Ektal or Ektaal is a
tala in
Indian music
Owing to India's vastness and diversity, Indian music encompasses numerous genres in multiple varieties and forms which include classical music, folk, rock, and pop. It has a history spanning several millennia and developed over several ...
. It is commonly used in classical music like
kheyal, and semi-classical forms like
Rabindra Sangeet
''Rabindra Sangeet'' (; ), also known as Tagore Songs, are songs from the Indian subcontinent written and composed by the Bengalis, Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore, winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first Indian and also the ...
. In ''ektal'' the 12
matra
Matra (an acronym for Mécanique Aviation Traction) was a major French industrial Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. Its business activities covered a wide range of industries, notably aerospace manufacturer, aerospace, defence industry, def ...
s are divided into 6
vibhag
'Vibhag' (in music) represents a duration of rhythmic phrasing in Indian classical music made up of a certain number of beats. They are the rough equivalent of bars in western music, but instead of always being equal subdivisions of the tala (the ...
s of two matras each. Ektal is played in Drut gatti ( fast speed ). This tala is mostly played by the use of
tabla. One more tala similar to Ektal is
Chowtal which is played with the use of
Pakhavaj, Ektaal is the tabla counterpart of Chowtaal. Many beautiful Kaida are played in Ektal. But Ektal is mostly played for Vilambit (slow pace of any
Tal) .
Basic information on tal Ektal :
Name - Ektal
Sum - 1st matra
Tali (claps) - 1, 5, 9, 11 matras
Khali (wave) - 3, 7 matras
Similar talas -
Chowtal,
Dadra,
Garba (tal)
Related instruments -
Tabla
Related to -
Hindustani music
Hindustani classical music is the Indian classical music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or ''Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet''. The term ''shastriya sangeet'' ...
The form of Ektal is as follows:
clap, tap, wave, tap, clap, tap, wave, tap, clap, tap, clap, tap
It has a characteristic pattern of
bols (theka) which goes as follows:
It is very important in Indian Classical music and many compositions are based on it. The 'Tirkita' is played as 'Traka' in the drut gatti or fast laya.
References
* https://chandrakantha.com/
Ektaal 12 beatswhich are very popular shastriya taal in North Indian music.This taal is also called ektala.
This taal has 6 divisions with 2 beats in each division.4th claps of this rhythm on 1st,5th,9th, and 11th beats and 2 waves on 3rd and 7th beats. The 1st beat of rhythm is called 'Sam'which is place is 1st clap.
Hindustani talas
{{India-music-stub