Tabla

Tabla Blog

My journal of occasional ideas for original tabla compositions and interesting bols

Tintal Kaida-Rela?

#Tintal#Kaida
DhineTagaNaga DhineTagaNaga Dhinagena
TagaNaga DhineNaga Dhenegene Thinakena

Dhi is open tun

Ta is sur

Na is kinar

Dhene is both open tun

Tintal — A bunch of compositions that have been rattling around in my head

#Tintal#Assortment
Rela
Tak-gera -neGera nageTete Geranage
TeteKaTa kaDhenege neKeTaka Therenake

Var 1
Tak-gera -neGera nageTete Geranage
Tak-gera -neGera nageTete Geranage
Tak-gera -neGera nageTete Geranage
TeteKaTa kaDhenege neKeTaka Therenake

Var 2
Tak-gera-neGeranage
Tak-gera-neGeranage
Tak-gera-neGeranage
TeteGeranage
TeteGeranage
TeteGeranage
TeteKaTakaDhenegeneKeTakaTherenake

Var 3
Tak-gera-negene
    gera-neGeranage
Tak-gera-negene
    gera-neGeranage
Tak-gera-negene
    gera-neGeranage
TeteKaTa kaDhenege neKeTaka Therenake

A related Rela theme
Tak--ge Ran-Gera nageTete gadi-Ge
Na-tete Geranage Thin-na- Keranake

Chakradar
[4: Dha-Dha- kitetaka Di-kite takaDha- 
3: teraki tetaka Ta-te tekata gadige neDha- takite dhetete kataga digene
4: Dha-tera kitetaka Ta-tete katagadi geneDha- takitedhe tetekata gadigene Dha---
6: [terakitetaka Ta-tetekata gadigeneDha- takitedhetete katagadigene Dha-----] x3
                                                                     Dha----- ------ ------ ------]x3

Or, written another way:
4: [Dha-Dha-kitetakaDi-kitetakaDha-
3: terakitetakaTa-tetekatagadigeneDha-takitedhetetekatagadigene 4: Dha-
4: terakitetakaTa-tetekatagadigeneDha-takitedhetetekatagadigene Dha---
6: [terakitetakaTa-tetekatagadigeneDha-takitedhetetekatagadigene Dha-----] x3
                                                                 Dha----- ------ ------ ------]x3

Tintal — Tukra, pretending to be a chakradar

#Tintal#Tukra
8: Dha...Dha....kttkDi....kttkTtktgdgnDha... 6: tktdttktgdgn 8: Dha...1...2....
8: Dha...Dha....kttkDi....kttkTtktgdgnDha... 6: tktdttktgdgn 8: Dha...1...2....
8: Dha...Dha....kttkDi....kttkTtktgdgnDha... 6: tktdttktgdgn 8: Dha...
                kttkDi....kttkTtktgdgnDha... 6: tktdttktgdgn 8: Dha...
                kttkDi....kttkTtktgdgnDha... 6: tktdttktgdgn 8: Dha

This is a (much better) variant of the last post

FakeChakradar — Tintal Tukra or Fake Chakradar

#Tintal#Tukra#FakeChakradar
Dha---Dha---Dha---kitatakaDi---kitataka tetekatagadigene
Dha--- (triplets) takitedhetetekatagadigene (4s) Dha---1---
Dha---Dha---Dha---kitatakaDi---kitataka tetekatagadigene
Dha--- (triplets) takitedhetetekatagadigene (4s) Dha---
Dha---Dha---Dha---kitatakaDi---kitataka tetekatagadigene
Dha--- (triplets) takitedhetetekatagadigene (4s) Dha---
kitatakaDi---kitataka tetekatagadigene
Dha--- (triplets) takitedhetetekatagadigene (4s) Dha---
kitatakaDi---kitataka tetekatagadigene
Dha--- (triplets) takitedhetetekatagadigene (4s) Dha

play it really fast

Tintal Kaida in triplets

#Tintal#Kaida#Triplets
DhagenaDhenegeNagenaDhagena
Dha-DhenegeneDhageThinakena

Dhene - both are open

Dhenegene - first two are open, last ne is closed

All the Dhas and Nas are sharply on kinar

It’s ok to accent the first na in Dhinagena

Tintal Kaida in triplets

#Tintal#Kaida#Triplets
DhagenaDhagena
DhenegeNagena
DhagenaDha-DhenegeneDhageDhinagena
DhenegeNagena
DhagenaDha-DhenegeneDhageThinakena

Dhene - both are open

Dhenegene - first two are open, last ne is closed

All the Dhas and Nas are sharply on kinar

It’s ok to accent the first na in Dhinagena

Tintal Kaida — Couldn't sleep last night, so this happened:...

#Tintal#Kaida

Couldn’t sleep last night, so this happened:

Theme

genatrekre dhetete genatrekre dhatrekre dhete
gena dhatrekre dhetete gena dhage thinakena

Word boundaries indicate phrasing.

Fun fact:

trekre happens four times, each time starting at a different position within the beat. The first time on the 3rd sixteenth note, then the 2nd, then 1st, then 4th. So try accenting trekre to feel it moving around.

Tintal Chakradar — Three cycles of madhya lay Tintal Four to the beat...

#Tintal#Chakradar

Three cycles of madhya lay Tintal

Four to the beat

Upper-case letters are strong accents

Dha-neDhage
Dha-neDhageteteKatagaDigene
TakiteDheteteKatagaDigeneDha--
TakiteDheteteKatagaDigeneDha--
TakiteDheteteKatagaDigeneDha--Kat--
Dha-neDhage
Dha-neDhageteteKatagaDigene
TakiteDheteteKatagaDigeneDha--
TakiteDheteteKatagaDigeneDha--
TakiteDheteteKatagaDigeneDha--Kat--
Dha-neDhage
Dha-neDhageteteKatagaDigene
TakiteDheteteKatagaDigeneDha--
TakiteDheteteKatagaDigeneDha--
TakiteDheteteKatagaDigeneDha

Tintal Kaida-Rela

#Tintal#Kaida-Rela

Fast as hell.

Dha tetegeranagageranagaterakita
Dha terakitaDha ge na Dha tetegeranagaterakita
Dha terakitaDha ge na Dha ge Thin na ke na

Tintal Chakradar — Gen trkttk Dha te te Dha - Dha ti Dha - Gen trkttk...

#Tintal#Chakradar
Gen trkttk Dha te te Dha - Dha ti Dha - 
Gen trkttk tktrkttk tktrkttk Dha - 
Gen trkt Dha - 
Gen trkt Dha - 
Gen trkt Dha - - - 
Gen trkttk Dha te te Dha - Dha ti Dha - 
Gen trkttk tktrkttk tktrkttk Dha - 
Gen trkt Dha - 
Gen trkt Dha - 
Gen trkt Dha - - - 
Gen trkttk Dha te te Dha - Dha ti Dha - 
Gen trkttk tktrkttk tktrkttk Dha - 
Gen trkt Dha - 
Gen trkt Dha - 
Gen trkt Dha

Tintal — Kind of a Kaida-Rela

#Tintal#Kaida-Rela

theme:

Dha-tetegeranaga DhineDhinenaga
Dhenegene Nanagene
DhineDhinagena Nanakene

Ta-tetekeranaka ThineThinenaka
Thenekene Nanakene
DhineDhinagena Nanagene

Word boundaries show phrasing. It’s in 4 to the beat.

Be careful of the difference between Dhinenaga, Dhinagena, and Dhenegene. The first ne in Dhenegene is open. All nas are on kinar. You can play around with changing the accents on DhineDhinagena between phrases of 2 and phrases of 3. Accenting in 3s sounds neat. You could actually just accent all the nas.

It would be a rela, except for the phrase DhineDhinagena which makes it more like a kaida to me.

Tintal Kaida — In triplets Theme Dha-DhagenaDhinagenaTrekreDhinagenaDh...

#Tintal#Kaida

In triplets

Theme
Dha-DhagenaDhinagenaTrekreDhinagenaDhagenaTrekreThinakena

1
Dha-DhagenaDhinagenaTrekreDhinagenaTrekreDhinagenaTrekreDhi
Na-DhagenaDhinagenaTrekreDhinagenaDhagenaTrekreThinakena

2
Dha-DhagenaDhinagenaTrekreDhiNa-DhagenaDhinagenaTrekreDhi
Na-DhagenaDhinagenaTrekreDhinagenaDhagenaTrekreThinakena

3
Dha-DhagenaDhinagenaDha-DhagenaDhinagenaDha-DhagenaDhi
Na-DhagenaDhinagenaTrekreDhinagenaDhagenaTrekreThinakena

4
Dha-DhagenaDhiNa-DhagenaDhiNa-DhagenaDhinagenaTrekreDhi
Na-DhagenaDhinagenaTrekreDhinagenaDhagenaTrekreThinakena

5 (reverse theme)
DhagenaTrekreDhinaganaDha-DhagenaDhinagenaTrekreThinakena

6
DhagenaTrekreDhinaganaDhagenaTrekreDhinaganaTrekreDhinagana
DhagenaTrekreDhinaganaDha-DhagenaDhinagenaTrekreThinakena

7
TrekreDhinaganaDhagenaTrekreDhinaganaDhagenaTrekreDhinagana
DhagenaTrekreDhinaganaDha-DhagenaDhinagenaTrekreThinakena

Tihai
[Dha-DhagenaDhinagenaTrekreDhinagena [ DhagenaDha-- ] x3 ] x3

Tintal rela or gat or part of a tukra

#Tintal#Rela#Gat#Tukra
Tak-gera-ne geranaga Taga dheranaga
Tak-ge naga dhenegene geTaga dheranaga

then khali

spaces show phrasing

it’s in 4-to-the-beat

Tak is 4 fingers, closed and accented

ra in Tak-gera is kinar na

ra in geranaga is ne

na in geranaga is kinar na

Ta in Taga is 4 fingers, closed and accented

ra in dheranaga is ne

na in dheranaga is kinar na

dhe and first ne in dhenegene are both open tun, sliding

Ta in geTaga is 4 fingers, closed and accented

Not sure if this is a rela theme or a gat or a start to a tukra.

Do Kaidas always have to rhyme?

#Kaida#Tala#Rhyme#Q&a

Yesterday I made up this little Kaida in tintal and posted it on this blog and Facebook.

dhatiga trekre dhete gena dhatiga dhinagena
trekre dhetete gena dhatiga trekre thinakena

(spaces indicate phrasing)

On Facebook, Thomas Deneuville, founder and editor of the wonderful online music magazine I Care If You Listen, asked a simple question:

Do kaidas always have to rhyme?

The short answer is no. The type of thing that I shared doesn’t have to have lines that end with a rhyme.

There are two longer answers.

One way Kaidas rhyme has to do with a structure and device that is common in most types of tabla compositions – and many other types of compositions in both north and south Indian classical music. The theme of a Kaida is in two parts, which are identical, except the bass drops out near the end of the first time through, and comes back about half way through the second time through. What I shared above is a sort of short hand, it’s just the first half of the theme. Tabla players know to repeat it without the bass during the first half of the second time through. Like this:

First half:

dhatiga trekre dhete gena dhatiga dhinagena
trekre dhetete gena dhatiga trekre thinakena

Second half:

natika trekre tete kena natiga dhinagena
trekre dhetete gena dhatiga trekre dhinagena

Notice how the last phrase in the first half is thinakena rather than dhinagena, the second half starts with na instead of dha, ka instead of ga, te instead of dhe, and the second half ends with dhinagena instead of thinakena.

This pattern of bass / bass / no bass / bass gives a feeling of forward motion. It’s part of what makes an Indian rhythmic cycle a cycle. Every time through the cycle there is a turnaround and a return.

Because of this repetition with minor variation, Kaidas inherently rhyme.

The second way Kaidas rhyme has to do with the material itself, rather than a cyclical structure. Kaidas usually have internal rhymes. It’s very common for the first half (with the bass) to have two or more lines that rhyme. The lines don’t have to be the same length. Internal rhymes frequently weave around each other in creative ways. A form analysis of my little theme demonstrates this:

A dhatiga
B trekre
C dhete
D gena

A dhatiga
E dhina
D gena

B trekre
C' dhetete
D gena

A dhatiga
B trekre
E dhina
D gena

Here’s a simpler version of this theme, with a smaller vocabulary:

A dhatiga
B trekre
C dhinagena

A dhatiga
C dhinagena

B' -trekre
C dhinagena

A dhatiga
B trekre
C dhinagena

And here’s an even simpler one:

A dhatigena dhinagena
A dhatigena dhinagena
A dhatigena dhinagena
A dhatigena dhinagena

Tintal Rela — Dha - tete taka trekre dhinenage dhine geranaga dhine...

#Tintal#Rela
Dha - tete taka trekre dhinenage dhine
geranaga dhine dhenegene gene dhinenage dhine

tete is fingered 1 then 2

taka is naka

dhine has closed ne

dhene has open ne

This one was inspired by the first part of a composition I think I learned from Zakir Hussain at a workshop in San Anselmo, CA circa 1998

takita takita dhinenagedhine
takita takita dhinenagedhine
tetetaka trekre dhinenagedhine dha - [...]

Although I think the fingering of tete is supposed to be 2 1, which is just too hard for me.

Tintal — The only known recording of me playing tabla solo

#Solo#Tintal#Calarts#2000

It’s a tape recording from a recital I gave at the end of my 3rd year at CalArts, in the Gamelan Room. I’m accompanied by John Bergamo’s drum machine playing a standard tabla solo accompaniment melody that keeps time for the soloist, called a lehara or nagma. I take it at a really conservative tempo, and even so I’m playing quite loose, which is, I guess, a good thing, except for the obvious mistakes.

Somewhere there is a photo of me sitting on the floor of my Grandma Fay’s living room demonstrating tabla to my baby nephew Zac, surrounded by family, with a wall covered in family photos behind me. I’m wearing a button up shirt and tie, and I have dyed fluorescent yellow hair – which I dyed to match the walls of the apartment I was living in. On the photo print I wrote in Wite-Out “May 9” to advertise this concert. Wish I could find that funny photo.

Tintal Rela — dha-tete tetegadi tetegene dhinedhene genegadi...

#Tintal#Rela
dha-tete tetegadi tetegene dhinedhene genegadi tetetete genedhene genenana genedha- tetetete gaditete tetegene dhinedhene genegene dhenegene nanagene

I wrote this in a gallery with a Titian painting when I was working as a security guard at the Getty museum in ~2003. I really like this one, even though it’s “too long.” I’ve got a bunch of variations too, which I’ll post later.

Tintal Tukra — Kat-trekre Dhetete Gena Dhati Dhagena Dhinagena...

#Tintal#Tukra
Kat-trekre Dhetete Gena Dhati Dhagena Dhinagena
[kttktrkt Dhati Dhagena Dhati Dhagena Dha- ] x3

Some variations:

From Jim Owen:
Kat-trekre Dhetete Gena Dhati Dhagena Dhinagena
kttk [ trkt Dhati Dhagena Dhati Dhagena Dha- ] x2
in 3's: trkt Dhati Dhagena Dhati Dhagena Dha

A short version:
Kat-trekre Dhetete Gena Dhati Dhagena Dhinagena
[kttktrkt Dha] x3

Repeating phrases:
[Kat-trekre Dhetete ] x2
[Gena Dhati Dhagena ] x2
[Dhinagena ] x2
[kttktrkt kttktrkt Dha-] x3

Tintal Kaida — dha-trekre dhetete gena dhagena dhinagena trekre...

#Kaida#Tintal

theme

dha-trekre dhetete gena dhagena dhinagena
trekre dhetete gena dhagena gena thinakena
khali

(Word boundaries show phrasing. It’s in 4 to the beat.)

variation 1

[dha-trekre dhetete gena dhagena dhinagena] x3
trekre dhetete gena dhagena gena thinakena

variation 2

dha-[trekre dhetete gena dhagena] x3
theme

variation 3

dha-[trekre dhetete gena] x3 dha-trekre dhetete gena
theme

variation 4

[dha-trekre dhetete gena] x2 [trekre dhetete gena] x2
theme

variation 5

[dha-trekre dhetete gena] x3 dhagena gena
theme

(Thanks to Jonathan Singer for providing a recording on tabla)