A “Taala” is the exercise of measuring the music speed. “Taala” is the undividable part of music. A “Taala” can be of seven types. They are known as “Sooladi sapta taalas”. “Sooladi” is a type of composition which gave rise to “taala”.The seven types of Taalas are – “Dhruva“, “Matya“, “Roopaka“, “ Jhumpe“, “ Triputa“, “Ata” and “Eka“.Typically “taala” is denoted by the movement of the right hand with beats on the right lap. The beat could be with the palm facing downwards or with the palm facing upwards.
Isn’t that a simple but ingenious system of counting?
“Taalanga” ( body of “taala”) denotes the beat sequence of the “taala”. It is one of the 10 main elements of “taala”. In “Sooladi sapta taalas”, the different “taalanga” can be of 4 types – “ Laghu“, “ Dhruta“, “ AnuDhruta“.
Laghu – 1 beat with the palm facing downwards + Count with the fingers ( a gentle tap with the finger ). A “Laghu” in the “taala” pattern is symbollically denoted as ‘1’. “Laghu” is the variant part of “taala”.
A “laghu” can be of the following “ Jaati” ( Category ) as shown in the table below –
| Type | Finger Count |
| “Trishra“ | 2 |
| “Chaturashra“ | 3 |
| “Khanda“ | 4 |
| “Mishra“ | 6 |
| “Sankeerna“ | 8 |
Dhruta – A Dhruta is denoted by one beat of the palm facing downwards followed by one beat of the palm facing upwards. This is symbollically denoted as – ‘0’. Dhruta is the constant part of “taala”.
AnuDhruta – An AnuDhruta is only a beat of the palm facing downwards. This is symbollially denoted by – ‘U’. AnuDhruta is the constant part of “taala”.
The various “taalas” and ther notations are shown below –
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |
| Name | “Dhruva” | “Matya” | “Roopaka” | “Jhumpe” | “Triputa” | “Ata” | “Eka” |
| Notation | 1011 | 101 | 01 | 1U0 | 100 | 1100 | 1 |
Please see the illustration below –
Kaala – “Kaala” ( Time ) is the measure of the speed of music. Three categories of Kaala can be distinguished – “ Prathama” ( 1 st ), “ Dwitiya” ( 2nd ), “ Tritiya” ( 3rd ). Alternatiely, we could also refer the three speeds as slow, medium and fast speeds.
If with one “taala”, one “ Swara” syllable is sung, then the “kaala” is “Prathama”.Please see the illustration below –
The “taala” count is 8. The verse goes like this –
|| Sa Ri Ga Ma | Pa Da | Ni Sa ||
|| Sa Ni Da Pa | Ma Ga | Ri Sa ||
| Taala | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Swara | Sa | Ri | Ga | Ma | Pa | Da | Ni | Sa |
| Sa | Ni | Da | Pa | Ma | Ga | Ri | Sa |
If with one “taala”, two “swara” syllables are sung, then the “kaala” is “Dwitiya”. The speed is hence twice of “prathama kaala”.
Please see the illustration below for the same “taala” and verse –
| Taala | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Swara | Sa Ri | Ga Ma | Pa Da | Ni Sa | Sa Ni | Da Pa | Ma Ga | Ri Sa |
If with one “taala”, 4 “swara” syllables are sung, then the “kaala” is “Tritiya”. The speed is hence 4 times of “prathama kaala” and twice that of “dwitiya kaala”.
Please see the illustration below for the same “taala” and verse –
| Taala | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Swara | Sa Ri
Ga Ma |
Pa Da
Ni Sa |
Sa Ni
Da Pa |
Ma Ga
Ri Sa |
Sa Ri
Ga Ma |
Pa Da
Ni Sa |
Sa Ni
Da Pa |
Ma Ga
Ri Sa |
Please note that to complete the 8 count of “taala”, the verse has to be sung twice. This is not uncommon. Important thing is “taala” cannot be stopped in between.