Studio

Taal Guide

Every taal's theka and structure, with a demo you can slow down. Read the bols matra by matra, see where the claps and the wave fall, and play the cycle slowly enough to follow.

In daily practice

Rare & regional

Theory

How taal is keptThe two living gestures — clap and silent wave — and what the hand does not do.
From eight actions to twoAncient Indian theory named many hand actions. This is history — not the modern hand map, and never a demonstration.
Taal ke Das PrānThe ten 'life-breaths' of taal — and which of them a player actually uses today.
Reading a vilambit cycleHow an extremely slow cycle stays stable without a large hand action on every beat.
Notation: Bhatkhande and PaluskarTwo North Indian systems — and the difference between what notation records and what the hand does.
Same name, different taal?Why a familiar taal name in an old text is not proof that today's cycle is the same.

Demo sound: manjira samples recorded by Tejus and Geetha for Tabla Focus.

All tools

Taal Guide

In daily practice

Pakhawaj & dhrupad

Rare & regional

Theory