TALA WANDS

The Steve Smith Tala Wands were conceived when Steve began playing with drummers from India and needed a way to blend with their sounds and be sensitive to lower volume levels. The result: two unique and tremendous additions to the Vic Firth line of Rute and brushes. Tala Wands feel great and naturally help to play softer – in all settings!

TW11: Bamboo A foam center is surrounded with bamboo dowels wrapped in thin PVC. Great balance and rebound, while naturally producing a lower volume. L=15 15/16”, Dia.=.585
TW11: Birch A foam center is surrounded with birch dowels wrapped in thin PVC. Outstanding rebound and sound. While the shaft is thicker than the TW11, the lighter weight of the birch dowels actually helps create a lighter touch and lower volume. L=16 1/8”, Dia.=.625”

Vic Firth Video Feature:
Steve Smith / PASIC Clinic 2005

Seeing Steve Smith in concert or clinic is always an education. A multi-faceted virtuoso of many styles, Steve is equally adept in rock, jazz and fusion. No matter what he's playing, it's always a treat because you know he as made it his mission to understand and get inside every style of music he performs.

At the 2005 PAS international convention, Steve presented a clinic titled "Indian Rhythms: An Intro for Western Drummers," with noted Indian drummer Ganesh Kumar playing kanjira. "For the past four years, I've been studying the rhythms from India," explains Smith. "the music of India has incredibly rich rhythmic tradition, developed over thousands of years. The rhythmic part of the music is, in fact, one of its primary focuses, which is different from U.S. music, where the primary focus is melody and then harmony. They have a highly developed rhythmic system that I find extremely interesting, and studying it has helped me develop a lot more rhythmic knowledge and phrasing ideas. I love playing with the Indian musicians, interacting and improvising, using the Indian concept of a meeting ground."
     — Excerpted from "Steve Smith" by Robin Flans, Percussive Notes, Oct 2005

South Indian rhythmic syllables (konokol):

Group of 3:   ta ki ta

Group of 5:   ta ka ta ki ta

Group of 7:   ta ka di mi ta ki ta

Group of 9:   ta ka di mi ta ka ta ki ta

The Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) is held each year, with over 6,000 drummers and percussionists from around the world in attendance. Including clinics, performances and contents, there are over 150 events on twelve stages featuring many of the world's best musicians on drumset, orchestral percussion, keyboard, world and marching percussion. For more information about becoming a member or attending the next convention, visit PAS online at http://www.pas.org.