Tabla Guide for Windows

TablaGuide Coding This section describes how to use the TablaGuide coding scheme to build simple text strings that represent desired sequences. The table below lists the coding scheme for the individual bols. Complex sequences can be built using this character set. d dha D dhin n na / ta T tin k ke / ka g ge / ga t ti r re / ra N tun K kat s silence - End current matra The theka for Ektaal: dhin dhin | dhage tireket | tun na | kat ta | dhage tireket | Dhin na contains twelve matras (i.e. it is played over the duration of 12 measures): (1) dhin (2) dhin (3) dhage (4) tireket (5) tun (6) na (7) kat (8) ta (9) dhage (10) tireket (11) dhin (12) na Some Matras contain a single bol, other contain a sequence of multiple bols. Using the table above, we would code this theka for Ektaal as D-D-dg-trkt-N-n-K-n-dg-trkt-D-n This coding preserves timing information, that is otherwise lost in writing. The duration of the matra is determined by the tempo, so the bols in each matra are evenly divided over the duration of the matra. In slow tempo (vilambit), say 1 second, each matra takes one second. Therefore, the bols of each matra are played over the duration of one second. One cycle of Ektaal would take 12 seconds to complete. The sequence trkt (tireket) contains four bols (ti, re, ka, te), so each bol would be played over the duration of a quarter-second. Similarly, the sequence dg (dhage) contains two bols (dha, ge), so each bol would be played over the duration of a half-second. A silence (s) is treated no different from a bol, so, it's duration is also determined by it's placement. In a tihai, such as: dhadha tireket dhadha tinna dha ... dhadha tireket dhadha tinna dha ... dhadha tireket dhadha tinna (X)dha which is coded as dd-trkt-dd-Tn-d-s-dd-trkt-dd-Tn-d-s-dd-trkt-dd-Tn-d the silence takes one second, assuming that we are still playing the one-second tempo However, in a Kehrava variation, such as dhadha -dhin nak tin tata -tin nak dhin dd-sD-nk-T-nn-sT-nk-D The silence takes the first half-second of the matra that it is a part of. If each + below represents a half second, then, the one cycle of the above Kehrava variation sould be placed as follows: d d s D n k T n n s T n k D + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + More to come...