tala

tala
tala1
/tah"leuh/, n.
a repeated rhythmic pattern of stressed and unstressed beats played on a percussion instrument in Indian music.
[1890-95; < Skt tala; cf. Hindi tal]
tala2
/tah"leuh/, n., pl. tala.
a paper money, cupronickel or silver coin, and monetary unit of Western Samoa, equal to 100 sene.
[1965-70; < Samoan tala < E DOLLAR]

* * *

music
Sanskrit“clap”

      in the music of India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, a metric cycle with a specific number of beats—from 3 to 128—that recur in the same pattern throughout a musical performance. Tala might generally be equated with rhythm or metre, although the tala procedure has no precise counterpart in Western music. The concept of tala is found in rather different forms in northern (Hindustani (Hindustani music)) and southern (Carnatic (Carnatic music)) Indian music. In the north, beats appear in groups of two, three, or four and include strong as well as “empty” beats. The character of the beats and their subdivisions is represented by rhythmic syllables that are recited for practice and sometimes in performance; these syllables correspond to various types of strokes with the finger on the appropriate drum. Southern Indian talas consist of units of one (anudrutam), two (drutam), and three to seven (laghu) beats.

      Among the most often used Hindustani talas are tintal (4 + 4 + 4 + 4 beats), rupaktal (3 + 2 + 2), and jhaptal (2 + 3 + 2 + 3). Among the most widely used Carnatic talas are adi, which is by far the most common (4 + 2 + 2); misra capu (3 + 4); and jhampa (7 + 1 + 2); among the most complex are ata (5 + 5 + 2 + 2) and druva (4 + 2 + 4 + 4). While the basic tala is always in a performer's consciousness, one of the principal methods of creating excitement in a performance is to play rhythmic patterns that contradict the tala but eventually return to its fundamental scheme. While singing, musicians often “keep tala” by elaborate waves and hand clapping; at concerts in South Asia, audience members sometimes participate by making these hand gestures.

      Just as the raga (melodic framework) gives the performer a basis for melody, the tala provides the undeviating framework for rhythmic improvisation. Generally, the tala is given expression by an accompanying drummer, yet the rhythmic cycles are maintained in the mind of the melodic soloist in any case and are ever present, whether or not audibly performed.

Bruno Nettl

Additional Reading
Focusing on rhythmic aspects of classical Indian music are Martin Clayton, Time in Indian Music: Rhythm, Metre, and Form in North Indian Rāg Performance; and James Kippen, The Tabla of Lucknow (1988). A groundbreaking general work is Bonnie C. Wade, Music in India: The Classical Traditions (1979, reprinted 1987). Also of interest to the general reader are Ludwig Pesch, The Illustrated Companion to South Indian Classical Music (1999); T. Viswanathan and Matthew Harp Allen, Music in South India: The Karnatak Concert Tradition and Beyond (2004); and George Ruckert, Music in North India: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture (2004).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • tala — tala …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • tala — [ tala ] adj. et n. • 1883; p. ê. abrév. iron. de talapoin « moine, prêtre »; on a proposé aussi (ceux qui von)t à la (messe) ♦ Arg. École normale supérieure Catholique militant(e). ● tala nom masculin Unité monétaire principale des Samoa. ● tala …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Tala — may refer to:* Samoan tala, the montary unit of Samoa * Tala (comics), a DC Comics supervillainess of the Phantom Stranger * Tala (goddess), the goddess of stars in Tagalog mythology * Tala (music), a rhythmic pattern in Carnatic or Hindustani… …   Wikipedia

  • Tala — puede referirse a: Tala, libro de la escritora chilena y Premio Nobel de Literatura Gabriela Mistral. Tala, la unidad monetaria de Samoa Occidental. Celtis tala, árbol originario de Sudamérica. Tala de árboles, deforestación. Departamento Tala,… …   Wikipedia Español

  • tala — TÁLA interj. (se foloseşte pentru a reda vorbirea lungă, domoală). /Onomat. Trimis de siveco, 22.08.2004. Sursa: NODEX  tála interj. – Încet! (se zice despre mers sau despre extenuări făcute în grabă şi prolix). – var. tala tala. Creaţie… …   Dicționar Român

  • Tala — (Tyalgum,Австралия) Категория отеля …   Каталог отелей

  • tală — TÁLĂ, tale, s.f. (reg.) Adunătură gălăgioasă de oameni; ceată, mulţime. ♦ Gălăgie, larmă. ♢ expr. A sta de tală = a sta la taifas. ♦ (Adverbial; adesea repetat, în forma tala) Încet încet, haide hai. – et. nec. Trimis de LauraGellner, 23.06.2004 …   Dicționar Român

  • tala — sustantivo femenino 1. Acción y resultado de talar: la tala de un bosque, la tala de un campo en la guerra. 2. Uso/registro: restringido. Origen: Chile. Acción de pacer los ganados la hierba …   Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española

  • tala — tala1 [tä′lə] n. [< Sans tāla, lit., the slapping or clapping of hands together] any of the various repeating rhythmic patterns of stressed and unstressed units, played on a percussion instrument in the music of India tala2 [tä′lä΄] n. pl.… …   English World dictionary

  • Tâla —   [sanskritisch], das der indischen Musik zugrunde liegende rhythmische Konzept. Ein Tâla setzt sich aus mehreren oder vielen dreiteiligen rhythmischen Grundfiguren zusammen und kann bis zu über hundert Zeiteinheiten betragen, die sowohl Musiker… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • tala — tála ž DEFINICIJA glazb. u indijskoj i pakistanskoj glazbi metrički ciklus s određenim brojem udaraca (od 3 do 128) koji se ponavljaju po istoj shemi kroz čitavu glazbenu izvedbu; izražava se pratećim bubnjevima ETIMOLOGIJA hind. tāl ← skr. tāla …   Hrvatski jezični portal

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”