How many taals in tabla

This article intends to shed light on those basic terms in a concise way. A matra is a beat. Each taal is composed of a specific number of beats, which are grouped vibhag and which cycles avartans repeatedly.

The time between matras can be varied and which is the Laya. A bol is a syllable or the alphabet in tabla.

Everything that is played can be broken down into its constituent bols. One or more bols can be played in a single matra which forms the basis of Laya. But, although the tempo changes, the fundamental rhythm does not. Each repeated cycle of a taal is called an avartan. A tala is generally divided into sections vibhaags , not all of which may have the same number of beats. The word tal. Tal literally means "clap". Today, the tabla has replaced the clap in the performance, but the term still reflects the origin.

The basic concepts of tal are: tali or bhari, khali , vibhag or ang , matra , bol , theka , lay , sam and avartan. Tali - Tali is the pattern of clapping. Each tal is characterized by a particular pattern and number of claps. Khali - Khali is the wave of the hands. These have a characteristic relationship to the claps. Vibhag Ang - Vibhag is the measure. Each clap or wave specifies a particular section or measure. These measures may be of any number of beats, yet most commonly 2, 3, 4, or 5 beats are used.

Matra - Matra is the beat. It may be subdivided if required. Bol - Bol is the mnemonic system where each stroke of the drum has a syllable attached to it. These syllables are known as bol. It is common to consider the bol to be synonymous to the stroke itself. Theka - Theka is a conventionally established pattern of bols and vibhag tali, khali which define the tal.

Lay - Laya is the tempo. The tempo may be either slow vilambit , medium madhya , or fast drut. Additionally ultra-slow may be referred to as ati-vilambit or ultra-fast may be referred to as ati-drut. Sam - Sam is the biginning of the cycle. The first beat of any cycle is usually stressed. The default matra value of laghu in carnatic taals is different, but when we change the jati of the taal, we change the value of laghu.

Which directly affects the number of matras. In other words, we can say that this change forms a new taal. This is the method how 7 main taals transform into 35 taals.

This 35 Taal system is the key of Carnatic Taal System. This makes the improvisations quite exciting because the audience is treated to the building up and resolution of tension in short or longer bouts.

When the artist takes off from the refrain, you're on the edge of your seat, wondering, "Where is she off to this time? What route is she going to take? When is she coming back? Will she make a perfect landing? The standard sequence of beats that defines a taal in its simplest form is called theka. So, for instance, the theka of Teentaal is:. Accented beats in the taal sequence indicated in bold are called taali clap , while unaccented beats indicated in italics are called khaali empty.

This terminology reflects the traditional method for keeping time using your hands while you sing. On the tabla, taali beats are played with a resonating effect, while khaali beats are played with a dry or metallic sound. Strung together, the different types of beats give texture and accentuation to the taal pattern as well as providing aural clues as to which part of the taal cycle is currently being played, which is important to keep track of so that you can return to the sam correctly on the correct syllable.

The standard theka of a taal is only its simplest version. There is usually a lot of variation within the framework of the theka in many scenarios. At very slow tempos, for instance, you will hear detailed versions of the same taal as the tabla player improvises to fill in the long gaps between the beats.

But even at faster tempos, it is common for the tabla player to improvise variations on the standard theka to make the performance more exciting and to better bring out the rhythmic beauty of a raga composition. Also, though taal mostly plays a supporting role to melody in Indian classical music, it can stand by itself too. There are tabla solo performances where complex tabla compositions built on the framework of existing taal patterns are presented against the backdrop of a simple repetitive melody called lehra.

Short tabla solos are also often incorporated into raga performances, during which the main artist steps back and takes on a supporting role by repeatedly playing or singing a single line of melody against which a tabla composition can be presented. The tempo of the music is called laya.

Hindustani classical music performances start out at extremely slow tempos as slow as 15 beats per minute , gradually increase in tempo over the duration of an hour or more, and culminate at rapid tempos of over bpm.