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Lesson 7: 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 7.1

 

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 7.1.

 

1. What is the significance of matra 1 in terms of tala numbers?

 

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 7 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.

 

AUDIO CLIP: Lesson 7 Summary

 

UPDATED: May 29, 2009