Hi. I'm Kuljit Bhamra, and in this episode we'll look at the difference between a tala
and a tekha. These two words refer to rhythm in Indian music, but there is a very big difference
between the two.Aa tala is a way of measuring a rhythmical phrase in Indian music, and typically
in Indian music, a phrase is repeated - or you could say it's cyclic. In western music
the measure of rhythm is usually denoted by what we call a Time Signature, but in both
worlds the unit of measurement is Beat. So just like if you're measuring the length of something,
the unit of measurement may be millimetres, centimetres or kilometre. If you're weighing
something, the unit of measurement may be grams or kilograms.. In music, the unit of measurement
is Beat - also known as Matra in india. When we talk about rhythm, it's easy to assume
that a tala can only be played on a rhythmical instrument like a tabla mridangam pakhawaj
or a drum. Tala can be expressed in singing. So for example if i was to sing a phrase ...
you get the sense of the length of the phrase because i'm repeating it. And that
would also indicate a particular tala that would go with that.
Tala can also be denoted with hand gestures, and if you go to an Indian classical
recital, you'll see sometimes on stage the musicians counting out the beats
on their fingers so that the other musicians can keep track. It's a way of conducting in a way.
Also tala can be denoted with hand gestures. So there's a beat, a downbeat and an offbeat for
example. Sometimes, the downbeats are even sounded with a clap. In fact Tala or Talum literally means
clap in Sanskrit. Now when a tala is expressed on a rhythmical instrument like a drum,
it is then expressed in the form of a Tekha. Just like in western music,
you may have an a measure of rhythm - for example, your time signature in a western
scored piece maybe four beats - or let's let's say it's called 4/4. That means the length of
your bar is four beats long. It doesn't tell you what the pattern is. It tells you the length.
How you fill that bar, and what you choose to fill it with in terms of a rhythmical pattern, on a
drum is called a tekha. So you can understand that every tala can have many tekhas that express it.
Let's take for example a tala - a very common tala in indian classical music called Teental,
which is 16 beats. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16. If i play this ...
that's also teental - it's still 16 beats - but i've changed the pattern. And there are
many patterns that could express a particular tala. So if i was accompanying a singer in
a light-hearted song, i may choose a tekha that suited that particular song.
If we take a time signature of 12/ 8, those 12 beats - or that length of 12 beats - could
be expressed in many ways. I could have for example four groups of three: one two three ..
That has become my tekha for that 12/8 cycle. Now, i could also alternatively
choose another tekha and let's say we divide it into three groups of four so ..
In india, a very common 12 beat cycle is known as Ektal and when you study ektal, you'll realize
that it's divided into 2,4,2,4.. one two one two three four, one two one two three four
and each one of those tekhas or personalities conveys a very different mood. If i play
them back to back you'll be able to feel the difference. I'll start with four groups of three,
three groups of four ,and then egg dal...
So, just to summarize, you could draw a relationship between tala and tekha - and
it's a very similar relationship as time signature to rhythmical pattern.
Of course the rhythmical pattern must be subservient to the tala - meaning
it must be an expression of that tala - not just anything to fill those 12 beats for example.
Thank you very much for watching and i look forward to seeing you again soon.