References

External links