Rupak Tala (rupak taal) or also known as Roopak Taal is a popular
tala in
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'' ...
that is common in
Bhajans and Geets.
[Ram Avatar 'Vir' 2002, p. 33] It has seven
matras (beats) in three
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 (divisions). Unlike the popular
Tintal, the
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 Rupak Tala are not of equal length. Also, both the khali and sam of Rupak Tala fall on the first
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 ...
.
Aavartan
The aavaratan (cycle) of Rupak Tala has three vibhags (divisions). The first vibhag has three matras and both the second and third vibhags have two matras.
Sam is on the first matra of the first vibhag. The aavaratan of Rupak Taal may be written as follows:
Examples
There are numerous examples of Rupak Tala that differ based upon the instrument used. The following examples apply for the
tabla.
Theka
The most common
theka for Rupak tala contains the
bols 'Tin', 'Na', and 'Dhin' (the transliteration of these bols may differ quite a lot among individuals). This theka is composed in the following manner
Tin Tin Na X, Dhin Na 2, Dhin Na 3
Prakar
Prakars are fairly open to the individual performer's flair. That being said, however, the following is an example of three common Rupak Tala prakars.
Tin Tin Na , Dhin NaNa , Dhin NaNa
Tin Tin Na , Dha Dha Tirkit , Dha Dha Tirkit
Tin Tin Nana , Dhirkt NaNa , Dhirkt NaNa
Tin Tin Nana , Dhirkt tktk , Dhirkt tktk
Tihai
{{cleanup rewrite, section=yes, date=February 2013
A
tihai for Rupak Tala must begin on either the third or the sixth matra to end on sam.
[Lipiczky 1985, p. 163.] The following is an example of a simple tihai for Rupak Tala that begins on matra three.
X X Tr , kt Tr , kt Tr
Da X X , X X , X X
External links
* Courtney, D 2001, ''Learning the Tabla'', Mel Bay Publications
Google Books Link (p. 28 on Rupak Tala)
KKSongs Tabla Guide
Rupak Tala on YouTube
Notes
References
* 'Chapter 21: Theka, Prakar, and Laggi', in ''KKSongs Tabla Guide'',
, viewed May 10, 2008.
* Lipiczky, T 1985, 'Tihai Formulas and the Fusion of "Composition" and "Improvisation" in North Indian Music', in ''The Music Quarterly'', Vol. 71, No. 2, pp. 157–171.
* Ram Avatar 'Vir' 2002, ''Learn to Play on tabla - 2 (Advance Course)'', Pankaj Publications, New Delhi.
Hindustani talas