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Biad Laya

Also spelled: Biad, Biyad

The 7-over-4 ratio — seven units across four beats, the densest standard crooked layer.

The seven-over-four ratio: seven equal units across four matras, sitting between the 3:2 layer and double rate. Like kuad it realigns with the cycle only at long intervals, so the player must hold a fully independent internal grid.

Biad rarely appears as a headline effect; more often it surfaces inside tihai calculations and Punjab- and Ajrada-style development, where a phrase's internal rate bends against the count before resolving. It is usually the last of the standard ratios a player masters.

Further reading

  • Martin Clayton, Time in Indian Music: Rhythm, Metre, and Form in North Indian Rag Performance (Oxford University Press, 2000).

These works cover this subject in depth. See the sources.

Definitions reviewed July 26, 2026Errors in a definition are corrected on notice. Report an error.