{"id":2988,"date":"2021-06-04T22:49:12","date_gmt":"2021-06-04T22:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chandrakantha.com\/?page_id=2988"},"modified":"2021-06-19T20:31:12","modified_gmt":"2021-06-19T20:31:12","slug":"faq-carnatic-tals","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/chandrakantha.com\/learning-music-dance\/faq\/faq-carnatic-tals\/","title":{"rendered":"Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Hindustani &#038; Carnatic Tals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>by <a href=\"\/about-us\/bio-of-d-courtney\/\">David Courtney<\/a> <img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/chandrakantha.com\/media\/l_p_s.gif\" alt=\"working tools\" width=\"39\" height=\"10\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img src=\"\/images\/faqs\/tabla_mridangam.jpg\" alt=\"sitar\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"#car_hind_dif\">How are <em>Carnatic<\/em> and <em>Hindustani tals<\/em> different?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#respnsibilities\">Are the responsibilities of the <em>mridangam<\/em> player the same as those of the <em>tabla<\/em> player?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#equivalence\">Is there an equivalence between <em>Hindustani<\/em> and <em>Carnatic tals<\/em>?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#tabla_mridangam\">Can you play <em>tabla<\/em> with <em>Carnatic sangeet<\/em> and <em>Mridangam<\/em> with <em>Hindustani sangeet<\/em>?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#theka\">Do <em>Carnatic tals<\/em> have <em>thekas<\/em>?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#tal_thalam\"><em>Tal, Tala, Thalam, Talam<\/em> &#8211; Which is correct?<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\n<!-- March20_4_2020 -->\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-0047309040523061\" data-ad-slot=\"9410001606\" data-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:38px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" id=\"car_hind_dif\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2>How are <em>Carnatic<\/em> and <em>Hindustani tals<\/em> different?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Carnatic<\/em> and <em>Hindustani<\/em> <em>tals<\/em> are fundamentally different.&nbsp; They differ in their approach to the clapping and waving as well as their approach to the <em>&#8220;theka&#8221;<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <em>Carnatic<\/em> system adheres to an ancient approach to the <em>tal<\/em>.&nbsp; In this approach, the <em>tal<\/em> is defined by the clapping and waving of the hands.&nbsp; Therefore, it is extremely rare to find two <em>tals<\/em> with the same <em>vibhag<\/em> \/ <em>tali<\/em> \/ <em>khali<\/em> structure.&nbsp; Consequently, it is also the norm to have totally different &#8220;grooves&#8221; used within each <em>thalam<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Conversely, the <em>Hindustani<\/em> system defines the <em>tal<\/em> by the <em>theka<\/em>.&nbsp; The <em>theka<\/em> is a basic &#8220;grove&#8221; or pattern of <em>bols<\/em>.&nbsp; It is very common in <em>Hindustani sangeet<\/em> to have the different <em>tals<\/em> share the same pattern of clapping and waving.&nbsp; For instance, <em>punjabi theka<\/em>, <em>tintal<\/em>, and <em>tilwada tals<\/em> all have an identical <em>vibhag<\/em> \/ <em>tali<\/em> \/ <em>khali<\/em> structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:38px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" id=\"respnsibilities\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2>Are the responsibilities of the <em>mridangam<\/em> player the same as those of the <em>tabla<\/em> player?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>No, there are major differences between the duties of the <em>mridangam<\/em> player and the <em>tabla<\/em> player.&nbsp; The <em>tabla<\/em> player&#8217;s primary duty is that of timekeeper.&nbsp; It is the <em>tabla<\/em> a player&#8217;s job to keep the whole performance together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <em>mridangam<\/em> player is generally not the timekeeper.&nbsp; In a typical performance, the main musician, as well as half the first row of the audience, will be there to keep the <em>tal<\/em>.&nbsp; This frees the <em>mridangam<\/em> player to explore elaborations that a <em>tabla<\/em> player is generally not free to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:38px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" id=\"equivalence\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2>Is there an equivalence between <em>Hindustani<\/em> and <em>Carnatic tals<\/em>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The fundamental differences between the <a href=\"https:\/\/chandrakantha.com\/articles\/indian_music\/hindustani_sangeet.html\"><em>Hindustani<\/em><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/chandrakantha.com\/articles\/indian_music\/carnatic_sangeet.html\"><em>Carnatic<\/em><\/a> <em>tals<\/em> make an exact correlation between the two systems impossible.&nbsp; However the following table is a rough approximation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Carnatic and Hindustani Tals<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Carnatic<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Hindustani<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Chatusra Jati Ata<\/td><td>Chautal, Ektal<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Adi tal<\/td><td>Tintal, Tilwada, Kaherava, Dhummali<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Mishra Chapu<\/td><td>Tivra, Rupak, Pashtu, Dipchandi<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Khanda Chapu<\/td><td>Sultal, Jhaptal<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Rupakam<\/td><td>Dadra, Khempta<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:38px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" id=\"tabla_mridangam\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2>Can you play <em>tabla<\/em> with <em>Carnatic sangeet<\/em> and <em>mridangam<\/em> with <em>Hindustani sangeet<\/em>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You can play the instruments in this manner, but it is generally not done.&nbsp; This would be somewhat like playing bassoon in Country-and-Western music or pedal steel guitar in a classical symphonic setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:38px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" id=\"theka\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2>Do <em>Carnatic tals<\/em> have <em>thekas<\/em>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>No, <em>Carnatic<\/em> <em>tals<\/em> do not have a <em>theka<\/em> in the <em>Hindustani<\/em> sense of the word.&nbsp; However, there are a number of fairly standard accompaniment patterns that are used; but these patterns do not have the same theoretical and practical importance as the <em>theka<\/em> of the North.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:38px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" id=\"tal_thalam\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2><em>Tal, Tala, Thalam, Talam<\/em> &#8211; Which is correct?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>They are all correct. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One reason stems from the fact that India is a land of many languages.&nbsp; Although these forms are all derived from the Sanskrit word <em>&#8220;Tala&#8221;<\/em>, differences in pronunciation contribute to the different spellings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One other reason for the different spellings is the differing approaches to transliterating different Indian languages.\u00a0 Identical words may be transliterated differently.\u00a0 The relationship between &#8220;t&#8221; and &#8220;th&#8221; is a common example.\u00a0 For instance <em>rathna, kantha<\/em>, and <em>lalitha<\/em> in the South are transliterated as <em>ratna, kanta<\/em>, and <em>lalita<\/em> in the north.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\n<!-- March20_4_2020 -->\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-0047309040523061\" data-ad-slot=\"9410001606\" data-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2>Other Sites of Interest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/yorkspace.library.yorku.ca\/xmlui\/handle\/10315\/29360\" target=\"_blank\">Implicit learning of Indian Music by Westerners<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/citeseerx.ist.psu.edu\/viewdoc\/summary?doi=10.1.1.516.8971\" target=\"_blank\">The Guru Recontextualised? - Teaching and Learning North Indian Classical Music in a Western Professional Training Environment<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/zenodo.org\/record\/884588#.WdQFe4pOlhE\" target=\"_blank\">Nowadays: The Role of Internet for Propagation and Proliferation of Music<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/40318939?seq=1\" target=\"_blank\">Multicultural Music Instruction in the Elementary School: What Can Be Achieved?<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/1124303?seq=1\" target=\"_blank\">Training in Indian Classical Dance: A Case Study<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S003132031830030X\" target=\"_blank\">Rasabodha: Understanding Indian classical dance by recognizing emotions using deep learning<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/open.library.ubc.ca\/cIRcle\/collections\/ubctheses\/831\/items\/1.0088783\" target=\"_blank\">Embodying culture : gurus, disciples and tabla players<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.proquest.com\/openview\/aeb09763eb87a5a72ca503a08f036119\/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=47220\" target=\"_blank\">Distance Education in Indian Music : Feasibility and Prospects<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/spark.parkland.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=1172&amp;context=ah\" target=\"_blank\">My Experience in Bharata Natyam (Indian Dance)<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/1903.10534\" target=\"_blank\">Learning Embodied Semantics via Music and Dance Semiotic Correlations<\/a><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by David Courtney How are Carnatic and Hindustani tals different? Are the responsibilities of the mridangam player the same as those of the tabla player?&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"more-link-wrapper\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/chandrakantha.com\/learning-music-dance\/faq\/faq-carnatic-tals\/\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Hindustani &#038; Carnatic Tals<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":730,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chandrakantha.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2988"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chandrakantha.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chandrakantha.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chandrakantha.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chandrakantha.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2988"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/chandrakantha.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3852,"href":"https:\/\/chandrakantha.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2988\/revisions\/3852"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chandrakantha.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chandrakantha.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}