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TALA AND
TINTAL
STARTER ACTIVITY LISTENING FOR RHYTHM IN AN ALAP SECTION OF A RAGA
Listen to a short alap section in Raga Madhmad Sarang, sung by Veena Sahasrabuddhe (pictured
below holding a sitar). As you listen, write some short comments on the rhythm. Think about
whether you can feel a regular pulse or whether there are any repeated rhythmic patterns or
figures? Write down your thoughts in the ideas box below.
IDEAS BOX RHYTHM IN THE ALAP SECTION OF A RAGA

Learning Objective

Learn about the basic concepts of rhythm and metre in the music of India, in particular the
difference between metred and unmetred music, and the use of drum patterns to signify the
metrical structure

LEARNING ABOUT TALAS

The Indian system of metre is called tala. Listen to two extracts from later in Veena
Sahasrabuddes performance of Raga Madhmad and comment on the rhythm of each. Think
about the pulse, metre, tempo and the kinds of rhythmic patterns and phrases used.

Extract 1

Extract 2
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There are over 300 different talas, or rhythmic cycles, in Indian music and like ragas, they all have
names. However, some are used more frequently than others. Indian musicians must have a
thorough knowledge of talas when they improvise, so that their playing or singing has rhythmic
structure. Each tala has a certain number of beats, or mtrs, per cycle (called the avartan). And
each cycle is divided into a number of sections called vibhgs. This is shown more clearly in the
diagram below:
1
mtr
(beat)
vibhg
(section)
avartan
(cycle)

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

By far the most popular tala is Tintal (sometimes written Teental). This has 16 beats per cycle,
divided into four equal vibhgs and is shown in the diagram below.
1
X

5
X

9
O

10

11

12

13
X

14

15

16

When listening to Indian talas, people often count using a conventional

sequence of hand gestures, at the start of each vibhg. In Tintal, shown
above, the X marks where to clap and the O marks a waving gesture.
The shaded section is where the bass drum drops out.
Listen again to Raga Madhmad Sarang, which is based on the Tintal tala.
The tala cycle does not begin immediately but has a five beat
ANACRUSIS or UPBEAT (the group of notes preceding a strong down
beat) called the mukhra. The opening of the song is shown below with
the mukhra marked. The first beat of the Tintal tala is shown with a 1.
1 2 3 4

10

11etc

mukhra

As you listen to the Tintal tala being performed in Raga Madhmad Sarang, see if you can work out
HOW LONG the Tintal avartan takes to be performed before its repeated?

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INDIAN TALAS
1. Ektl Tala
1
2
X

3
O

5
X

7
O

9
X

10

11
X

12

2. Kehrva Tala
1
X
3. Jhaptl Tala
1
2
X

3
X

4. Rpak Tala
1
O

3
O

6
O

4
X

8
X

6
X

10

5. Ddr Tala
1
X
6. Dhamr Tala
1
2
3
X

6
X

4
O

8
O

10

11
X

12

13

14

1. Which of the above talas have REGULAR rhythmic vibhgs (sections)?

2. Which of the above talas have IRREGULAR rhythmic vibhgs (sections)?
3. Listen to six extracts of different tala patterns shown above and match the correct tala to the
correct extract.

Extract
1
2
3
4
5
6
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A TALA LESSON ON THE TABLA

You should now watch Video 1 which shows a famous Indian Tabla player, Debu Nayak (pictured
below), giving you a short lesson on some basic Tabla playing techniques. You should try to play
along with the activities using any two different pitched drums, objects or even by using the
diagram of the Tabla drums below to drum on as you watch the video.
Debu Nayak uses some special words to help teach the rhythm of the Tala, these are called
BOLS, which literally means words. Youll find these BOLS given in the box below to help you
when learning to perform the Tala.
TaKiTa DhaSS TaKiTa DhaSS
TaKiTa TaKiTa TaKiTa DhaSS
DhaTiTe DheTiTe KaTaGa DhiGeNe
DhaSS SSS KaTeGa DhiGeNe
KatSTe DhaSS |DhaTiTe DheTiTe
KaTeGa DhiGeNe DhaSS SSS
DhaTiTe DheTiTe KaTeGa DhiGeNe
DhaSS SSS DhaTiTe DheTiTe
KaTeGa DhiGeNe DhaSS SSS x3

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PLENARY SUMMARY OF RHYTHM

AND METRE IN INDIAN MUSIC
Read the following summary on Rhythm and Metre in Indian music and complete the missing
words, choosing from those in the box below.
Tala patterns may seem a little bit more complicated than most
western metres. Talas vary in terms of the number of
per cycle (6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 are all common;
anything up to about 18 can be used). Patterns of strong beats
are often marked with an X. Indian musicians sometimes use
the hand gesture of a
to signify this. Weak
beats are often marked with an O and the hand gesture of a
is used.
A typical Indian raga performance begins with a section called an
. Here,
the rhythm can be described as
or
, before the tala
enters in the next section. The tala is a specialised system of
. The tala has
three levels of pulse, the
(cyle), the
(section) and
(beat). Talas can be counted out with the aid of conventional
sequences of hand gestures or by stereotypical drum patterns by which the drummer not only
keeps a steady beat but also indicated the point reached in the cycle. Words, known as
are often used by Indian musicians and performers to help them to
learn the different talas.
avartan

unmetred

mtrs

wave

bols
free rhythm

vibhg

alap
clap

metre
mtr

PLENARY SELF ASSESSMENT

KEY WORDS Alap, Anacrusis, Avartan, Free Rhythm,
Irregular Rhythm, Mtr, Mukhra, Pulse, Regular Rhythm,
Rhythm Cycles, Tala, Unmetred, Upbeat, Vibhg
Understand that Indian music is based on a rhythm cycle called a
tala
Can distinguish between sections in Indian music which have a
unmetred/free pulse and those based on a metred tala
Understand that there are many different talas which have different
number of beats, some strong and others weaker shown by claps
and waves
Listen to and perform a number of different Indian talas
Understand that a tala can be sub-divided into cycles, sections and
beats and use the correct terminology to describe these.
Understand the concept of an ANACRUSIS start or UPBEAT
Improvise over a tala cycle showing awareness of underlying pulse
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