Krsna Kirtana Songs est. 2001 www.kksongs.org
Lesson 3: Baya Bols
Lesson
2 introduced to the concept of the bols. We examined the world of dayan bols.
Today, we will examine baya bols. Recall from Lesson 1 that the baya is the
bass drum.
OPEN BOLS – Full of resonance
gha
This bol is created by
taking the baya hand and striking the syahi causing a loud bass sound. This is
by far the most popular open bol that is heard in mridanga. It is very
important to be able to have a strong bass sound that sounds clear and free
from any symptoms of non-resonance. Listen to this bol by clicking on the puri.
ga
This is a softer version of
gha. It is played by placing the wrist on one end of the syahi and striking
with the index or middle-ring fingers on the maidan opposite to the wrist. Only
middle finger is not preferred as it will hinder baya hand sound control. The
ring finger alone is too weak to produce a strong ga sound. Remember that the
ga is a open sound, but it is not meant to be as loud and powerful as gha.
Compare ga with gha by listening to the sound files.
gin
This bol essentially a
sliding ga. Sliding across the syahi causes the pitch on the baya to change.
This bol is done as a simultaneous act of
playing ga with the fingers and sliding the wrist across the puri of the baya.
For those new to the khol, it becomes a very difficult task to produce a clean
sound. To master this bol requires constant practice.
The best way to practice
this, initially, is to play ga and then slide constantly. Then, a smooth
transition will come where it becomes simultaneous.
This bol is also known as jin.
CLOSED BOLS – Lack of resonance
ka
This is done by taking the
full hand and striking the baya head causing no resonance. The general concept
of this bol is quite simple. There are three types of ka bols.
Soft ka
– The method shown above describes a soft ka. LISTEN
Loud ka
– Take palm’s knuckles (second set) and strike the center of syahi causing a
loud “crack” sound. LISTEN
Finger ka – Cuff the palm, as if you were to do the ga/gin bol and flick the kinar.
One may also flick the maidan. LISTEN
VOWEL TOLERANCE
For
dayan bols, each bol has one unique name. For example, tā is always
tā. Changing the vowel to te or ti will imply two different bols. This is
not the case in the baya bols, however. In the baya bols, there is a great deal
of vowel tolerance. A reason for this may be due to the fact that baya bols are
very much prone to pitch fluctuation. In order to represent them, musicians
will say the bols and often change the vowels of the baya bols to show how much
of a pitch fluctuation is required. Pitch fluctuation was more of an aesthetic
property rather than a required property. In fact, this khol course will hold
up to the same standards of the gin bols being an aesthetic property. First,
rhythms should be studied. Then the aesthetic gins may be added. For now, just
learn the bols independently, for now. And also remember that dayan bols show
little tolerance. Baya bols, however, show great vowel tolerance.
Therefore: ga = ge = gi; gha = ghe = ghi; ka = ke =
ki
EXERCISES:
Now, you know how to play
nine bols (four baya bols and five dayan bols). Let’s see what you can do.
1) ka tā ka ti
2) ti ra ki ti (This one is very important)
3) gha ti ra gha ti tā tā
4) gha ge ti tā ka gin nā
5) ka ti ra ki ti tā