Technical Terminology and Bols (Varna, Bol, Kayda Vocabulary)
What this domain tests
This section examines the language of tabla strokes: varna (syllable units), bol (named stroke-words) and the vocabulary of kayda. You should be able to break a bol into its parts, separate open from damped strokes, and explain khali and bhare.
Varna and bol
- Varna means the individual sound-units from which tabla language is built: ta, na, tin, tun, ge, ke, kat, ra, ki and similar syllables. A varna is a building block, not yet a composition.
- Bol is a conventional stroke-word naming one or more varnas and having a fixed execution: Dha, Dhin, Dhet, Tirakita, Kat, Ge.
- Open/resonant strokes: Ta, Na, Tin, Tun, Dha, Dhin. Damped/closed strokes: Ke, Ka, Kat, Tak. Bass strokes: Ge, Ghe, Ga.
Compound bols
- Dha = Ge + Na: bayan bass plus dayan open stroke, played together.
- Dhin = Ge + Tin.
- Tirakita is a four-syllable compound (Ti-Ra-Ki-Ta), played as light, even dayan strokes; it is one bol in notation but four varnas.
Kayda vocabulary
A kayda has a theme (mukhya bol), paltas (permutations) and a tihai. Bhare phrases include the bayan; khali phrases use the dayan alone, often ta or tin, and are marked 0 in notation. Khali is a structural signal, not simply a softer phrase.
Worked example
Take the phrase Dha Dha Tirakita Dha Dha Tun Na. Reasoning: Dha = Ge + Na; the second Dha likewise; Tirakita = four dayan varnas; Tun and Na are open dayan strokes. In the khali version, replace Dha by Ta and Dhin by Tin so the bayan drops out: Ta Ta Tirakita Ta Ta Tun Na.
Mark-losing traps
- Writing Dha as two separate strokes on one drum.
- Treating Tirakita as one physical stroke rather than four syllables.
- Using khali and bhare as volume terms only.
- Confusing Tin (dayan) with Dhin (bayan plus dayan).