12. Famous Northern Indian Taals Part I

These are some of the famous Taals in Northern Indian music. Although most Tabla players know all the following Taals, but they don’t get to play them very often. Most commonly used Taals are ‘Teen Taal’ (16 beats), ‘Aik Taal’ (12 beats), ‘Roopak’ (7 beats), ‘Dadra’ (6 beats), ‘Kehrva’ (8 beats) and ‘Jhup Taal’ (10 beats). Soon there will be videos, showing you all these taals on the Palms and on Tabla.

Teen Taal
(16 beats, 4 sections)

Taal signs X       2       0       3      
Maatras 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Boles dha dhin dhin dha dha dhin dhin dha dha tin tin ta ta dhin dhin dha

Aik Taal
(12 beats, 6sections)

Maatras

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Taal signs

x

 

0

 

2

 

0

 

3

 

4

 

Teka

dhin

dhin

dha,ge

tirkat

tu

na

ku

ta

dha,ge

tirkat

dhin

na

Roopak
(7 beats, 3 sections)

Taal signs

0

2

3

Maatras

1        2        3       

4          5

6        7     

Boles

Tin    tin      na

Dhin     na

Dhin    na

Daadra
(6 beats, 2 sections)

Taal signs

X

0

Maatras

1          2          3     

4        5        6      

Boles

Dha    Dhin        na

ta    tin      na

Kehrva
(8 beats, two sections)

Taal signs

X

0

Maatras

1        2        3        4

5        6        7        8

Boles

Dha   ge     na     ti

Na     ke     dhi        na

Jhup Taal
(10 beats, 4 sections)

Taal signs

  X

  2

 0

3

Maatras

  1              2

  3          4           5

 6           7   

 8           9         10

Boles

Dhin          na

Dhin     Dhin       na

Tin        na

Dhin     Dhin       na

Also see Famous Northern Indian Taals Part II, Part III, Part IV & Part V,

sangtar.com > Music TheoryBasic Theory > (also in Rhythm Practice)

8 thoughts on “12. Famous Northern Indian Taals Part I

  1. Hi Shamina, there are about 5-10 more posts before the blog goes interactive. Once the basic theory is covered, we will add videos and audio posts. The current posts will help as a reference. Also there is another “advance theory” part planned for the future.

    • Dear Srizan
      Please start with acquiring the instrument. Then find a teacher in your city.
      If there are no music teachers available, extend your search to your local temples or gurudwaras.
      The tabla players there will be glad to teach you the basics.
      Unfortunately, tabla sounds cannot be learned from a book. Good Luck.

  2. In Dadra, it should have been Dha tin Na. its give as ta tin Na. its good to fix that, as beginers like me could be benifited.

  3. hi sangtar

    great music brother . Love your poetry as well. Keep it up. Was listening to Rheen bakshdaa tu kittay hoyay from punjabi virsa 2008. great prayer/song. I am glad you belong to same area o…f punjab (jalandhar). how is michelle and family???

    take care buddy and keep rockin

    sominder

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