Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Zakir Hussain and the Art of Forgetting

10/12/2019

To hear the Grammy-winning tabla master Zakir Hussain 19H talk about his instrument, it can sound like he's speaking about a respected loved one. In fact, he points out that your instrument is an extension of your body, which is itself where all music originates. As he said in a recent master class hosted by the Berklee India Exchange ahead of his sold-out Signature Series performance, The body is an instrument. Playing music is basically whatever your body is doing-bringing it out onto either an instrument you are playing or [through] your singing. This is the basis of improv-the body.

In many ways, Indian music and jazz are cousins, simply because we both improvise. We believe in spontaneity.

-Zakir Hussain 19H

Known around the world for his fusion jazz improvisation prowess in groups such as Shakti, Hussain talked about, at age 11, seeing Duke Ellington play live in 1962 in what was then Bombay (now Mumbai), and how Western jazz influences worked their way into Indian music by way of Bollywood cinematic scores. The relationship between the musics was natural, according to Hussain. In many ways, Indian music and jazz are cousins, simply because we both improvise. We believe in spontaneity. We believe in being impulsive, creative in that manner.

Thinking Faster than the Rhythm Hussain described his control of rhythm while in improvisational settings in surprisingly (and also, one guesses, deceptively) simplistic terms, comparing it to a language he had internalized since he was very young. He shared how his father, the legendary tabla player Allah Rakha, would send Zakir to school, instructing him to recite riffs as he walked. This kind of deep familiarity allowed him to more easily find structure in improvisation, helping to think faster than [my] hands, or be able to sense shifts in the music before they occur.

Combining Technique and Artistic Risk After explaining parts of his approach, he asked, Am I really improvising? saying that all he's doing is finding phrases and variations on those phrases within a particular musical structure. The process is simple, he added, but to actually put it into action requires ironclad, solid time as well as the courage to take risks. The great players, he said, reach for the sky-they're not just resting on the tried and true. And so, his parting advice to all the musicians in the room was to take all the technical skill and push yourself into less structured territory. Learn every riff, learn every standard, learn all the solos, and put it all together in your head. And then get on the stage and forget all that.

Related categories:

News

Related Reading

Berklee India Exchange Presents Zakir Hussain The Indian tabla maestro will host a one-week residency at Berklee this November.

Berklee Announces 2019-2020 Signature Series Highlights include Grammy winners Dee Dee Bridgewater, Aida Cuevas, and Zakir Hussain, who will receive an honorary doctorate.

What Is Contemporary Music? Its practically Berklees middle name-but what are we talking about when we say contemporary music?

More from Berklee Now

Most Popular

Four Berklee Guitarists Vie for Preeminent Jazz Prize Cecil Alexander, Fran ois Chanvallon, Lucian Gray, and Matt Sewell will compete at the 2019 Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Competition in December.

Latest

Zakir Hussain and the Art of Forgetting The Indian composer and tabla virtuoso shared his thoughts on improvisation and a musicians relationship to their instrument at a recent master class.

Andrew Sarlos Big Year: On Producing for Bon Iver, Big Thief, and More The alumnus goes behind the scenes of some of 2019's top releases on Sounds of Berklee and curates a playlist of his productions for Berklee Now.

shutterstock_165634493.jpg

How to Write Original Holiday Songs Get in the spirit with these seasonal tips from Berklee songwriting instructors.

Read All

Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.

Berklee Blogs

Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

Instagram

Snapchat

Soundcloud

Spotify
LINK: https://www.berklee.edu/news/berklee-now/zakir-hussain-and-art-forgett...
See more stories from berklee

North America Stories

21/03/2026

Survey: Fans Prefer Sports on Broadcast Over Streaming

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/03/2026

Graham Promotes Stephanie Slagle to VP, CRO & GM of WDIV Local 4

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/03/2026

Study: Repurposed Traditional TV Ads for CTV Is a Missed Opportunity

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/03/2026

Carr Backs Trump Army/Navy Game Executive Order

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/03/2026

Opponents File Emergency FCC Petition to Block Nexstar/Tegna Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/03/2026

Eight States Ask for Court to Stop Nexstar/Tegna Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/03/2026

Cine Gear Connect NY Ramps Up for March 28 - 2026

Cine Gear Connect NY, presented by Universal Production Services, is filling in the slate for a full day of panels, peers, learning the latest, and mixing it up...

21/03/2026

Studio Technologies Debuts New StudioComm System at NAB 2026

Studio Technologies Debuts New StudioComm System at NAB 2026 Brie Clayton March 20, 2026 0 Comments StudioComm Model 794 Central Controller and Model ...

21/03/2026

Restoration Christian Fellowship Captures Worship Music Videos with PYXIS 12K

Restoration Christian Fellowship Captures Worship Music Videos with PYXIS 12K Brie Clayton March 20, 2026 0 Comments PYXIS' open gate provides cre...

20/03/2026

NAB 2026: Net Insight unveils Market-Leading JPEG XS at Scale for Live IP Media Production

Net Insight will introduce a JPEG XS solution for full IP environments at NAB Sh...

20/03/2026

NAB 2026: LTN and Harmonic Expand Partnership to Support FAST Growth and C-Band Migration

LTN has expanded its technology partnership with Harmonic ahead of the FCC's...

20/03/2026

NAB 2026: Solid State Logic to Preview SSL Live V6.2 with New SolidPitch Effect and Major Workflow Enhancements

Solid State Logic will preview SSL Live V6.2 at NAB Show, booth C6907. The softw...

20/03/2026

NAB 2026: Fujifilm Announces Availability of FUJINON UA22x4.8BERD 4K Broadcast Zoom Lens

FUJIFILM North America Corporation's Optical Devices Division has announced ...

20/03/2026

NAB 2026: Fujifilm Announces Development of FUJINON UA16x4BERD, UA30x7.3BERD, and UA94x8.7BESM 4K Broadcast Zooms

FUJIFILM North America Corporation's Optical Devices Division has announced ...

20/03/2026

TrueVisions NOW Chooses Bitmovin's Observability

TrueVisions NOW, a streaming platform in Thailand and part of the TrueVisions Group, has selected Bitmovin's Observability product for real-time video analy...

20/03/2026

Marquee Sports Network Expands Distribution to Hulu + Live TV, Prime Video

Marquee Sports Network has announced distribution agreements with Hulu + Live TV and Prime Video ahead of the 2026 MLB season. Marquee Sports Network is now av...

20/03/2026

NAB 2026: Software-Defined, AI-Powered Workflow Tells the Story of the New FOR-A America

FOR-A will exhibit software-defined and AI-driven solutions at NAB Show 2026, bo...

20/03/2026

TNA Wrestling and Eurosport India Announce New Multi-Year Exclusive Programming Agreement

TNA Wrestling and Eurosport India have entered into a multi-year exclusive progr...

20/03/2026

GameTime Productions Expands Technical Vision for Athletes Unlimited Basketball in Nashville

When Athletes Unlimited brought its professional women's basketball season t...

20/03/2026

Calrec Craft Interview with Senior Broadcast Audio A1 Engineer and Music Director Rick Bernier

In this craft interview, Rick Bernier reflects on a career that has taken him to...

20/03/2026

NAB 2026: IP Innovation, SoftwareBased Media Infrastructure & Dynamic Media Facility Workflows on Display for Lawo

Lawo will announce a new product ahead of NAB Show 2026 in Las Vegas, where it w...

20/03/2026

Ratings Roundup: 2026 World Baseball Classic is Most Watched WBC Telecast EVER with Over 10 Million Viewers

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...

20/03/2026

MLB Names Polymarket Exclusive Prediction Market Exchange Partner and Signs Agreement with CFTC to Establish Integrity Framework

Major League Baseball (MLB) has named Polymarket as its Official Prediction Mark...

20/03/2026

How Big Tech AI Will Lead Broadcast Innovation: Lessons from the Enterprise Market

With AI now the industry-wide priority, Big Tech companies are uniquely position...

20/03/2026

SVG GameDay, Ep. 8: Los Angeles Angels' Davin Maske - SoCal Baseball in Anaheim

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...

20/03/2026

Fanatics Studios, FOX Sports Focus on Cavalcade of Stars in Fanatics Flag Football Classic

Abundant player mics and RF and other ground-level cameras will be used to captu...

20/03/2026

ESPN Ramps Up Production Levels for NCAA Women's Tournament as Popularity, Viewership Skyrocket

Regional site will also receive big boost in production resources, including on-...

20/03/2026

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Addison Heimann, the Writer-Director of Touch Me

By Jessica Herndon One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Fest...

20/03/2026

The Gauge: Poland | February 2026

After a series of increases, February brought the first slowdown in time spent in front of TV sets in a long time. While traditional television was losing viewi...

20/03/2026

Eric Wolff Joins Chyron as Director of Venues Sales, North America

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/03/2026

Study: Broadcasters Rebuild Live Operations Around IP

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/03/2026

Matt Conrad Acquires DSC Labs

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/03/2026

Glensound celebrates its diamond anniversary at NAB Show

60 years of audio innovation, driven by the people who use it...

20/03/2026

FCC Approves Nexstar's Acquisition of Tegna

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/03/2026

Icesi names Ronald David Reyes as the 2025 recipient of t...

Colombia's Icesi University and WSDG are proud to announce Ronald David Reyes as the recipient of the 2025 WSDG Excellence Scholarship, awarded to an outsta...

20/03/2026

Celebrating the greatest creators - One Battle After Ano...

Avid today celebrated the filmmakers, editors and sound teams that worked with Avid Media Composer and Pro Tools to create the vast majority of this year'...

20/03/2026

MRMC Names CP Communications Its Official U.S. Rental, Sales Partner

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/03/2026

FOR-A To Feature Software-Defined, AI-Driven Solutions At 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/03/2026

2026 NAB Show Exhibitor Insight: Riedel Communications

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/03/2026

DirecTV Files Suit to Block Nexstar/Tegna Deal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/03/2026

Fujifilm Announces Four New Broadcast Zoom Lenses

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

20/03/2026

NAB 2026: Software-Defined, AI-Powered Workflow Tells the...

Real-time 9:16 AI-Generated Autocropping; Software-Defined Station in a Box; and Software Switcher with Unlimited Layering Are Among Show Highlights For the fi...

20/03/2026

Signiant Showcases New Content Innovations Driving Visibility, Access, and Action at NAB 2026

Signiant Showcases New Content Innovations Driving Visibility, Access, and Actio...

20/03/2026

Caffeine Relies on DaVinci Resolve Studio for End to End Post Workflow

Caffeine Relies on DaVinci Resolve Studio for End to End Post Workflow Brie Clayton March 19, 2026 0 Comments Blackmagic Cloud helps Mexican post faci...

19/03/2026

The Rise of Streaming, Particularly for Sports, Revives Loudness Issues

Live sports production increases complexity, with dynamic audio levels and an overall philosophy that encourages transient volume spikes Fourteen years ago, Am...

19/03/2026

Advanced Systems Group Names Peter Thordarson as Technical Account Executive

Advanced Systems Group, a technology and services provider for media creatives and content owners, announced the appointment of Peter Thordarson to the newly cr...

19/03/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Arya Taymuree, University of Washington

For this senior from the Bay Area, the speed and pressure of live sports production play right into her strengths In the live-sports-video industry, the future...

19/03/2026

Grass Valley Expands Partnership with University of Pittsburgh Athletics, Upgrading Production Infrastructure to SMPTE ST 2110 IP

Grass Valley has expanded its long-term partnership with University of Pittsburg...

19/03/2026

Audio-Technica Debuts ATV-SG1 and ATV-SG1LE On-Camera Shotgun Microphones

Audio-Technica has released the ATV-SG1 and ATV-SG1LE On-Camera Shotgun Microphones, designed for use with DSLR, mirrorless SLR, and other cameras. The ATV-SG1...

19/03/2026

NAB 2026: Harmonic Enhances XOS Advanced Media Processor to Streamline Next-Generation Broadcast Distribution

Harmonic (booth W2831) announces updates to its XOS Advanced Media Processor aim...