Tala fundamentals

Cycles, sections, hand actions, the 35 talas, and how a beat is divided.

Lessons

Counting time — A tala as a repeating cycle: akshara, avarta, sama, laya and kala.
Angas and hand actions — Laghu, drutam and anudrutam, and the claps, finger counts and waves that show them.
The seven talas and five jatis — How 7 base talas and 5 jatis make the 35 talas, with all the totals.
Chapu and other talas — The chapu talas and the wider world of talas beyond the 35.
Nadai and eduppu — How a beat is divided, and where in the cycle a composition starts.

Example: Adi tala (I4 O O)

8 aksharas. I = laghu, O = drutam, U = anudrutam. Highlighted box = the beat that starts each anga.

Key terms

Adi tala: The most common tala: eight beats in the pattern laghu, drutam, drutam (I4 O O). It is Triputa tala in the four-beat (chatusra) jati.
Akshara: The basic counting unit of a tala: one beat of the cycle. A tala is described by how many aksharas it has.
Anagata eduppu: Starting a composition a little after the first beat (sama) of the tala, the reverse of atita eduppu. Check with your teacher, since sources here are informal.
Anga: A section of a tala, made of one or more aksharas. The three common angas are laghu, drutam and anudrutam.
Anudrutam: An anga marked U: always one beat, a single clap.
Ata tala: One of the seven basic tala families, built as laghu, laghu, drutam, drutam (I I O O).
Atita eduppu: Starting a composition a little before the first beat (sama) of the tala, so the tala arrives after the melody has begun. Teachers' blogs and forums agree on this reading; confirm with your teacher.
Avarta: One complete round of a tala, from its first beat to the beat just before it comes round again.
Chapu tala: A family of talas counted in groups of beats with claps rather than the laghu-drutam scheme, for example the five-beat Khanda chapu or the seven-beat Misra chapu.
Chatusra: Four-fold. As a jati, a laghu of four beats; as a nadai, each beat splits into four. It is the default, which is why Adi tala is the most common.
Dhruva tala: One of the seven basic tala families, built as laghu, drutam, laghu, laghu (I O I I).
Druta kala: Fast speed. A piece or passage sung at twice the usual speed.
Drutam: An anga marked O: always two beats, a clap followed by a wave of the hand.
Eduppu: The point in the tala cycle where a composition begins, also called graha. It may start on the first beat or slightly before or after it.
Eka tala: The simplest of the seven basic tala families: a single laghu (I).
Jati: The number of beats in a laghu, which sets the size of a tala: tisra (3), chatusra (4), khanda (5), misra (7) or sankirna (9).
Jhampa tala: One of the seven basic tala families, built as laghu, anudrutam, drutam (I U O).
Kala: A speed level. In the first kala each akshara gets one count; in the second kala the music moves twice as fast against the same beat, and so on.
Khanda: Five-fold. As a jati, a laghu of five beats; as a nadai, each beat splits into five.
Konnakol: Reciting drum syllables aloud (ta ka di mi ...) to work out or perform rhythm patterns.
Korvai: A rhythmic composition, usually in a pattern built of repeated parts, that ends exactly on a chosen beat.
Kriya: A hand action used to keep tala: a clap, a finger count, or a wave.
Laghu: An anga marked I: a clap followed by finger counts. How many beats it has depends on the tala's jati (four for the common chatusra jati).
Laya: Tempo, or the steady pulse underneath the music. The speed at which the beats of a tala are counted.
Madhyama kala: Medium speed, the normal speed of most pieces.
Matya tala: One of the seven basic tala families, built as laghu, drutam, laghu (I O I).
Misra: Seven-fold. As a jati, a laghu of seven beats; as a nadai, each beat splits into seven. 'Misra' means mixed.
Nadai (Gati): The 'walk' of the beat: how many equal parts each beat is split into. Four is the default; three, five, seven and nine give a different feel against the same tala.
Nishabda kriya: A silent hand action, such as a finger count or a wave.
Rupaka tala: One of the seven basic tala families, built as drutam, laghu (O I).
Sama: The first beat of each cycle, which is the main landing point of the tala.
Sama eduppu: Starting a composition exactly on the first beat (sama) of the tala.
Sankirna: Nine-fold. As a jati, a laghu of nine beats. It is the rarest of the five.
Sasabda kriya: A hand action that makes a sound, such as a clap or a tap of the palm.
Solkattu: The system of spoken rhythm syllables used to learn and describe percussion patterns.
Suladi Sapta Tala: The seven basic tala families: Dhruva, Matya, Rupaka, Jhampa, Triputa, Ata and Eka. Each can be set in five jatis, giving 35 talas.
Tala: The repeating rhythmic cycle that a piece is counted in, built from a fixed number of beats.
Tisra: Three-fold. As a jati, a laghu of three beats; as a nadai, each beat splits into three.
Triputa tala: One of the seven basic tala families, built as laghu, drutam, drutam (I O O). In its four-beat jati it is the well-known Adi tala.
Vilamba kala: Slow speed. A piece or passage sung at half the usual speed.