संगीत की शब्दावली में, सहायक कलाकार को संगतकार कहा जाता है। एक अच्छा संगतकार संपूर्ण संगीत का एक अभिन्न अंग होता है, जिसमें कौशल, समझ, ज्ञान, प्रशिक्षण आदि गुण शामिल होते हैं। यहाँ संगतकार की एक अन्य विशेषता पर प्रकाश डालना आवश्यक है, वह यह है कि संगतकार कोई व्यक्ति नहीं बल्कि एक वाद्य यंत्र होता है।

तबला वादन कला को इतनी प्रशंसा मिली है कि यह विश्वभर में लाखों लोगों के लिए एकल वादन और संगत दोनों का एक महत्वपूर्ण साधन बन गया है। इस मधुर वाद्य यंत्रों में सबसे छोटा तबला आधुनिक युग में विकसित न होने के कारण सौभाग्यशाली है; फिर भी इसने बीते समय के उस आक्रोश को पुष्ट किया जब तबला वादकों को निम्न श्रेणी का नागरिक समझा जाता था। इस नई पीढ़ी ने अपने दायरे से बाहर निकलकर स्वयं को प्रशंसा के योग्य सिद्ध किया।

A civilization that has assimilated the best of the tradition and culture of its counterparts are sustaining amidst the treacherous trail of changes. None but we have felt the shadows of change which fell upon us from the time of Porus to the Britishers. The subcontinent holds its head in high esteem as we are the most accommodative instance of a living civilization. Different cultures have been absorbed and assimilated in varied forms across different regions within our territory. Tabla is so malleable that it fits into any shape of expression- a striking feature of its popularity. It is one among the league of a few musical instruments and almost none of its classical counterparts that has been able to project itself globally owing to its capacity to mingle with different genres of music. In its country of origin India it has paired itself with the serious traditions of Dhurpad, Dhamar, Shastriya: Khayal, Upp-Shastriya: Tappa, Thumari, Dadra, Laghu-Shastriya Bhajan, Geet, Ghazal, even folk and what not! The globalisation of music took many of our stalwart artistes to foreign lands accompanied by what appeared to be a Pandora’s Box initially; when opened it moved both the lay-listeners and connoisseurs to appreciation and admiration with greeting applause of approval for both the artiste and the accompanist alike. This was a welcoming gesture to sit and draw on the common elements latent in both the forms of expression. Over the years Tabla has structured itself distinctly alongside drums, conga, tambourine, timpani, xylophone, marimba, etc with the genres of Jazz, Blues, Pop, Funk, Soul and even Rock.