While the goals most adults have for themselves might be different than those of children, our approach at Poetry on Drums is largely the same. Whether you want to play along with Bollywood songs, play at your community satsang or kirtan, or play tabla for classical music, the POD curriculum teaches you the skills required to realize those dreams.

The Poetry on Drums Curriculum

Poetry on Drums offers a five-level training program for beginners up through intermediate and advanced students. Each level is intended to be completed over the course of about one year. Adults with prior Tabla education can get tested to determine which class is suitable to their further development, and private training options may be available for especially advanced individuals.

How it Works

Each level is built around a course packet, provided for each student in PDF format. Each PDF starts with a set of music theory lessons to help students better understand the fundamentals of Indian rhythm, along with a set of achievement goals required for each student to accomplish by the time they complete the level. After this comes about twenty pages of material to be learned during the course of the year. The POD curriculum is clear, organized, and easy to follow even for new students with no musical background.

Current Weekly and Yearly Schedules

The POD calendar is divided into Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer quarters. The Fall, Winter and Spring quarters average 12 sessions each. The summer quarter is shorter and includes the summer camps for more advanced students, while weekly classes are still offered for adults and beginners.

To view the current fall schedule, please click here.

To view the 2017-18 academic calendar, please click here. (By and large, adult classes follow the school calendar with regard to breaks.)