Notation Example

Spoken 2 times:

Performed 2 times:

(from Benares Bant 1)

Overview of Notation System

While Indians have been writing down tabla compositions for many decades, there is still no standard notation system. As a result, different teachers and students may write the same composition in very different ways.

Compositions on DigiTabla are written in a modified version of the Bhatkande notation system (see example above). Some version of this system is used in most modern books of tabla, whether written in Devanagari or Latin script.

This notation system is not exact 100% of the time, though it is mostly systematic. With practice and some familiarity with tabla phrases, readers should be able to understand a composition from the written version alone.

However, in some cases, the written version may be confusing without listening to the recordings, or without learning to speak that composition first. The most common ambiguities in the notation are discussed below.

(See an overview of North Indian notation on Chadrakantha.com)

Groups of syllables equal one beat

Each group of bols (syllables) represents one matra (beat) of the tal (cycle):

Four-matra phrase with 1, 2, 4, and 8 bols each:

Syllables in a matra are usually divided evenly

In most cases, each matra is divided according to how many bols (syllables) and/or gaps there are: If there is one syllable, then there is one division. If there are two syllables, then there are two divisions, etc. Below are a few examples of different divisions.

One syllable in one matra is written as one division:

Two syllables in a matra are written as two divisions:

Three syllables in a matra are written as three divisions:

Eight syllables in a matra are written as eight divisions:

Divisions of both 2 and 4:

Gaps have the same length as syllables

Gaps are indicated by dashes (or the symbol "ऽ" in Devanagari). These have the same length as syllables. For example, if there are three syllables and one gap in a matra, then there are four divisions total.

In the example below, each matra has four divisions (4:1). Matras 1 and 3 each have one gap, equivalent to one division:

In the next example, each matra has three divisions (3:1). Matra 1 has one gap, and matra 3 has two gaps:

Multiple Speeds in One Matra

Multiple speeds in a single matra can be written in a few different ways.

In some cases, dashes are added, such as in the example we saw above:

Most of the syllables here are played at eight-speed (8:1). But dha in matras 1 and 3, and tuna in matra 4, are played at 4:1. So dashes are added to "lengthen" the time that they are played.

Commas indicate the middle of a matra

Another way to write multiple speeds in one matra is to use a comma, which indicates the middle of a matra. More precisely, the comma is the end of the first half of the matra.

In matra 2, dheradhera begins on the up-beat, as does dha in matra 3. So the comma tells us that the first half of the matra is finished.

Using a comma in this way takes up less space and is easier to read than adding three dashes after dha:

Some notation may not follow these guidelines

In some cases, the given notation on this site may not follow these guidelines exactly. And so it may not be clear from the written version precisely how it should be played.

For an example, we can look at the common phrase dhadhatirakita in the first and third matra below:

Spoken 2 times:

Written like this, the phrase dhadhatirakita has 6 syllables. So, according to the guidelines above, dhadhatirkita should be played as 6:1. But it is not. It is played as 8:1, including two gaps: dha–dha–tirakita

You could also say that the phrase dhadhatirakita has two different speeds: the syllables dhadha are in 4:1, and tirakita are in 8:1.

But in this case, I might choose not to add dashes because the next phrase dhadhatuna also begins with dhadha, but is completely in 4:1, and so it has no need for dashes.

So if I add dashes in the first phrase, then the phrase dhadha looks different in each beat, even though they are played the same:

I generally try to avoid these visual contrasts. So readability and visual consistency are the priorities here.

Remember that students and listeners will (eventually) have recorded versions side-by-side with the written versions. And listening and repeating is the easiest and most natural way to learn.

Even without a recorded version for every variation, once students know the main bol (theme), they should be able to easily understand a variation from the written version. For difficult or unusual variations, explanatory notes and/or a recording should clarify any confusion for students or listeners.

Vibhag Indicators (X–2–0 etc.)

All compositions in the Compositions Section of the site use a modified version of Bhatkande’s vibhag (division) indicator system. This system uses the letter X and numbers (2, 3, 0, etc.) to identify the vibhags in a tal, including their tali or khali character.

So the vibhag indicators will only make sense when you understand the tali-khali system of North Indian tals.

With that understanding in mind:

• X = sam (the first matra of any tal, and almost always a tali vibhag; rupak tal is an exception)
• 2, 3, 4, etc. = the tali vibhags after sam, in order (2 = second tali vibhag, 3 = third tali vibhag, etc.)
• 0 = all khali vibhags

Below are a few examples of vibhag indicators in tintal.

Vibhag indicators for Tintal

Tintal has 4 vibhags marked X–2–0–3:

• X = sam and first tali vibhag
• 2 = second tali vibhag
• 0 = khali vibhag
• 3 = third tali vibhag

Here is a kayda in tintal (from Dilli Kayda 2):

And here is a tukra in tintal (from Benares Tukra 4). This tukra lasts for two cycles of tintal and finishes on sam (x) of the third cycle:

See also the related section on Keeping Time, and the Tals and Thekas section to see how the vibhags are indicated for many other tals. Or see the Compositions section for example compositions with vibhag indicators.

Diacritics (ā, ī, ṛ, etc.)

The diacritic markings for some letters (ā, ī, ṛ, etc.) are explained in the Pronunciation Guide.