BSEH Secondary Music Tabla cheat sheet

Tabla pair = dayan (right, single-headed, wood) and bayan (left, double-headed, metal or clay); the bayan's outer head carries the syahi and its inner opening is covered by the maidan/pudi tuning paste patch.

Dayan shell is turned from seasoned hardwood (sheesham, khair, or teak); bayan shell is copper, brass, or clay - metal gives a more sustained, darker bass than clay.

Head layers of the dayan: maidan (main skin), chat (edge ring), syahi (black tuning patch, applied in concentric layers), and gajra/kinar (woven rim).

Lacing: chot (leather strips) threaded through gajra holes and tensioned by gatta (small leather tuning blocks) driven downward to raise pitch; gatta are struck with a hammer on the dayan but usually hand-pushed on the bayan.

Bayan bass tuning is set by the maidan paste: more/thicker paste lowers and darkens the sound; the patch is applied in thin wet layers and dried, never in one thick coat.

Water-humidity control: syahi absorbs moisture and dulls tone; the head is protected with powder (suji/roasted flour) or a cover, and drying is done away from direct sun to prevent cracking.

Bayana head is larger and has no syahi in the striking zone; the bass stroke (Ghe/Ge) is produced near the maidan-loaded center-left, while the treble edge strokes give Ka/Ta.

Replacement rule: a head is replaced when the syahi loses its bond, the maidan tears at the gajra, or tuning blocks no longer hold tension; shell cracks in wood are repairable, but a cracked clay bayan is discarded.

Cushion (gaddi) and ring bases isolate the drums from the floor; without them the bayan loses resonance and the dayan's pitch reads unstable.

Swar = musical pitch; in Hindustani practice the saptak has seven shuddha swar (Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni) with five vikrit forms (komal Re, Ga, Dha, Ni; tivra Ma).

Tabla has no fixed scale: the dayan is tuned to the soloist's Sa (or to the lehra's tonic), and the bayan supplies the tonic-dominant bass region.

Relative tuning of dayan: the head is tuned so that the open stroke (Na/Tin) matches the chosen Sa, then the syahi-loaded stroke is checked for the fifth or octave relationship.

Laya = tempo; the three functional speeds are vilambit (slow), madhya (medium), and drut (fast), with ati-vilambit and ati-drut as extremes.

Laya ratios: barabar (1:1), dugun (2:1), tigun (3:1), chaugun (4:1), and adi-laya (1.5:1, three strokes per two beats) are the standard proportional relationships.

Matra is the beat unit; vibhag is the bar-group; tali (sam, 2, 3...) are clapped divisions and khali is the unmarked (waved) division.

Sam is beat 1 of the cycle and the point of resolution; avartan is one full cycle, and theka is the conventional bol pattern that identifies each taal.

Laya is measured against the lehra or theka, not by a metronome alone; a change of laya must preserve the sam alignment so that the composition's last bol lands on sam.

Teentaal: 16 matra, vibhag 4+4+4+4, tali on 1, 5, 13; khali on 9. Theka: Dha Dhin Dhin Dha | Dha Dhin Dhin Dha | Dha Tin Tin Ta | Ta Dhin Dhin Dha.

Jhaptaal: 10 matra, vibhag 2+3+2+3, tali on 1, 3, 8; khali on 6. Theka: Dhi Na | Dhi Dhi Na | Ti Na | Dhi Dhi Na.

Ektaal: 12 matra, vibhag 2+2+2+2+2+2, tali on 1, 5, 9, 11; khali on 3 and 7. Theka: Dhin Dhin | Dha Ge Ti Ra Ki Ta | Tu Na | Ka Ta | Dha Ge Ti Ra Ki Ta | Dhi Na.

Rupak: 7 matra, vibhag 3+2+2, khali on 1 (sam is khali), tali on 4 and 6. Theka: Tin Tin Na | Dhin Na | Dhin Na.

Keherwa: 8 matra, vibhag 4+4, tali on 1, khali on 5. Theka: Dha Ge Na Ti | Na Ka Dhi Na.

Dadra: 6 matra, vibhag 3+3, tali on 1, khali on 4. Theka: Dha Dhin Na | Dha Tin Na.

Jhoomra: 14 matra, vibhag 3+4+3+4, tali on 1, 4, 11; khali on 8. Deepchandi: 14 matra, vibhag 3+4+3+4, tali on 1, 4, 11; khali on 8, with a characteristic Dha Dhin - Dha Dha Tin - Ta Tin - Dha Dha Dhin - Dha Dha Tin - pattern.

Recognition rule: count vibhags first, then locate the khali; two taals with identical matra count (Jhoomra and Deepchandi, both 14) are separated by the theka's bol shape and khali placement, not by length.

Bol = a tabla syllable; each bol maps to a specific stroke and resonance (Dha = Ge+Na, Dhin = Ge+Tin, Tin = treble ring, Ta/Na = rim, Ge/Ghe = bass).

Kayda = a composed, rule-bound theme in a fixed taal, built from a small bol set, developed through paltas and concluded on a tihai or chakradar; it must be expandable, not merely repeatable.

Palta = a systematic permutation/variation of the kayda's theme; standard devices are inversion of bol order, displacement within the vibhag, and progressive substitution of equivalent bols.

Tukda = a self-contained, fixed composition (often 2-4 matras of phrase repeated and resolved); unlike a kayda it is not developed by palta and is played as a set piece.

Tihai = a phrase repeated three times so that the final bol lands on sam; the gap between repetitions may be zero (barabar), one matra (dha), or more.

Chakradar = a tihai of tihais: the unit itself is a tihai, and that tihai is repeated three times to land on sam - nine repetitions of the inner phrase in total.

Param and chalan: kayda presentation usually moves from theka statement, to kayda, to two or more paltas, to tihai; tukda and paran are inserted between items, not inside a kayda's development.

Presentation rule: any composition's last bol must fall on sam; if the phrase length does not divide the taal evenly, the performer adjusts the starting matra rather than the sam landing.

Bhatkhande notation: matra numbers are written above the line, bols below; sam is marked ×, tali by the vibhag number (2, 3, 4...), and khali by 0.

Vibhag boundaries are shown by vertical lines; the space between two lines is one vibhag and must contain exactly its stated number of matras.

A dash (–) or blank under a matra indicates a sustain or rest (no new bol); a tilde or bracket indicates a bol sustained across matras.

Bols are written in Devanagari in Bhatkhande/Palat-style notation, but roman transliteration (Dha, Dhin, Tin, Ta, Ge, Na, Ke, Tirakita) is accepted in exam answer scripts when the script is unavailable.

Kayda and palta notation: write the theme in full once, then each palta as a separate line with its own matra count; mark sam alignment at the end of each line.

Tihai notation: bracket the repeated phrase and write ×3 after it, then show the final landing matra as sam; the arithmetic (phrase length × 3 + gaps = taal length) must balance.

Reading rule: to identify an unknown taal from notation, count matras between vertical lines, note the × and 0 positions, then match the vibhag pattern to the taal table.

Laya markings (barabar, dugun, chaugun) are written above the line; in dugun, two bols occupy one matra and are written side by side or stacked.

Lehra = the melodic nagma (usually sarangi or harmonium) that states the taal cycle; the tabla soloist's sam must coincide with the lehra's sam, so the lehra's tonic defines the dayan's Sa.

Standard solo arc in Teentaal: theka (one avartan) → kayda with paltas → tukda/paran → rela → tihai on sam; each item is separated by a full theka avartan to re-establish the cycle.

Vilambit laya demands wide bol spacing and clear khali/tali distinction; drut laya demands rela-style flow with even stroke weight and no loss of sam.

Rela = a fast, continuous, mostly single-stroke (Dha Ge Na Ti / Dha Tirakita) composition; it is judged on evenness and on the tihai's exact sam landing, not on speed alone.

Peshkar is the opening, improvised, gradually expanding item of a solo; it precedes the kayda and is not a fixed composition.

When the lehra is in a different taal from the composition, the soloist either switches the lehra or converts the composition through laya ratios (dugun/chaugun) so sam still aligns.

Solo with lehra requires audible sam confirmation: the soloist's tihai's last bol and the lehra's sam must be simultaneous; a one-matra drift is a fail condition in practical exams.

Padhant (reciting bols aloud with hand counts) is a standard exam component of solo presentation and must match the played strokes exactly.

Accompaniment rule: the tabla follows the soloist's laya and taal; the theka stays simple and steady, with ornamentation (tukda, paran) only at section ends or between sthai and antara.

For vilambit khayal in Teentaal or Ektaal, the accompaniment uses the full theka with clear khali; for drut khayal, lighter theka with occasional filler bols.

Thumri and Dadra accompaniment uses lighter, more open theka with laggi and simple fillers; keherwa serves dadra, thumri, ghazal, and most light-classical and film forms.

Laggi = a fast, repetitive, circular pattern played in light-classical accompaniment (keherwa/dadra), not in khayal accompaniment.

Sawai and chalan patterns: the tabla must leave space for the vocalist's improvisation; over-playing during the singer's bol-banao or taan disrupts the sam.

Instrumental accompaniment (sitar, sarod, flute) follows the gat's taal; the tabla enters after the gat's first cycle and marks sam with the soloist's tihai.

For a soloist's tihai, the accompanist must not play a competing tihai; the tabla sustains the theka and lets the soloist's tihai land on sam.

Taal change on request (e.g., from Teentaal to Jhaptaal) requires the tabla to state the new theka for one full avartan before the soloist resumes.

Six principal tabla gharanas: Delhi, Lucknow, Ajrada, Farukhabad, Banaras, and Punjab; each is identified by bol preference, stroke placement, and bayan use.

Delhi gharana: founded in the lineage of Siddhar Khan Dhadi; known for the resonant, closed-hand dayan stroke, the 'Dha' emphasis, and clean, structured kayda.

Lucknow gharana: associated with Modu Khan and Bakshu Khan; known for the elegant, lyrical, naughty (chhed-chhad) style, extensive use of the bayan, and gat-paran.

Ajrada gharana: Miru Khan lineage; known for the powerful, closed (band) bayan, heavy Dha, and the 'Dhin' orientation of its kayda.

Farukhabad gharana: Haji Vilayat Ali Khan lineage; known for the resonant open bayan, the 'Ghe' emphasis, and rich, weighty compositions.

Banaras gharana: Ram Sahai lineage; known for the tabla's singing quality, the 'Na Dhin Dhin Na' orientation, and the strong link to Kathak accompaniment.

Punjab gharana: Jori-based lineage; known for the open, forceful style, the use of the jori and the pakhawaj-derived bol, and the 'Dha' and 'Tirakita' vocabulary.

Modern exponents: Ahmed Jan Thirakwa (Farukhabad, encyclopedic solo style), Alla Rakha (Punjab, international reach), Kishan Maharaj (Banaras, Kathak link), Samta Prasad (Banaras), and Zakir Hussain (Punjab, expanded solo and fusion).