2. Is known to be the rhythmic time cycle of Indian
music. It is composed of long and short beats that are
accented and unaccented. It is characterized by the
sam , the first beat of Tala. Khali is the empty beat and
Tali is the accented beat. The shortest kind of tala is
called Dadra, which has 6 beats, while the Tintal has
16 beats.
To execute the tala, the percussionist taps the
drum on the beat where the number is marked X.
Then he claps his hands on the other unmarked beats
and waves his hand only on the beat marked O to
suggest silence.
3. One of the reasons why Indian music is difficult
to explain to a Western listener is because it is based
on a different tonal organization called Raga.
A raga is an aesthetic melodic form with
peculiar ascending and descending movement. It is
based on a scale of five to seven notes.
Indian Tonal System
SA RE GA MA PA Dha Ni
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
D E F G A+ B C
Vadi – The most important tone.
Samvadi – 2nd most important tone
4. Is the twenty-two microtones, which are used as
ornamentations for the raga. This adds texture to the melody of
the music.
Drone:
Is a low dull monotonous sound that is continuously played
throughout the composition. In the Indian musical
tradition the stringed instrument called Tambura is used to
play the drone.
