tala

We have many cycles in our life. We have natural cycles like the changing of night-time and day-time and unnatural cycles like dividing the day into 24 hours or dividing the week into seven days.

The tala (means: clap) is a rythmic-cycle, which starts at the beginning of a gat (composition) and shows the proper music-tempo (vilambit-slow, madhya-medium, drut-fast) whithout any break until the end of the gat, or even until the end of the raga.

The most important moment of the tala is the sam (joint, union), which is usually the first matra (beat) of the cycle. The second most important beat is the khali (empty), which is the unstressed part of the tala.

The sam is not only the beginning of the tala, but even a concluding item. Many phrases (tan, tihai) ends on sam.

All the tala-cycles of a raga, if played well, follow one another like pearls on a string.

The same length of beats could be divided into different talas, using different dividing-systems. The 16 beats can be played as tintala, sitarkhanitala, or even aditala. Of course, there are some rules which tell the appropriate tala for a composition.

The sound samples which you can listen to with the listed talas are in madhya (medium) tempo and all are 4 cycles long. In vilambit (slow) tempo or even in ati-vilambit (very slow) tempo, which you can hear mainly in vocal performances, the tala has a different bol-set. The stresses are constant, so the beats, stressed or unstressed, are left unchanged. In case of tintala you can listen to a vilambit variation also.

On stereo system you can listen separately, the bols (left channel) and the instrumental version (right channel).

dadratala – 6 (beats)
rupaktala – 7
keherwatala – 8
mattatala – 9
jhaptala – 10
champak sawari – 11
ektala – 12
chautala – 12
dhamartala – 14
adachautala – 14
jhumratala – 14
tintala – 16

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dadratala (6 beats)
rythmic subdivision: 3+3
used in: thumri, bhajan

X			O			– stress
I	I	I	I	I	I	– beat
Dhin	Dhin	Dha	Dha	Tin	Na	– bol
1	2	3	4	5	6	– beat-counter

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rupaktala (7 beats)
3+2+2
vilambit laya

O			1		2
I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Tin	Tin	Na	Dhin	Na	Dhin	Na
1	2	3	4	5	6	7

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keherwatala (8 beats)
2+2+2+2
thumri, dhun

X		2		O		3
I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Dha	Ge	Na	Ti	Na	Ke	Dhin	Na
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8

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mattatala (9 beats)
2+2+2+3
vilambit and madhya laya

X		2		0		3
I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Dhin	TeRiKiTe	Dhin	Na	Tin	Na	DhinDhin	NaDhin	DhinNa
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

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jhaptala (10 beats)
2+3+2+3
vilambit and madhya

laya

X		2			0		3
I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Dhin	Na	Dhin	Dhin	Na	Tin	Na	Dhin	Dhin	Na
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

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champak sawari (11 beats)
2+3+2+3
madhya laya

X
I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Dhi	Na	Dhi Na	Kat	Dha TreKe	Dhi Na	Dhi Na	Kat Ta	TreKe Dhi	Na Dhi	Dhi Na
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11

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ektala (12 beats)
4+4+4
khyal vilambit and drut laya

X				O				2		3
I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Dhin	Dhin	DhaGe	TeRiKiTe	Tu	Na	Ka	Ta	DhaGe	TeRiKiTe	Dhi	Na
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12

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chautala (12 beats)
4+4+4
dhrupad

X		O		2				3		4
I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Dhana	Dhinana	NaKana	Katna	Dhinana	Nakana	Dhinana	Nakana	TiTana	KaTana	GaDina	GhaNa
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12

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dhamartala (14 beats)
3+2+2+3+2+2
dhrupad

X			O		2
I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Kana	Dhina	Tana	Dhina	Tana	Dhana	-a
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
O			3		4
I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Ge	Ti	Ta	Ti	Ta	Ta	-a
8	9	10	11	12	13	14

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adachautala (14 beats)
2+2+2+2+2+2+2
khyal

X		2		O
I	I	I	I	I	I
Dhin	TeRiKiTe	Dhin	Na	Tu	Na
1	2	3	4	5	6
3		O		4		O
I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Ka	Ta	TeRiKiTe	Dhi	Na	Dhi	Dhi	Na
7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14

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jhumratala (14 beats)
3+4+3+4
khyal: vilambit and ati-vilambit laya

X			2
I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Dhin	Dha	TeRiKiTe	Dhin	Dhin	Dhage	TeRiKiTe
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
O			4
I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Tin	Ta	TeRiKiTe	Dhin	Dhin	Dhage	TeRiKiTe
8	9	10	11	12	13	14

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tintala (16 beats)
4+4+4+4

X				2
I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Dha	Dhin	Dhin	Dha	Dha	Dhin	Dhin	Dha
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
O				3
I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Dha	Tin	Tin	Na	Na	Dhin	Dhin	Dha
9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
							madhya-drut tintála
vilambit tintála:
X				2
I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I
DhaDhaGe	DhinDhaGe	DhinDhin	Dha	DhaDhaGe	DhinDhaGe	DhinDhin	Dha
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
O				3
I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I
DhaDha	Tin	TinTin	Ta	TaTeRiKiTe	Dhin	DhinDhin	DhaTin
9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
							vilambit tintála

X
– sam, the main stress of the tala, showing by clapping hand
O – khali, “empty” beat, showing by waving hand