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Lesson 10 B: Prabhupāda/Dasapahira Prakārs 3 and 4

Like Lesson 10 A, this lesson will talk about two more prakārs of Prabhupāda tāla. Unlike the first two prakārs, these two prakārs are a little more challenging.

PRAKĀR 3

This format resembles a true North Indian rendition of Prabhupāda tāla. In practice, this form is not widely used. However, this rhythmic cycle allows proper transition between open and closed bols, as well as makes good practice of the phrase “ti ra ki ti.” This phrase will be used throughout our study of mridanga. This rhythmic cycle is also analogous to the more ancient Viśva Vandita tāla.

The cycle is as follows:

X												0						2
1	2		3		4	5	6		7		8	9	10		11		12	13	14	15	16
dhā	ti	ra	ki	ti	tā	tā	ti	ra	ki	ti	tā	ka	ti	ra	ki	ti	dhā	dhin	dhā	dhin	dhā

Beats 2 and 3, as well as 6 and 7, and 10 and 11 contain “ti ra ki ti.” This phrase is a very common and fundamental phrase in North Indian and some Bengali rhythmic cycles. This is why this was studied in Lesson 5. Since there are way too many bols, the best way to study this is by vibhāg breakdown.

Part 1: dhā trkt tā

Part 2: tā trkt tā

Part 3: ka trkt dhā

Part 4: dhin dhā dhin dhā

After mastering all four portions, fuse them together and result in a full cycle.

Once you are able to pick up the cycle, continuously practice Prabhupāda tāla in a chain.

This is Prakār 3 as a full cycle plays repeatedly.

PRAKĀR 4

The last one, the Bengali form, is perhaps the most difficult one. When students study the khol in gurukulas, they study Dasapahirā tāla as the following theka.

X								0					2
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10		11	12	13	14	15	16
dhin		ti	uru	ti	ti	tā		ki		ki	ti	dhā	ghi	dhā	ghi	dhā

The key distinctive feature is the use of the bol “uru” in bol 4. Uru is a Bengali bol that describes three successive strikes on the dayan. Bengali tradition tends to use simpler words to describe a succession of several bols.

The bol “uru” is the same as “ti tā ti.”* So one can replace “uru” with the bols “ti tā ti”.

à I’ve been informed by other khol instructors who studied the Bengali technique that bols like “uru” have the components played as quickly as possible. In other words, you don’t time the subcomponents “ti tā ti”. You simply those three as fast as you can. (Similar to the tabla “tra” and “kra” bols)

BENGALI FORM

X								0					2
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10		11	12	13	14	15	16
dhei		tā	uru	te	te	tā		khi		khi	ne	dhā	ghi	dhā	ghi	dhā

The Bengali technique uses bol techniques which are different from that of North Indian technique. In addition, the names of the bols are different too. For example, “dhei” is the Bengali rendition of “dhin.” “Ne” is equivalent to “ti.” Tā, dhā, and ghi are open bols, just like their North Indian counterparts, however the technique for “tā” is different. Since this course is a North Indian course, please refer to the video by Abhijit below to learn about Dasapahira tāla.

·VIDEO CLIP 10 – 1: Prabhupāda Tāla Prakārs 3 and 4

·VIDEO CLIP: Abhijit teaches how to play Dasapahira Tāla

UPDATED: October 14, 2017