What is taal?
A taal is a rhythm cycle: a fixed number of beats that keeps repeating while the music goes on. Each beat is a matra. The speed at which the matras move is the laya: slow is vilambit, medium is madhya and fast is drut.
Vibhag, sam, tali and khali
The matras of a taal are grouped into sections called vibhags. The first matra of the cycle is sam (marked X), where singer and drummer meet at the end of a phrase. The first beat of a strong vibhag is shown by a clap, called tali (numbered 2, 3…). A lighter vibhag is shown by a wave of the hand, called khali (marked 0). Khali is not silence; it just has a softer, open sound on the tabla.
Teentaal, Keherwa and Dadra
- Teentaal: 16 matras, 4+4+4+4, signs X 2 0 3. Theka: Dha Dhin Dhin Dha | Dha Dhin Dhin Dha | Dha Tin Tin Ta | Ta Dhin Dhin Dha.
- Keherwa: 8 matras, 4+4, signs X 0. Theka: Dha Ge Na Ti | Na Ka Dhi Na.
- Dadra: 6 matras, 3+3, signs X 0. Theka: Dha Dhi Na | Dha Ti Na.
What is a theka?
The theka is the basic set of tabla syllables (bols) that tells everyone which taal is being played. The drummer comes back to it again and again between fancy passages, so the listener never loses the cycle.
Key formulas and definitions
- Matra: one beat of the cycle
- Vibhag: a group of matras (Teentaal 4+4+4+4)
- Sam (X): first matra; Tali: clap; Khali (0): wave
- Theka: the basic bols that identify a taal
- Laya: tempo (vilambit slow, madhya medium, drut fast)
Worked examples
1. On which matras do you clap and wave in Teentaal?
Clap on 1 (X), 5 (2) and 13 (3); wave on 9 (0, khali).
2. Write the vibhag division and signs of Dadra.
6 matras split 3+3. Sign X on matra 1 and 0 on matra 4.
3. A song repeats every 8 beats, with a wave on beat 5. Which taal is it likely to be?
Keherwa: 8 matras, 4+4, sam on 1 and khali on 5.
Common mistakes
- Thinking khali means silence. The beat is still played; only the clap becomes a wave and the sound is lighter.
- Counting sam as the last beat. Sam is matra 1, the start (and return point) of the cycle.
- Mixing up laya and taal. Taal is the pattern of beats; laya is only the speed.
- Writing Teentaal signs as X 2 3 0. The correct order is X 2 0 3, with khali on matra 9.