Rupak Tala (rupak taal) or also known as Roopak Taal is a popular tala in

Hindustani music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sit ...

that is common in

Bhajan Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...

s and Geets.Ram Avatar 'Vir' 2002, p. 33 It has seven

matras Matras is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Agnieszka Matras-Clement (born 1982), Polish and Canadian chess player *Christian Matras (poet) (1900–1988), Faroese poet * Christian Matras (cinematographer) (1903–1977), French c ...

(beats) in three

vibhag Vibhag (in music) represents a duration of rhythmic phrasing in Indian classical music made up of a certain number of beats. They are the rough equivalent of bars in western music, but instead of always being equal subdivisions of the tala (the rh ...

s (divisions). Unlike the popular

Tintal Teentaal (alternatively spelled tintal, teental, or tintaal, and also called trital; Hindi: तीन ताल) is the most common '' taal'' of Hindustani Classical Music, and is used for ''drut'' (fast tempo). It is symmetrical and presents a ...

, the

s of Rupak Tala are not of equal length. Also, both the khali and sam of Rupak Tala fall on the first

matra Matra (an acronym for Mécanique Aviation Traction) was a French industrial conglomerate. During its years of operation, it was engaged in a wide range of business activities, primarily focused around automobiles, bicycles, aeronautics and we ...

Aavartan

The aavaratan (cycle) of Rupak Tala has three vibhags (divisions). The first vibhag has three matras and both the second and third vibhags have two matras. Sam is on the first matra of the first vibhag. The aavaratan of Rupak Taal may be written as follows:

Examples

There are numerous examples of Rupak Tala that differ based upon the instrument used. The following examples apply for the

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

Theka

The most common

theka A Theka (IAST: Ṭhekā) literally means "support, prop". The term also refers to a musical composition in classical Indian music for percussion instruments that establish a rhythm ('' Chanda''), beats (''Matras'') and the metric cycle of beats ...

for Rupak tala contains the

bols Bols may refer to: * Bol (music), an element of Indian rhythm * Lucas Bols, a Dutch distilling company * Bols (brand), a beverage brand name used by Lucas Bols * Bols (surname), a Dutch surname * Bell of Lost Souls Interactive, American online publi ...

'Tin', 'Na', and 'Dhin' (the transliteration of these bols may differ quite a lot among individuals). This theka is composed in the following manner

Tin Tin Na X, Dhin Na 2, Dhin Na 3

Prakar

Prakars are fairly open to the individual performer's flair. That being said, however, the following is an example of three common Rupak Tala prakars.

Tin Tin Na , Dhin NaNa , Dhin NaNa

Tin Tin Na , Dha Dha Tirkit , Dha Dha Tirkit

Tin Tin Nana , Dhirkt NaNa , Dhirkt NaNa

Tin Tin Nana , Dhirkt tktk , Dhirkt tktk

Tihai

{{cleanup rewrite, section=yes, date=February 2013 A

tihai ''Tihai'' (pronounced ti-'ha-yi) is a polyrhythmic technique found in Indian classical music, and often used to conclude a piece. Tihais can be either sung or played on an instrument. Tihais are sometimes used to distort the listeners’ percept ...

for Rupak Tala must begin on either the third or the sixth matra to end on sam.Lipiczky 1985, p. 163. The following is an example of a simple tihai for Rupak Tala that begins on matra three.

X X Tr , kt Tr , kt Tr
Da X X , X X , X X

External links

* Courtney, D 2001, ''Learning the Tabla'', Mel Bay Publications
Google Books Link
(p. 28 on Rupak Tala)
KKSongs Tabla Guide

Rupak Tala on YouTube

Notes

References

* 'Chapter 21: Theka, Prakar, and Laggi', in ''KKSongs Tabla Guide'',

, viewed May 10, 2008. * Lipiczky, T 1985, 'Tihai Formulas and the Fusion of "Composition" and "Improvisation" in North Indian Music', in ''The Music Quarterly'', Vol. 71, No. 2, pp. 157–171. * Ram Avatar 'Vir' 2002, ''Learn to Play on tabla - 2 (Advance Course)'', Pankaj Publications, New Delhi. Hindustani talas