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Lesson 5: Exercising and Practicing with Bols

 

The entire session will deal with practicing on how to play bols, control basic rhythm and develop some spontaneity. This is in hope that you have committed each bol name and method playing to memory. If you want to review that in summary, click the Bols page. If you want to look at each bol more informatively, then you may go back to appropriate lesson and review it.

 

USEFUL PHRASES

 

These phrases here will be important and are used a good number of times when playing. Take the time to play these and commit these phrases to memory. Since they will be used extensively, you will benefit from mastery of these.

 

ki ti tā

 

ghe ti tā

 

ti ra ki ti (Can be abbreviated as trkta)

 

ka tā ka ti

 

 

SRILA PRABHUPADA’S PRACTICE RELA

 

The first two phrases come from Srila Prabhupada’s archived mridanga lesson. In the introduction to the tape, he taught the bols “ki ti tā and ghe ti tā.” From this, he designed a very useful practice beat that helps one get coordinated with the hands, practice how to easily change bols, correct timing of bols, and develop tempo changes. This is not a rhythmic cycle used in kirtana. Hence, this is known as an example of a rela. (A rela is a storm of bols with some successive theme to it).

 

 

ka ti tā ka ti tā ka ti tā ka tā (PAUSE)

 

gha ti tā gha ti tā gha ti tā gha tā (PAUSE)

 

 

AUDIO CLIP: Lesson 5 Useful Phrases and Srila Prabhupada’s Practice Rela

 

 

PRACTICE EXERCISE: MRDANGA QAIDA

 

This is the heart of today’s lesson, the mridanga qaida. (A qaida [Arabic for “jurisprudence or rule”] is a rhythmic cyclic form with a theme associated with it). Read the bols first. Don’t try to take too much at once. Just practice phrase by phrase, and then line by line. This is a rather simple composition. Here is an audio clip with the bols said, and another audio clip of me playing the bols.

 

AUDIO CLIP: Lesson 5 Mrdanga Qaida Spoken

 

AUDIO CLIP: Lesson 5 Mrdanga Qaida Played

 

 

dhā dhin dhin dhā dhā dhin dhin dhā dhā ti ti tā tā dhin dhin dhā

 

ge ra ti ra ge ra ti ra kat jhā (PAUSE) kat jhā (PAUSE) kat jhā (PAUSE)

 

dhā dhā ti ra dhā dhā ti nā tā tā ti ra dhā dhā dhin nā

 

dhā dhā ti ra dhā dhā ti nā tā tā ti ra dhā dhā dhin nā

 

dhā dhā dhā dhā ti ra ti ra dhā dhā ti ra dhā dhā ti nā

 

tā tā tā tā ti ra ti ra dhā dhā ti ra dhā dhā dhin nā

 

dhā dhā ti ra ti ra ti ra dhā dhā ti ra dhā dhā ti nā

 

tā tā ti ra ti ra ti ra tā tā ti ra dhā dhā dhin nā

 

ti ra ki ti ti ra ki ti ti ra ki ti ti ra ki tā

 

ti ra ki ti ti ra ki ti ti ra ki ti ti ra kat dhā

 

dhā dhā ti ra dhā dhā ti nā tā tā ti ra dhā dhā dhin nā

 

dhā dhā ti ra dhā dhā ti nā tā tā ti ra dhā dhā dhin nā

 

dhā dhā dhā dhā ti ra ti ra dhā dhā ti ra dhā dhā ti nā

 

tā tā tā tā ti ra ti ra dhā dhā ti ra dhā dhā dhin nā

 

dhā dhā ti ra ti ra ti ra dhā dhā ti ra dhā dhā ti nā

 

tā tā ti ra ti ra ti ra tā tā ti ra dhā dhā dhin nā

 

ti ra ki ti ti ra ki ti ti ra ki ti ti ra ki tā

 

ti ra ki ti ti ra ki ti ti ra ki ti ti ra kat dhā

 

dhā ge nā ti nā ka dhin nā dhā ge nā ti nā ka dhin nā

 

dhin dhin jhā (PAUSE) te ra tā (PAUSE)

 

dhin dhin jhā te ra tā ti tā

 

ka tā ti ra dhā (PAUSE) ka tā ti ra dhā (PAUSE)

 

ka tā ti ra jhā