Tabla - Dayan, the Small Drum
The dayan (which literally means "right" in India) is the smaller counterpart of the bigger bayan in the tabla ensemble – usually played with the dominant hand and most of the time, it’s coined as simply the ‘tabla’. Videsal wood is the best type of wood to work out with the dayan but because of the current scarcity of such timber, other materials are explored and used in its stead. Meanwhile, one of the primary tones on the tabla can be tuned to a specific note and this contributes and complements any melody. Although the tuning range the dayan allows is limited, different dayañ sizes produce various range of tones. For a dayañ to achieve harmony with the soloist, it will usually be necessary to tune it to the tonic, dominant or subdominant of the soloist’s key.