Taal System: Matra, Vibhag, Tali, Khali, Laya and Laykari
This domain asks you to analyse prescribed taals term by term and to calculate laykari without error.
The six terms
- Matra: one beat of the cycle.
- Vibhag: a bar or group of matras.
- Tali: a clap marking a vibhag's first matra.
- Khali: a wave marking a 'hollow' vibhag; it still marks a vibhag.
- Sam: matra 1 of the avartan, the point of resolution.
- Laya: tempo - vilambit, madhya, drut. Laykari: barabar, dugun, tigun, chaugun, and the fractional aad and kuwaad.
Prescribed taals
- Teental: 16 = 4+4+4+4; tali 1, 5, 13; khali 9.
- Jhaptal: 10 = 2+3+2+3; tali 1, 3, 8; khali 6.
- Ektal: 12 = 2+2+2+2+2+2; tali 1, 5, 9, 11; khali 3, 7.
- Chautal: 12, same vibhag and tali/khali scheme as Ektal but a different theka.
- Rupak: 7 = 3+2+2; sam itself is khali, with tali on 4 and 6 - the only common taal where this happens.
- Dhamar: 14 = 5+2+3+4; tali 1, 6, 11; khali 8.
- Deepchandi and Jhumra: 14 = 3+4+3+4; tali 1, 4, 11; khali 8, with different thekas.
Worked example
Dugun of Jhaptal. Ten matras at 60 bpm take 10 seconds per avartan. In dugun, two bols sound per matra, so 20 bols fill the same 10 seconds, each 0.5 seconds. Reasoning: laykari changes bol density, not the length of the cycle. Tigun gives 30 bols; aad (3/2) stretches a phrase over one and a half cycles.
Traps that cost marks
- Calling Rupak's sam a tali.
- Counting vibhags only where there is a clap and forgetting khali vibhags.
- Writing Deepchandi as 4+3+4+3 instead of 3+4+3+4.
- Confusing laya (tempo) with laykari (rhythmic density).