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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
VIDEO (DIDACTIC):
VIDEO (PRACTICAL):
UPDATED:
December 21, 2009