RBSE SS Tabla study plan

Notate the theka of Teentaal, Jhaptaal and Keherwa in Bhatkhande-style notation, marking every matra number, vibhag bar, tali (X, 2, 3) and khali (0) symbol by hand.

Label a hand-drawn diagram of tabla and dagga with puri, maidan, syahi, kinar, chanti, gajra, gatta, gudri and the baya's syahi, and write one line on how each part shapes the sound.

Demonstrate tuning of the dayan to Sa and Pa using the gatta and hammer, and write a maintenance checklist covering syahi wear, gudri replacement, humidity control and safe transport.

Write a 200-word note on the origin of the tabla covering the pakhawaj-split tradition, the Amir Khusrau attribution debate, and the earliest firm evidence for a two-drum set.

Speak the bols of the three thekas aloud in madhya laya while clapping tali on the palm and waving khali, so that the hand knows the cycle before the notation test.

Define matra, vibhag, tali, khali, sam, grah and the four laya bands (vilambit, madhya, drut, ati-drut) in your own words and give the dugun, tigun, chaugun and aad counts for a 16-matra cycle written as fractions of the matra.

Notate one kaida in Teentaal with four paltas and a tihai, keeping the bol spelling consistent throughout.

Construct a tihai in Teentaal and one in Jhaptaal by the repetition rule (phrase played three times, third repetition resolving on sam) and prove with matra arithmetic that it lands on sam.

Notate one rela and one tukda in Teentaal, marking which bols fall on tali and which on khali.

Play the kaida with its paltas and tihai at 60 bpm on the instrument, without breaking the cycle at the vibhag joins.

Tabulate matra, vibhag split, tali positions, khali positions and sam for Teentaal, Jhaptaal, Rupak, Ektaal, Chautal, Dhamar, Keherwa and Dadra in one chart.

Explain why Rupak carries khali on sam and how that changes the accompanist's sam handling compared with Teentaal.

Identify any of the eight taals from a bare string of theka bols alone, twenty times in a row, from a shuffled list you write yourself.

Convert a single Teentaal phrase into barabar, dugun, tigun and chaugun and write the resulting matra placement for each.

Explain the difference between laya and laykari with two examples where the laya stays fixed but the laykari changes.

Build a comparison table of the six gharanas (Delhi, Ajrada, Lucknow, Farrukhabad, Banaras, Punjab) across founder and lineage, open versus closed baaj, characteristic bols, favoured composition types and baya treatment.

Name the founding figures and two later masters for each gharana, and state one composition type each gharana is especially known for.

Explain the difference between khula baaj and band baaj with one audible example from your own playing of each.

Describe how a gharana's baaj shapes its accompaniment choices for khayal, instrumental gat and Kathak respectively.

Record a five-minute spoken comparison of Delhi and Ajrada styles without reading from notes.

Notate an uthan in the Banaras or Punjab idiom, a gat in the Lucknow idiom, a chakradar in the Farrukhabad idiom and a pakhawaj-derived paran, each in a named taal.

Explain what makes a chakradar different from a tukda and from a tihai in terms of internal repetition.

Play the uthan and the gat at madhya laya and mark where each phrase resolves relative to sam.

Match three unseen notated compositions to the gharana they most likely come from, giving one bol-level reason for each answer.

Write fifty words on how peshkar and mohra differ in function within a solo.

Assemble a twelve- to fifteen-minute Teentaal solo running peshkar, kaida with paltas, rela, tukda, gat, chakradar and a closing tihai, and write the running order with timings.

Perform the solo at vilambit, madhya and drut laya, changing tempo only at a sam.

Play the same solo against a lehera or metronome and land every section on sam without drifting.

Record the solo and score it on your own rubric covering sam accuracy, bol clarity, tempo stability and structural balance.

Identify your two weakest sections from the recording and re-drill only those for two sessions.

Accompany a khayal-style lehera in Teentaal and a gat-style lehera in Jhaptaal, entering with a mohra and settling into the cycle within one avartan.

Apply three sam-handling rules in practice: anticipating sam with a mohra, staying silent or sparse during the vocalist's approach, and matching laya rather than imposing your own.

Accompany a Kathak sequence in Keherwa with tatkar, then support a sixteen-matra chakkardar and a tihai the dancer can land on.

Explain how accompaniment differs for vocal, instrumental and Kathak in terms of volume, density and composition choice, in 150 words.

Practise recovering from a deliberate two-matra drift back onto sam within one cycle.

Define varna, kriya, jati, upaj, peshkar and mohra with one playing example each, and state how jati relates to a taal's vibhag structure.

Write 100-word life sketches of six eminent players covering Ahmed Jan Thirakwa, Kishan Maharaj, Alla Rakha, Habibuddin Khan, Samta Prasad and Zakir Hussain, each naming gharana, one signature contribution and one well-known recording or association.

Re-run the eight-taal chart and the kaida, tihai, chakradar and paran notations from weeks 2, 3 and 5 and correct any drift.

Sit a full-length timed mock paper across all seven domains and mark it against the syllabus weightings.

List every question missed in the mock with the domain it belongs to and one corrective action for each.