Rhythm, Tala, Laya and Musical Accompaniment
Rhythm, Tala, Laya and Musical Accompaniment tests your ability to hear and mark cyclical time. You must distinguish the tala cycle from its speed, identify structural beats and connect dance phrases to the percussion and vocal accompaniment.
Core terms
- Tala: a repeating metrical cycle.
- Matra: a unit beat within the cycle.
- Vibhag: a division of the cycle.
- Tali: a clap or marked beat; khali: a wave or unmarked beat, not silence.
- Sam: the first beat and point of resolution.
- Laya: tempo, commonly vilambit, madhya and drut.
- Avartana: one complete cycle. In Sattriya, khol and tal support the dance; gayan supplies vocal music. In Bihu, dhol, pepa, gagana, toka and xutuli create the festive sound world.
Worked example
A cycle has eight matras, with claps on 1 and 5 and a wave on 3. A dancer enters on 5 and finishes a phrase on 1. Reasoning: the cycle begins at 1, so the entry on 5 is halfway through, not sam. The phrase resolves on sam at the next 1. The answer must separate matra number from tali and khali.
Traps
Do not use tala and laya as synonyms. Do not say khali means no sound; it is an unmarked or waved beat. Do not count every hand clap as sam. Do not ignore the vocal line when analysing Sattriya accompaniment.