Krsna Kirtana Songs est. 2001 www.kksongs.org
Lesson 6A:
Approaching Thekas
From
this point forward, rhythmic cycles will be examined. While majority of Lesson
6 seemed abstract, this lesson will serve as a powerful link between the
abstract world of rhythmic cycles to the concrete territory of thekas and prakars. Recall from Lesson 6, thekas are the original forms of the
rhythmic cycle, while prakars are variation of the tala. For the most part,
thekas will be looked at.
Here
is an example of a theka that will be looked at in greater detail next lesson.
|
X |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
|
dhā |
dhin |
dhin |
dhā |
dhā |
dhin |
dhin |
dhā |
dhā |
ti |
ti |
tā |
tā |
dhin |
dhin |
dhā |
Figure
6A.1
Before
playing this cycle on the mridanga, the tala
notation must be understood. We will use this type of notation above to
record talas or anything that is confined to a rhythm.
TOP LINE (TALA NUMBERS)
Tala
numbers are signs that indicate matras of importance. In the above cycle, the
letter “X”
indicates the sam. Almost always, the sam is a tali. Any other subsequent talis
are noted with a number. Hence, second tali after sam is 2. Third tali after sam is 3, etc.
Any point of de-emphasis is the khali.
It is always shown by a 0.
MIDDLE LINE (MATRA NUMBERS)
The
middle line shows the position in the tala. In the above cycle, matra numbers
are laid out from 1 to 16. This way, we can identify where we are in the tala.
BOTTOM LINE (BOLS)
The
last line shows the bols in the appropriate places in the cycle.
QUIZ:
To
see if you understand this, here is a brief quiz. These questions are based on
above cycle shown in Figure 6A.1.
1.
What is the significance of matra
2.
What bol is on matra 16?
3.
What bol is on matra 13?
4.
What bol is on matra 7?
5.
What is significant about matra 9?
6.
What bol is on matra 18?
ANSWERS:
1)
Matra 1 for every cycle is known as the “sam”
which always* has an accent mark known as the tali.
2)
It is dhā. Look at the box at matra 16
3)
It is tā. Look at the box at matra 13.
4)
It is dhin. Look at the box at matra 7.
5)
Matra 9 contains a khali, denoted by a red 0. The khali indicates a point where the vibhag
will bear no accents, very little to no baya use. You see that the vibhag
between 9 and 13 have dhā ti ti tā. Of those four bols, only the
first bol (dhā) is the only baya usage, while the other three has no baya
use.
6)
Matra 18 is dhin. Remember that the above cycle is 16 matras. After the completion of matra 16, one returns to
the sam (matra 1). Another way to think of it (although, not a proper way) is that
the sam of the next cycle is the 17th matra. Therefore, the 18th
matra is the second matra of the cycle. Therefore, the answer is “dhin.” This
question is a test on your ability to interpret cycles. This does not mean that
this cycle of sixteen matras can have more.
Now
that a better understanding of the rhythmic cycle is developed, we can now
understand about how to play it.
BOL METHOD:
The
bol method is to play to look at the
entire cycle and then play each bol as it progresses. It’s a very direct
approach to a rhythmic cycle. Of course, it takes time at first, because it is
done intentionally and it will sound mechanical. With practice and repetitive
exercises, it will come out clearly. Try to play the above cycle using the bol method. First, play dhā. Then
play dhin. Play another dhin. Then play dhā. (We just completed matra 4).
Complete four cycles or more to see if this method works for you.
AUDIO CLIP: Lesson 6A Bol
Method
VIBHAG METHOD:
The
vibhag method is another way to go
about playing a rhythmic cycle.
The
vibhag method is based on learning
each vibhags individually. After successful completion of vibhags
independently, then vibhags are fused to form the rhythmic cycle. For this
cycle, a possible approach could done in this manner.
A
way people use the vibhag method is to break the cycle of its vibhags and
master each one independently. Finally, they link these vibhags in order to
form the cycle.
Play
vibhag 1: dhā dhin dhin dhā
Play
vibhag 2: dhā dhin dhin dhā
Play
vibhag 3: tā ti ti tā
Play
vibhag 4: tā dhin dhin dhā
Then
play the whole cycle several times to ensure continuity.
Another
way to use the vibhag method is to build upon the vibhags. For the above cycle,
it would be wise to try this manner.
1:
Play dhā dhin dhin dhā
2:
Play dhā dhin dhin dhā several times. Then after feeling comfortable,
play dhā dhin dhin dhā dhā
dhin dhin dhā
3:
Play dhā ti ti tā several times. Then after feeling comfortable, play
dhā dhin dhin dhā dhā dhin dhin dhā ti ti tā
4:
Play the last vibhag, namely, tā dhin dhin dhā. By adding this final
component, you are able to play the entire cycle.
5:
Play the whole cycle several times to ensure that you remain this continuity.
Try each of the methods and
see which one works for you. Lesson 7 will introduce us to this rhythmic cycle
more formally.