Tag Archives: ancient

Natural Scale

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You may have read somewhere on this site that Indian Natural Scale is identical to Western Natural Scale.

tone-tone-semitone-tone-tone-tone-semitone

Now, as we discuss the advance theory of music, we have to find the true ‘Natural Scale’. There is no standard Western Natural Scale, so the comparison makes no practical sense. Although, if one does not wish to look into the soul of music, the comparison and the term itself (natural scale) need no further explanation.

Physics of music is a weird phenomenon. For centuries, musician tuned their instruments to each other. What they perceived natural, was natural. Without knowing the frequncies of various notes, everything was naturally in-tune. Now, when we are trying to tie the music to a fixed octave, the natural scale is mere a term. There is nothing natural about any scale played on an electronic keyboard or piano.

Music is an audible art, based on what we hear. To our ears, perfect harmonics sound pleasing. Thus the ancient musical scales were based on perfect harmonics. There are many ways to construct a harmonic scale. Although by doing so, based on the composition, sometimes a few temporary or permanent interval adjustments are required. That is what music is all about. A professional composer or performer knows how to make his composition sound ‘just right’.

Generally speaking, a scale based on ‘just intonation’ is a natural scale. The notes in this scale are established by multiplying the base note’s value with the following harmonic intervals:

Natural Scale (Just Intonation)

Unison= 1 (starting note)
Major 2nd=9/8
Major 3rd=5/4
Perfect 4th=4/3
Perfect 5th=3/2
Major 6th=5/3
Major 7th=15/8
Octave=2

If a piano is tuned according to the above ratios starting from the middle ‘C’, and one wishes to play D major, the intervals will not work. Having said that however, you can change the ‘keynotes’ in C major to get seven different scales, and they all are perfectly natural (more on this later).

We will slowly explore the physics of music. The point is not to remember the frequencies of notes, the point is to understand the natural musical intervals. Indian musicologists explored these phenomenon long before the rest of world. Around 2000BC, The Indian scales based on harmonics had already established and explained in depth.

Nowadays, the natural scale is not derived from harmonics. It is derived from ‘the twelfth root of two’, which has a value of 1.059463 (approx). When this number is multiplied 12 times, the answer is “2”, that is the value of our octave notes (See the list above, the last ratio is 2:1). This system ignores all other harmonics to get a perfect octave. 12 notes of an octave are placed on equal intervals. Although, the values you get through this system are around the desired values, but these are not perfect. This system of dividing a scale into 12 equal intervals is called an “Equal Temperament Scale.”

A violin player cannot play this scale. Only a tuner can achieve these tunings. Humans (trained) naturally play a ‘just intonation’ scale. Yet many musicians think that ‘just intonation’ scales are outdated. Have a look at how one “music wizard” explains the ‘just intonation’ scale in ‘Google Answers’:

“The archaic natural scale uses whole number ratios multiplied by the base note of the octave to achieve the frequency of the other notes. This is an imperfect or dissonant method of composing scales and usually does not sound right.” Perhaps he is a DJ.

If you are interested in reading more about physics of music, the following website has a lot of correct information: Physics of music

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26. More About Time Theory

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Parmail-Parveshak Raags:
A ‘Parmail-Parveshak’ Raag contains qualities from more than one category discussed in the last post. If you keep performing the Raags on their given time, you will see that there is no sudden change in notes. The ‘Parmail –Parveshak’ Raags make the gradual change form one time slot to the other. For example, when it is time to go from Shudh ‘Re-Dha’ Raags to Komal ‘Ga-Ni’ Raags, Raag ‘Jai-Jai Vanti (name) fits right in there. It has Shudh ‘Re’ and ‘Dha’ and Komal ‘Ga’ is introduced along with the Shudh ‘Ga’. So gradually, the change is made from the second category to the third.

‘Poorvang-Vadi’ and ‘Utrang-Vadi’ Raags:
Once we are done with the basic theory, we shall discuss Poorvang and Utrang (upper and lower tetrachords) in detail. Here I am only discussing these in their capacity to affect a Raag’s time slot. This theory goes parallel with the above categorization. In this theory an octave is divided into two overlapping (only for determining the time of a Raag?) parts.

(If the keynote is ‘C’):

026_poorvaang-utraang.gif
The first group is called ‘Poorvang’ (lower half)
The second group is called ‘Utrang’ (upper half)

We already know that the ‘Vadi’ note is the king note of any Raag. If a Raag’s Vadi note is from the lower half of the octave, that Raag is called a ‘Poorvang-Vadi’ Raag. If the Vadi Note is from the upper half of the octave, the Raag is called an ‘Utrang-Vadi’ Raag.

The Poorvang-Vadi Raags are performed from noon to midnight. And the Utrang-Vadi Raags are performed from midnight to noon. 026-hari.jpg
Once you know the Vadi note of a Raag, which is very important to know if you want to know a Raag, you already know which half of the day it goes to. It is also true that a Raag’s Vadi and Samvadi suwars reside in the opposite halves of an octave. So switching a Raag’s Vadi and Samvadi notes will in fact, change a Raag’s time by 12 hours. Normally, ‘Poorvang’ and ‘Utrang’ are not overlapped. That is a very widely accepted concept and makes a lot of sense when explaining the advance Thaat system. But here, when a Raag has ‘Pa’ Vadi and is considered a Poorvang-Vadi Raag, we run into problems. There is no other solution but to overlap Poorvang and Utrang. When divided this way, both parts share three notes (S, M, P). And whenever one of these notes is the Vadi note of the Raag in question, do not rely on ‘Poorvang-Utrang’ theory and check it otherwise. There are many Raags, which have a ‘Ma’ Vadi and are performed in the morning and with ‘Pa’ Vadi performed in the evening. So once again ‘Sa, Ma or Pa, if any one of these notes is Vadi, check the Raag for its ‘Komal’ (flats) and ‘Shudh’ (natural) notes, check the flow of the Raag. If Raag seems to stay in the upper half regardless of its Vadi note, then it is an ‘Utrang’ type (upper half) Raag and will fit into midnight to noon time slot or vice versa. The confusion has been created by continuous change in the popular style of Raags.

Wheel of Time:
As I mentioned earlier, the time theory divides a day into 8 pehars, morning and evening Raags overlapping two pehars. Here is an illustration showing how the day is divided. If needed, we will later see how the Raags fit on this wheel.
Wheel of Time

Conclusion:
Many new performers do not pay intention to the time theory at all. Their argument is that nowadays Raags are not always performed live. If the performer wants to record an evening Raag, and the only available studio time is in the morning, he has to do it. And who knows at what time a listener is going to hear the recorded material. An evening classical TV or radio show cannot limit itself to Raags only available in that time slot. So slowly, the time theory is fading out. However, it is good idea to learn about a Raag’s time slot because it adds so much to its personality.

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25. Time Theory of Raags

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The Time theory of Raags is an ancient theory. Every Raag has a three-hour time slot in the day. One slot is called a “Pehar”. There are 8 Pehars in a 24 hour day. A Raag performed in its time slot has the most effect on the listener and the performer. Through the ages though, many Raags have been modified, and their allotted time slots do not match with their flow of notes. This incompatibility has created a lot of confusion about this theory. However, if a student knows the basics of the Time Theory, the proper alterations can be made.
Pandit Ravi ShankarAt first look, the time theory of Raags alludes many. It seems random, there are formulas however. It is directly connected to the notes used in a Raag. Every Note, when used with certain other notes, has a different effect. That creates certain moods. Based on that, we can divide Raags into three categories:

1. Raags with ‘Komal’ ‘Re’ and ‘Dha’ (second and sixth flat)
2. Raags with ‘Shudh’ ‘Re’ and ‘Dha’ (second and sixth natural)
3. Raags with ‘Komal’ ‘Ga’ and ‘Ni’ (third and seventh flat)

1. Raags with Komal ‘R’ and ‘D’ (second and sixth flat)
These Raags are called ‘Sandhi-prakash’ (dawn/dusk or twilight) Raags. As the name suggests, these Raags are sung in the early morning and early evening. ‘Ma’ (the fourth) note plays a very big role to separate the morning Raags from the evening Raags. In the morning Raags, ‘Ma’ is usually natural and in the evening Raags it is usually sharp. Another thing to remember about these Raags is that the third note (‘Ga’) is always natural. If ‘Ga’ is flat, then the Raags will go in the third category. Importance of Komal ‘Dha’ (sixth) is not as high as Komal ‘Re’. If ‘Re’ is Komal and ‘Dha’ is natural, the Raag will still come under this category. But if it is the other way around, then it will go to the second category.

2. Raags with ‘Shudh’ ‘Re’ and ‘Dha’ (second and sixth natural)
These Raags are sung right after the ‘Sandhi-Prakash (twilight) Raags. So their time slot is around 7-10 a.m. and p.m. Again these Raags must have a Shudh ‘Ga’ (third natural), otherwise they will go under the next category. ‘Ma’ (fourth) plays a big role in these Raags too. The same rule applies here, the ‘a.m.’ Raags have natural ‘Ma’ and the ‘p.m.’ Raags have Tivar ‘Ma’ (fourth sharp).

3. Raags with Komal ‘Ga’ and ‘Ni’ (third and seventh flat)
These Raags have the next time slot in both day and night. In these Raags, the position ‘Re’ or ‘Dha’ does not matter. However, these Raags must have Komal ‘Ga’ (third flat). Importance of komal ‘Ni’ (the seventh) is not as high as the position of the ‘Ga’ (third).

The above categorization is very useful to memorize a Raag’s appropriate time. As I stated earlier, this division is not perfect though. Indian music theory is over 5000 years old. Along the way it has acquired its fair share of exemptions. There are a few other things, which may or may not overrule the above categorization. Raag ‘Yaman’ (name) is an evening Raag. Nevertheless, it is always the first Raag in a performance, regardless of the time of the day. Similarly, no matter it is day or night, Raag ‘Bhairavi’ (name) is the last Raag performed. A few other Raags occupy bigger than a 3-hour time slots and a few are only sung during a special season. Read more about this in the next post.

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10. Murdung or Pakhavaj

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While we are talking about rhythmic instruments, I thought I should write at least one post about Tabla’s southern counterpart Murdung.MurdangamMurdung is also called Murdungum or Mridungam. It is a very ancient drum and is mentioned in the oldest scripture available (Rigveda 5.33.6.). In ancient times it was called ‘Pushkur’. Pushkur was the favorite drum of Gods. All Godly dances were performed on the rhythms of Pushkur. There are thousands of ancient statues and carvings that give Murdung a very long history.

Pakhavaj, Muraj or Murdal are all Murdung’s other names. Murdung is especially famous in southern India. When northern Indians adapted a version of Murdung, they called it Pakhavaj. A Pakhavaj (or murdung) is considered more complicated and harder to play than a Tabla. But since Tabla’s invention, Pakhavaj’s popularity is gone down. You can only see it in the temples and religious group singings in northern India now. But Murdung (Murdungum) is still the main rhythmic instrument for the southern Indian music. All over India good musicians still know Murdung’s importance in development of Indian rhythm and they respect the instrument and its players a lot.

Shape of Pakhavaj:
PakhavajAs shown in the picture, Pakhavaj is made from the one piece of the wood. The bass side is bigger than the treble side. Pakhavaj’s Bayan (left side) is not inked and dough is used to get the bass sound. Higher or lower notes are achieved by putting more or less dough on the head. Because Pakhavaj is one piece, so hitting one side makes both sides ring. That ring distinguishes Pakhavaj’s all over sound from Tabla. The ring is especially obvious when a Thaap (all four fingers flat like ‘Te’ sound in Tabla) is played. A lot of Thaap sounds are used in Pakhavaj, where in Tabla lots of individual fingers are used to get different sounds.
The high side of Pakhavaj is always tuned and the procedure to tune it exactly the same as Tabla’s Dayan. So there is no need to repeat the instructions.

Sounds Of Pakhavaj:
The Pakhavaj sounds are divided into two categories:
1. Muted Boles (sounds): the sounds which do not ring are closed or muted boles
2. Open boles (sounds): the sounds, which are allowed to ring, are called open boles.
There are differences in scholars that what the basic sounds of Pakhavaj are. But the following diversion seems very practical:

Main Sounds:
Ta, te, di, thun, na, dha, d, dhay, dee, gu, khirer, jhen, mu,
Secondary sounds:
Ran, ke, gay, n. dhu, dhee, lan, thayee, daan, kee, tee, thurer,

As I mentioned earlier that Murdungum is basically a southern Indian instrument, so I will not go into details on this here. Once we have covered most of the Northern Music theory, then we may come back to it. The southern Taal structures and playing styles are different than the northern Indian ones. It is a good idea to master the northern Indian style and structure before going into the southern rhythms.
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9. Tabla Sounds

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Most musical instruments are easy and fun to learn because you can start getting the sounds right away. But for many people Tabla and bamboo flutes are the hardest to start. These instruments are fun to play once you know how to get the sounds out, but in the begginning, they takes patience and hard work. Tabla cannot be played without learning the real strokes and sounds. You can not just start banging the heads and hope that something beatiful will come out, it won’t. And there is no magical way to learn the sounds in one session either. After a lot of hard work and determination, eventually the fun is awaiting.

Tabla has ten main sounds (boles). All other boles are combination of these sounds. These ten sounds are divided into three basic categories:
Dayan’s (right side’s) sounds:
1. na or ta
2. tin or ti
3. din or thun
4. tu
5. te
6. re
Bayna’s (left side’s) sounds:
7. Ge or Ghe (pronounced gay and ghay)
8. ke (pronounced kay)
Sounds played with both hands at the same time:
9. dha ( ‘ge’ plus ‘na’ or #7+#1)
10. dhin (‘ghe’ plus ‘tin’ or #7+#2)

Here are the techniques. Please don’t skip to the next sound until you learn correct the hand positions of one sound. Soon there will be video instructions.

Dayan’s Sounds:
1. ‘Na’ or ‘Ta’: put your third finger on the edge of Sihaee (ink) and hit the Chanti (edge) with your index finger. The middle finger should not touch anything. The index finger hits and bounces off right away (just hovering above the head, don’t pick you hand up). This is the most used sound and is the tuned sound too, so work hard on this one. Do not move your third and fourth fingers. This is a bad habit that will be hard to get rid of. Keep your thumb close to your index finger when playing. Keep your hand loose and wrist lifted up. Your elbow and your wrist should be parallel. This way your hand will not tire easily.

Think of the tabla head as a light metal lid of a pot. If you hit the lid with you finger and let it bounce off, the lid will ring. If the finger stays on the lid, the sound will be muted. The same rule applies here. By trying this experiment on a metal lid, you may also see that it is easier to get the ringing sound if hand and fingers are loose. The bouncing happens with the laws of Newton, rather than you pulling the finger away from the Tabla. You do not need to hit Tabla very hard to get this sound, if you are getting a ‘tik’ sound, you are hitting too hard and your hand is stiff. Read this paragraph a few times while trying to play. If you got this sound, half of your battle is over. Why is this sound called Na and Ta? These are the names of the same sound used by different schools of Tabla.

2. ‘Tin’ or ‘Ti’: third finger stays on the Siahee, the index finger hits the ‘Luv’ (the middle part between ‘Sihaee’ and ‘Chanti’). Again, it bounces right off the head to let it ring. Whenever this sound comes by itself, it is always called ‘Tin’. But when it is followed by ‘Na,’ then it is written as ‘ti.’ So when you see ‘tina,’ play and pronounce it as Tin+Na (two sounds).
3. ‘Din or ‘Thun’: when all four fingers together hit the Sihaee and are picked up right way, that is the ‘Din ‘ or ‘Thun’ sound.
4. Tu: this is achieved by hitting the Sihaee by index finger. It is an open sound too.
5. Te: when second, third and fourth fingers hit the Sihaee and stay there, that is the ‘Te’ sound. Staying means that this is a ‘muted sound.’ The fingers do not let the head ring.
6. Re: when hitting the Sihaee with the index finger. it is also a muted sound and it often follows ‘Te’.

Bayan Sounds:
7. ‘Ge’ or ‘Ghe’: this is a Bayan’s sound. When hitting the ink part of Bayan with index finger’s tip and it rings, that is ‘ge’, if hit by the middle finger that is called ‘Ghe’. When playing these sounds back part of your left hand should be resting right on the head and pressure of palm will give the Bayan sounds their distinguish bend. Hitting the head by bending your fingers on 90-digree angle makes these sounds. Also, Ghe is supposed to be played with a little more pressure than Ge.
8. Ke: when hitting the Bayan with all four fingers flat, that is ‘ke’. It is a muted sound.
9. Dha: ‘ge’ plus ‘Ta’ or ‘Na’ is ‘Dha’.
10. Dhin: ‘ghe’ plus ‘tin’ is ‘Dhin’. Sometimes this sound is also written as ‘Dhi’. In those cases it is folloed by the ‘Na’ sound. So when you see ‘dhina’ play and read ‘Dhin+Na’.

These are all the basic boles (sounds) of Tabla. Then there are some bigger boles that are created by joining two or more boles together. Some combined boles are explained below:
Combination Boles (sounds):
Combination boles are not played at the same time, but one after another. Here are a few examples of these combined boles. These boles will be used in Taals. When you read a Taal and have any doubt about any bole (sound), please refer to this list:
Tina: When ‘Tin’ and ‘Na’ come back to back, they are pronounced together as ‘Tinna’. Here written as ‘Tina’.
Dhina: Same as ‘Tina’ this is the combination of ‘Dhin and Na’ together. Pronounce it as ‘Dhinna’.
Tuk: ‘Ta’ and ‘kay’ make ‘Tuk’.
Kit: It is a combination of ‘Kay’ and ‘te’. Mostly it follows ‘Tir’ or ‘tit’ described below or is followed by ‘Tuk.’
Tirkit: This is a very common Bole. It is a combination of four boles back to back:
Te, re, kay, te,
Kuta: It is combination of ‘kay’ and ‘Ta’. Pronounce it as ‘Kattaa’.
Dhit: When Right hand plays ‘Tit (Tir or Te+re)’ and left hand adds ‘ghe’ with it. It becomes ‘dhit’.
Gadi: Combination of ‘Ge’ and an open Dayan sound ‘din’ or ‘di’.
Gan: ‘Gan’ mostly follows ‘Gadi’. If these both boles are played in one beat then they will be written like ‘Gadigan.’ ‘Gan’ is combination of ‘ge’ and ‘Na.’
Truk: ‘Truk’ is combination of ‘te’, ‘re’ and ‘kay’. It is always played together quickly otherwise it almost sounds like ‘tirkit’
Det: it is combination of ‘din’ and ‘ta’. It is pronounced like ‘they-ta’ with a very soft ‘T’.
Nug: This is a combination of ‘Na’ and ‘ge’.

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8. Tuning Tabla

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Tuning Tabla is an art. Unfortunately everybody who wants to play it, must learn to tune. Tabla can’t be or should not be played without tuning. Why not?
Firstly, without being in tune all around the circle, it does not have the nice ring. Even If one point is out of tune, the ‘openness’ of the sound is lost.
Secondly, Tabla’s &’ Na’ & and ‘Tin’ (most used sounds) always ring on a certain frequency, and if that frequency is not in tune with your other instruments (or the scale of your song), then just like any other out of tune instrument it will not blend in. So let’s see how to tune it.
When we talk about tuning Tabla, almost all the time we mean tuning Dayan’s (right side’s) ‘Na’ sound. The open sounds (tu, din etc.) of Dayan are tuned in some special situations only. One of them is playing multiple Dayans only to play a melody line on Tablas, also known as ‘Tabla Trung’.
I will discuss how to play ‘Na’ on a Tabla in the ‘tabla sounds’ post (probably next). Every player has his/her own way to tune a Tabla, but in the end it comes down to achieving a perfect tuning all around. If you tune your Tabla the proper way, you can enjoy it for years. If you do not know how to do it right, the life of the head will be reduced to days or sometimes even hours. So please read through this post a couple of times before tempering with yours.

hammerTabla is tuned with a special hammer. Although any small hammer can be used, but this thing is specially made for this task. It has a blunt head to tune it, a sharp head to fix it and the other side is designed to get the rawhide belt over the wooden blocks. This special hammer is a very cheap tool and it is mostly sold with a new Tabla. A new one can be bought for a buck or two.
A Dahina is mostly tuned to the keynote, which is called ‘Sa’ in Indian music. Tablas don’t have very wide scales, so sometimes it is very hard to tune it to the keynote. The second preference is ‘Pa'(the fifth). If the composition you are playing Tabla with is such a Rāga, which doesn’t use ‘Pa’ (the fifth), then it can also be tune to ‘Ma’ (the fourth). Some folk and popular style players tune it to ‘Ga’ (the third) to accommodate wide range of songs without changing Dayans. A Tabla tuned on ‘Ga’ (the third) does not blend well into the music, but it can be used to create a special sound in non-classical music. Most players keep more than one Dayans with variable head sizes with them.

Let’s go through the process of tuning a Dayan step by step:

1. First, make sure that your heads have warmed up or cooled down to the room temperature. Then play the ‘Na’ sound (instructions coming up) all around the head and establish an approximate note, or as it is said in Indian music, determine that on which note your Dayan approximately ‘speaks’ on.
2. Then create the sound of the desired note on a tuner or keyboard, on which the Dayan is supposed to be tuned on.
3. If the difference between Dayan’s approximate speaking (ringing) note and the desired note is too big, then consider tuning it to the fifth or the fourth depending on the tonic chord. Don’t make your Tabla go higher or lower than two tones unless it was really loose or really tight for some special reasons (new head etc.).
4. If your Dayan is sharper than the desired note then go to point 9.
5. If your Dayan sounds flat than the desired note, then figure out that how flat is it?
6. If the difference is more than a semitone then hit the wooden blocks down and bring the head closer to the desired note. When hitting the blocks, use ‘opposite side approach’. That means that all eight blocks should be tighten in the 1st-5th, 2nd-6th… order.
7. When it is closer to the note then hit the crown with hammer and achieve the right tuning. This should also be done the ‘opposite side’ way. Dayan’s crown has 16 holes. The spaces between two holes are called ‘Ghars’ (houses). So tune all the houses in 1-9, 2-10, 3-11… order.
8. When Dayan needs very little, a few cents adjustment, do it starting from one side tuning it to the exact note in a circular motion. Hit the crown upwards or downwards with the hammer as required with very light strokes. When hitting the crown, make sure that you don’t hit the rawhide belt as it will break right away. All strokes should be made in the middle of the holes.
9. If your Dayan is sharper than the desired note, then there are two ways to bring it down. If the difference is more than a semitone then bring the wooden pieces a little up by hitting them or just sliding them upwards.
10. Then hit the crown upwards while checking the response of the head. Do this using the ‘opposite side’ approach too, going in 1-9, 2-10, 3-11…order.
11. When it is close to the desired note then tune it as shown in point 7 and 8.

Zakir Tuning a BayanNormally a Bayan (the left part) is not tuned to any note. It is just tighten until sounds pleasant by hitting the crown. But some players do tune it to the bass keynote (lower ‘Sa’ or bass fifth (lower ‘Pa’). Some players don’t use an ‘inked’ Bayan. They use wheat dough to get the bass sound. If you have this kind of Bayan, then don’t tighten it before using the dough. It sounds very high without the dough. The other thing to remember about dough Bayans is that the dough should be fully scratch off after every use. Otherwise it is bad for the head. Store your dough Bayan in a mice free zone because if they found it, they will shred it. The dough Bayans are commonly used in the Quwali style playing and are known as ‘Dhamas’.

Khichee (pulling):
A time will come, when all your wooden blocks will be all the way down and the head tuning is still not high enough. That is the time for Khichee (pulling the raw-hide belt). Over time the belt expands and gets loose. If you need to pull the rawhide belt then here is the procedure to do it:

1. Take all the wooden pieces out of the rawhide belt.
2. Locate the starting knot in the bottom.
3. Put your Dayan in your feet and start pulling the belt.
4. In the end you have to untie the end knot and re-tie it.
5. It is good to use gloves especially if you are playing right after.
6. Now use your special Tabla hammer to slide the belt over the wooden pieces.
7. Make sure you do it evenly. Normally taking two strips over a block then leaving two and then taking two over the next block will do it.
8. Make sure you put your blocks evenly otherwise the head will slide to a side.
9. A head slid to a side is not a good thing. If it is new head it might be acceptable to a degree, but if you re-pull an old head and it slides to a side, it will rip from its original groove over the wood. Don’t be afraid though, unless you use a ridiculous amount of force or two people start to pull the belt, it is very hard to slide the head to the side if it was installed properly once,
10. To pull the belt of the left side (Bayan) is a little easier than the right side. If you succeed doing it to the right side, you don’t need any more information to do it to the left side.

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7. Tabla

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General:
Skinned drums have been popular in India from ancient times. Some of these are played with sticks and other are played with hand. It is said that god Shiva dug a pit in the ground and skinned it with the devil’s skin and played it. That was world’s first skinned drum. This of course could be a myth, but the point is that these drums are older than to find their true origin.
007_tabla.jpgSome old paintings have been found of a drum which sort of looks like a Baya (left) side of a Tabla, but the modern Tabla is not that old. Most scholars and researchers now agree that a Sufi poet and musician Amir Khusro made Tabla in the time of Emperor Alaudin Khilji (1296 – 1316 AD). He cut the Murdung (or Pukhavaj, an ancient rhythmic instrument, still popular in the southern music) in the middle and put the two pieces side by side. Later developments were made from that design. Some people say that word Tabla, evolved from Middle Eastern word ‘Tubbel’ drum. This much is sure that today Tabla is the most famous Indian drum in and out side of India.

Main Parts:
Tabla has two parts, which are simply known as the left and the right drum. The names are only correct if you are right handed. If you are left-handed, then you will be playing left side with your right hand. the good thing about Tabla is that no adjustment is necessary to change hands, just switch the drums around.
Both the left and the right parts have many other names too. You can pick any pair you would like to or you can mix and match.
1. Dayan (right) and Bayan (left)
2. Tabla and Dugga
3. Tabla and Duggi
4. Puda and Dhama
5. Jodi (the pair)

First two names are very famous everywhere. Some popular music players (non-classical) use the word Duggi for the Bayan (left). Some Quwali style players and villagers in Punjab, call them ‘Puda’ and ‘Dhama’. And religious Sikh singers mostly use the name ‘Jodi’. Generally speaking, if you say that I play Tabla, then this automatically means the both parts. But when we discuss the sounds of Tabla, then Tabla means the right side (Dayan or the higher, treble drum). To make things a little less confusing let’s settle on the names for this blog:

Tabla means both sides (the left and the right)
Dayan (right) means the right side or the smaller treble drum
Bayan (left) means the left side or the bigger bass drum

Dayan (the right side, treble drum):
A Prepared PudiThe right side is the sharper side of Tabla. It is made of wood that gives it a distinguished sound. It is available in many sizes, depending on where you want to tune it. The Tabla heads are made from goatskin. A prepared skin is called ‘Pudi’. That is why sometimes ‘Dayan’ is also known as ‘Puda’. A Pudi’s edge has a crown which has 16 holes. A rawhide belt goes through these holes and 8 wooden blocks are inserted under the belt. Dayan is tuned by these wooden pieces.

It is always tuned before playing. Most players tune it to the keynote (especially classical and semi classical players), although in folk and pop music if the Key is too high or low for the available Dayan (the right side), then it is often tuned on the fifth or the fourth. It is very rare to tune it to the third and it is not recommended, unless you have no other option. The term ‘tuning Tabla’ mostly means tuning the right side’s (Dayan’s) edge (chanti), that sound is called ‘Na’ or ‘Ta’. So if you have a Tabla, don’t tune it until you really know how to create this ‘Na’ sound. The open sounds of Dayan (tu or din), are mostly semitone to a tone higher than the ‘Na’ sound.

Dayan’s top is divided in three parts:
1. The out side circle is called ‘Chanti’
2. The first circle inside it is called ‘Luv’ and
3.. the black part in the middle is called ‘Siaahi’ (ink)

007_parts.jpg Please pay attention to the picture and see where these parts are. All the sounds are made by hitting the different parts of Tabla with different kind of strokes. If a Tabla is recklessly hit or tuned, it may take hours to fix it back. It is a very delicate instrument. Although it is moderately loud instrument, but it is the technique not the force, that makes a Tabla sound good.

Bayan (Left side):
Left side is the bass side. It used to be made of clay, but now most of them are made of copper. In Punjab (Northern State of India (The Punjab School of tabla has produced most world renowned tabla players), some of them are also made of wood. A heavy brass Bayan (left) also sounds good, I have a very good sounding 5lb. brass Bayan. Normally the Bayan is not tuned to any specific note. But some very advance players, who have really good control over their palm-pressure, tune it too a certain note. If tuned, then it is generally tuned to the bass keynote. Many notes can be played by altering the pressure of palm on it. It also has the same three sections (chanti, luv, siaahi). Bayan’s Siaahi (ink) is on to a side. Most Bayans (left side) are 10″ in size. Bayan’s ‘Pudi’ (skin) has a crown too. Difference here is that the Bayan does not have wooden pieces under the hide belt (unless it is meant to be tuned).

Related Posts: 1. Tuning Tabla, 2. Tabla Sounds,

Also see more on the Rhythm Practice page.

sangtar.com > Music Theory > Basic Theory > (Also in Musical Instruements)

6. Definitions of Rhythmic Words

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Hindi or Sanskrit words are used all through this blog. This is necessary to preserve the authenticity of Indian music. To make things easier for you, here is a whole post describing meaning and definitions of some commonly used rhythmic words. Don’t waste too much time memorizing these words. It is not easy to learn so many new words out of context. Bookmark this post to refer to it whenever needed.

Taal: (Rhythm or rhythmic pattern)
Taal can be translated as ‘rhythm’. It originated from Sanskrit word ‘Tul’, which means bottom or base. So rhythm is thought to be the base of music.

Maatra: (Beat)
One unit of a Taal is called Maatra. That means if you are playing at 60 bpm, every second is equal to one Maatra (beat).

Laye: (Tempo)
Speed of a Taal is Laye or tempo. There are three basic Layes:
Vilumbat: (slow) if you refer to 60 bpm as normal tempo, then 30 bpm is the Vilumbat Laye.
Madhya: (medium) when Vilumbat is doubled it is then a Madhya Laye. So in this example 60 bpm is the Madhya Laye.
Drut: (fast): Vilumbat x4 or Madhya x2 is a Drut Laye. So in this example 120 bpm is the Drut Laye.

Bole: (sound/s):
Ancient music Gurus have defined some sounds for Tabla and southern rhythmic instrument Murdungum. These sounds are referred to as ‘Boles’ (sounds) of that instrument. In general language, Bole means a ‘word’. This means that when played properly, an instrument speaks, but we will refer to a ‘Bole’ as a ‘sound’.
Tabla has ten Boles (sounds):
Ta, Tin, din, Te, Re, Tu, Ke, Ge, Dha, Dhin,
Combining these boles (sounds) creates some other boles. We will discuss these in detail later.

Theka: (pattern) (pronounced with hard ‘t’ as in ‘too’):
When some boles (sounds) are put together to make a pleasant pattern, that is called a Theka. Tabla and Murdung and many other Indian rhythmic instruments have their own sounds. Normally a Tabla’s Theka cannot be played on another rhythmic instrument without alternating some boles (sounds).

Bhag: (Sub bar or section of a Taal)
Every Taal is divided into sections. These sections are called Bhags.

Sum: (First beat or down beat)
This is the place where a Theka (pattern) of a Taal (rhythm) starts. It is the most accented beat in a pattern. Mostly the music is ended on the first beat (Sum) too.

Taali (clap) or Bhuree (filled):
These are the other start points of ‘heavier sections’ in a Taal. When a Taal is shown on the palm (more on this a little later), claps are played on these points. A numeric number on the notation bar shows these places. Sum (the first beat) is always the first clap point so the next clap point is shown as No. 2. Rupak Taal  is an exception, the first beat of Rupak Taal is a Khali (empty) rather than a Bhuree (filled) beat. Here we will see another very famous Taal called ‘Teen Taal’ as an example:

Teen Taal

Khali (empty or lighter point):
This is mostly in the middle of a Taal. Although it is not empty but when a Taal is shown on the palm, a clap is not played on this point. It is shown with a ‘0’ in the above graph. Mostly the lighter Boles (sounds) are played on Tabla or Murdung on this point. In Rupak Taal, the first beat is a Khali (lighter) beat. That is an exception. Rupak Taal is written like this:

Pattern of Teen (three) rhythm:

Matra 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Sign X       2       0       3      
theka d dh dh d d dh dh d d tn tn t t dh dh d

(d=dha, dh=dhin, tn=tin, t=ta)

In the above example Theka Teen Taal (name) has three (thus the name) Taalis  (clap points) and one Khali (empty point).

Rupak Taal

Maatras

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Taal sign

x

 

 

2

 

3

 

Theka

tin

tin

na

dhin

na

dhin

na

Every Taal must have a Sum (First Beat), so in Rupak, Sum sign (X) overrides the Khali sign (0). But a very light Bole (sound) ‘Tin’ makes it obvious that the first beat is a Khali beat here. Some people do write Rupak starting with Khali sign (0) and no Sum sign at all, but that is not the proper way.

Kaayda: (no English equivalent)
When Tabla or Murdung’s ‘sound phrases’ arranged in a taal come into practice, and they are played the classical way with clear and proper hand techniques, that is a Kaayda. Kaaydas are always followed by its Paltas. A Plata is composed or improvised by rearranging the main phrases used in the original kaayda.

Tukda: (a piece)
This is a group of Tabla or Murdung’s sounds (boles). When a piece is played in 2, 4, 8 etc. times, and it ends on the Sum (first beat), that is refer to as a Tukda (piece).

Tihaee or Tippali: (a three timer):
When a group of boles (sounds) is played three times without altering it, and it ends on the first beat; that is called a Tippali or Tihaee. The basic Tihaees are Sum to Sum Tihaees (first to first beat). The following is an example of a Tihaee in  Kehrva.

X       0      
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Gadi Gan Dha, Gadi Gan Dha, Gadi Gan
Dha              

The above is an example of a simple Sum to Sum Tihaee. One group of boles (Gadi Gan Dha) is played three times starting from the first beat and the last bole (sound) Dha, comes on the first beat.

Nuvhukka (tripple Tihaee):
When a Tihaee is played three times and it ends on the first beat, That is a Nuvhukka. In other words in a Nuvhukka,the group of boles (1/3) of the main Tihaee is a Tihaee in itself. If the last bole (sound) of Tihaee  is a Dha (a common Tabla sound), then it is also called a ‘9 dha’s Tihaee’. Mostly this is used in the very end of the performance.

Mukhda (pick up):
A Mukhda is a piece (tukda) played form sum to khali or vice versa.

Purn: (no English equivalent)
When piece ends on the first beat no matter where it started from, that is a Purn.

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5. Rhythm

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Two fundamental elements of Indian music are Raag and Taal (raga and tala). First we are going to focus on the Taal part of it. The word ‘Taal’ can be translated as a rhythm or more specifically, a rhythmic pattern. There are many pre-defined Taals in Indian music. All music, when written in rhythm, is written in one or more specific Taals. All Taals are made from ‘boles’ (sounds of Tabla or Murdung). Although every Taal has pre-assigned boles, but ancient scriptures do not mention Boles. So technically, all the sounds in a Taal are changeable and player often customize them. So what is it that makes a Taal distinct from the others?

A Taal is just like a Raag. Everyone sings or plays their own compositions in a Raag but the Raag still remains ‘unbroken’ as long as the basic rules are followed. The same is true for Taals. If the main frame is not tempered with, a Taal does not change by changing the sounds. Taals are based on the Khali-Taali system. As I mentioned earlier on this site that Indian Taals (rhythmic Patterns) are divided into sections. The first beats of these sections give a Taal its distinct flow.

First beat of every section must have one of the following three statuses:

1. Sum: First beat of the first section (or the very first beat of a Taal) has this status. Every Taal has one and only one Sum. Sum is shown as ‘X’ mark on the first beat.

2. Khali: Khali is the opposite of Sum. It is generally in the middle of the Taal. Most Taals have only one Khali but some have more. The word ‘Khali’ means ’empty’. Although the Khali beat is not normally empty of sounds, but lighter boles (sounds of Tabla or Murdung) are played here or a lighter part of the Taal (pattern) begins here and remains that way until the next Taali point. A Khali is shown as an ‘0’ on the first beat of the lighter section of a Taal.

3. Taali: The word ‘Taali’ simply means a ‘clap’. After assigning Sum and Khali, all the other first beats of other sections in the Taal are assigned Taalis. Taalis are shown with numeric numbers (2, 3 etc). Sum (first beat of a Taal), is considered the first Taali and its sign is an ‘X’, so the next Taali is written as No. 2 Taali. Here is an example of ‘Jhup Taal:’

Jhup Taal
10 beats and 4 sections

X 2 0 3
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
dhin na dhin dhin na tin na dhin dhin na

As we see in the above example that ‘Jhup Taal’ has ten beats and these are divided into 4 sections. If you find ‘Jhup Taal’ in the old scriptures, it would just say that ‘2+3+2+3’ with ‘sum-taali-khali-taali’ (X-2-0-3) status is called Jhup Taal.

So Jhup Taal has:

  a. Three (3) Taalis (on the first, 3rd and 8th beat)

b. One Khali (on the 6th beat)

c. 4 sections of 2+3+2+3

Now lets see that how the boles (sounds) fit in that division. Once you have learned the sounds of Tabla you will see that ‘Dhin’ sound (used on the first beat) is made of two sounds:

Ghe+Tin (left and right hand)

It is like playing a kick and a snare together. Now have a look at the Taalis (clap points). The first, 3rd and 8 the beats have ‘Dhin’ sound on them. So these are heavy accented beats. The Khali Beat (empty point) has the bole (sound) ‘Tin’ played on it. Playing Tin is like playing the snare only. So this beats has a lighter accent. The sounds are repeated twice (5+5) by omitting the sound ‘ghay’ on the 6th beat. This way the Sum and Khali become two opposite poles of the Taal. You can play any other boles by keeping the same thing in mind and the rules of Jhup Taal will not be broken.

Now let’s see another example of another Taal. This Taal is called ‘Sool Taal’. It also has 10 beats but it is very different from Jhup Taal. Have a look:

Sool Taal
10 beats and 5 sections

X 0 2 3 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
dha dha din ta kit tuk tir kut gadi gan

In this Taal, every other beat is accented and it has two Khalis. This Taal will be shown like this:

2+2+2+2+2 with ‘X-0-2-3-0’ (sum-khali-taali-taali-khali) status.

Indian Rhythm may seem a little different or complicated at first glance, but if you are a drummer or know some drum beats, try to take them apart into sections like a Taal. Find the accented beats and writeUstad Tari Khan accordingly. You will see that all the 4/4 patterns you play or hear are not all the same after all. Their accents make them sound different. The sub-sections create a flow and this flow separates a disco beat from a reggae beat. Once you master this concept you will get another creative choice to make to create new patterns.

Now, You can either:

1. keep the accents of a pattern but change the sounds. It would means that you didn’t change the Taal, you are just playing a new version of it. or

2. change the accents by changing the sizes of sections, now you are re-arranging Khali-Taalis. Now you will be playing a new Taal.

A drummer should know accented beats in every rhythm he/she plays. This will increase the improvising ability and the fills will fit together easily. If you make a new pattern and write it keeping Khali-Taalis in mind, you will not lose its feel even coming back to it years later.

Next time we will discuss some rhythmic terms and words.

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4. Writing Melody

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There are seven notes in Northern Indian music, their pronunciation is:
Sa, Ray, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Nee,
Luckily none of these share the first letter, so we will be writing them as:
S, R, G, M, P, D, N

Never pronounce them as Ess, Are, Gee. Em etc. It will make matters much more complicated later on.
If you assume that ‘S’ (Sa) is on ‘C’ then ‘S R G M P D N’ make a natural ‘C’ major scale. Just like ‘C D E F G A B’ would. ‘Sa’ does not have any special frequency assigned to it; it is always the keynote.

Suptak

If a note is underlined that means it’s in its flat position, if a line is standing on a note that means it is in its sharp position. All notes are accepted in their natural position in a major scale. So they are not marked.

In Western music, all notes have three positions, flat, natural and sharp, but in Indian music they have only two states. These are called Tivar (sharp) and Komal (Flat). A note (other than the first and the fifth) is always either in a Komal state or in a Tivar State. The notes as they appear in the natural scale, are not marked. Otherwise Komal notes are underlined and Tivar is shown with a standing line on top of it. ‘Sa’ and ‘Pa’ (first and fifth) have only one state.

Just imagine, if the following was the only way to write a twelve-note octave, you would be writing it just like in Indian music:

004-a-scale1.jpg

Now see the Indian twelve notes:
Indian Scale
As you can see, Sa and Pa do not change. Other five notes have two positiona. the lower is the komal position the higher is the Tivar position. Only the forth (Ma) appears as komal in the natural scale. So, Re, Ga, Dha, and Ni (second, third, sixth and seventh) are marked flat (Komal) from their natural (sharp) position and ‘Ma’ (fourth) is marked sharp from its natural (flat) position. When a note moves from its natural position, it is called a ‘Vikrat Svara’ (moved note). So, we can say that when R, G, D and N are Vikrat (moved), they are Komal or flat, and when M is Vikrat, it is Tivar or sharp. ‘Sa’ and ‘Pa’ are never Vikrat as they do not move.

Other Signs:

Slur: Slur is drawn as an arch on top of the notes:

Slur

Long Notes: If a note is held for more than one beat, then it is followed by a dash ‘-‘sign.
Example:
hold
‘S’ is held for four beats. Same sign is used in rhythm as well.
Octaves: Notes are written normal (with no extra markings) in the middle octave. Lower octave notes have a dot under them and upper octave notes have a dot above them. Two octaves higher or lower notes are shown by two dots. The following example shows three octaves of a major scale:

three octaves

Few other signs do appear time to time and I will explain them if needed.

Now let’s see how to really write Indian music:

Suppose you want to sing a major scale in 8/4 (why not 4/4? Explanation is coming), it will be written like this:

Surgum Taal Kehrva

X 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
S R G M P M G R
ND PM G R S – – –

Explanation:
Header: ‘Surgum’ means names of notes (S, R, G, M etc.). We didn’t write any lyrics under the notes so it is just a Surgum. Next phrase ‘Taal Kehrva’ refers to what kind of rhythm will be played with it. ‘Kehrva’ is an 8 beat rhythm divided into two sections. The first beat in Kehrva is the Sum and the 5th beat is the Khali. So we mark those on the top of the page and start to write. ( Revise how to write rhythm here.) If you have a wider page, you can write it in four columns or more. The Main thing is to pay attention to the ‘x’ and ‘0’ signs. Once you learn all the popular Taals, then just looking at the top of a page will tell you what Taal that particular piece was written in.

Notation: The top line shows the Khali – Taali signs (rhythm signs, Xs and Os). Next line has 8 beats of Kehrva. Then appropriate notes are written under the beats. First two beats in the second line have doubles and ‘S’ is held for the last 4 beats of the second bar. To read the notes properly tap your pencil on the beats and count 1 to 8. Then keep taping the pencil on the beats while saying one or two notes’ names on those beats as they occur.

Triplets: In Indian notation everything is WYSWYG. Triplets and doted notes are shown with appropriate dashes (-). Here is an example:

X
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
S
-R
GMP
-DP
MG
R
SRGP
MGRS

In this example: first and 6th beats have one note, second and fifth have two, 3rd and 4th have three, and 7th and 8th have four. More complex times can be achieved similarly.

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