Odisha CHSE +2 Vocational Tabla key terms

A pair of hand drums used in Hindustani music, made up of a treble drum and a bass drum played together by one player. Strictly, the word names the right-hand drum alone.

The smaller treble drum of the tabla pair, carved from wood and tuned with pegs or blocks. It sits to the player's right and produces the clear, pitched strokes such as Na, Ta and Tin.

The larger bass drum of the pair, usually of copper, brass or clay, placed to the player's left. Its pitch can be bent by sliding the heel of the palm across the skin while striking.

The black circular patch of iron oxide and rice paste fixed at the centre of each drum head. It adds weight to the tone, lowers the pitch and makes the bass bend on the bayan possible.

The clear, uncoated area of a tabla head lying between the black patch and the woven rim. Open strokes played on this region, such as Ta and Tin, give the ringing sound of the dayan.

The braided leather or cotton ring fitted around the edge of a tabla head, carrying the lacing. It protects the skin edge and spreads the tension evenly over the drum.

The leather lacing threaded through the rim ring and down the body of the drum to hold the head. Tightening or slackening it is the basic method of tuning the dayan.

Small wooden cylinders pushed between the lacing and the shell of a bayan. Sliding them up or down changes the tension of the head and therefore the pitch of the drum.

A spoken syllable such as Dha, Dhin, Na or Tin that stands for one stroke or a group of strokes on the drums. Bols are the vocabulary out of which every composition is made.

A broad grouping of tabla strokes into families according to how the sound is produced, for example open and resonant, closed and damped, or combined. It helps players organise the bols they learn.

A strict theme-based composition built from a fixed sequence of bols and developed through systematic variations called paltas, closing with a tihai. It is the central training form of the tabla repertoire.

A variation of a kayda in which the same bols are rearranged, regrouped or played in a different order while the taal cycle stays intact. Paltas test how well a player commands the theme.

The basic repeating pattern of bols that identifies a taal and keeps its cycle going. In accompaniment the player repeats the theka, adding small variations to mark sam, tali and khali.

A sixteen-matra cycle of four vibhags of four beats, with talis on 1, 5 and 13 and khali on 9. It is the most widely used taal for solo tabla, khayal and Kathak.

A ten-matra cycle grouped 2+3+2+3, with talis on 1, 3 and 8 and khali on 6. It is common in khayal, tarana and instrumental compositions of medium tempo.

A seven-matra cycle grouped 3+2+2 whose sam is khali. Its theka is Tin Tin Na / Dhin Na / Dhin Na, and its first tali falls on matra four.

A six-matra cycle of two vibhags of three beats, with tali on 1 and khali on 4. Its simple theka Dha Dhin Na / Dha Tin Na suits light, romantic and semi-classical songs.

An eight-matra cycle of two vibhags of four, with tali on 1 and khali on 5. Its theka Dha Ge Na Ti / Na Ka Dhi Na is the commonest pattern for bhajans, folk songs and film music.

The first matra of a taal cycle, marked by a clap in the theka and treated as the point of resolution. Melodic, dance and tabla phrases are all shaped to arrive there.

The empty section of a taal cycle, shown by a silent or waved hand instead of a clap. On tabla it is normally played with lighter, higher-pitched bols such as Tin or Na.

A clap marking the start of a vibhag within a taal cycle. The number and position of talis, together with the khali, define the internal shape of each taal.

A single beat or pulse of a taal cycle. Teentaal has sixteen matras, Jhaptaal ten and Dadra six, and the matra is the unit the player counts while performing.

One complete round of a taal, running from sam back to sam. Compositions are described by how many avartans they occupy, and the theka repeats avartan after avartan.

The speed or tempo of a taal, described as vilambit for slow, madhya for medium and drut for fast. Lay can also be doubled as dugun or quadrupled as chaugun within the same cycle.

An opening solo piece played largely on the bayan in free, gradually expanding phrases. It introduces the taal, warms up the hands and leads on to the qaida without a rigid fixed theme.

A thematic solo composition in a fixed taal whose bols are repeated and varied through a set order of paltas. The word is the Urdu form of kayda, favoured in Punjab and Purvan traditions.

A fast solo composition of dense, even bols played mostly on the dayan, usually in single or double tempo. Relas use repeating syllables such as Dha Tirikita and close with a tihai.

A short, self-contained solo piece of fixed bols, played once and closed by a tihai that lands on sam. Tukdas are memorised as ready-made concert items.

A fixed, composition-like solo piece in tabla, often with a melodic or dance-derived character, played without the systematic paltas of a qaida. Some gats imitate the gait of a song or dance step.

A powerful solo composition of grouped, often dense bols associated with the Purvan and Benares styles. Parans are used to accompany Kathak, matching the dancer's strong rhythmic poses.

A phrase repeated three times so that the third repetition ends exactly on sam, the first beat of the cycle. It is the standard way of closing a tukda, rela, gat or extended passage.

A short opening piece with rising, dramatic phrases played across bayan and dayan, associated with the Delhi gharana. It announces the taal and leads into the peshkar or qaida.

A short repeating melodic line played on harmonium or sarangi to keep time during a tabla solo. The player treats the lehra as the reference for sam and for each cycle.

A short lively pattern played in Keherwa or Dadra to accompany light and semi-classical items, especially the closing section of a thumri or a dance. Laggi and ladi are played at fast tempo.

The recitation aloud of tabla bols by a dancer, singer or drummer, often with hand gestures. In Kathak, padhant of parans and tihais may come before or alongside the actual playing.

The notation system devised by Pt. V. N. Bhatkhande, writing melody in Devanagari sargam and marking sam, khali and tali with the symbols x, 0 and numbers. It is standard in Hindustani textbooks.

The notation system of Pt. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, which writes notes in Devanagari with curves and dashes for octave and duration and separates taal divisions in its own distinctive way.

A school or lineage of tabla playing passed from a founding master to successive generations of disciples. Each gharana has its own bols, compositions, technique and style of accompaniment.

The playing style of the eastern gharanas, chiefly Benares, Farukhabad and Lucknow, marked by open resonant strokes, powerful parans and strong bayan work. It is often contrasted with the Delhi baaj.

The style of the Delhi gharana, known for refined strokes kept close to the head, systematic qaidas with paltas, and emphasis on the dayan. It is counted among the oldest tabla styles.