Visualization Aided Techniques to keep the tAlA on the feet for instrumentalists.

Tālam & Layam related topics
Post Reply
SrinathK
Posts: 2477
Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Visualization Aided Techniques to keep the tAlA on the feet for instrumentalists.

Post by SrinathK »

Copy pasting from the technical discussions. The thing here is that if I could make a video or show you in person what I'm trying to visualize, I could show it to you in half an hour. But I am forced to use the horribly long winded and potentially confusing route of verbose explanation. But let me try.

The goal is simple. To make a mental map of every tAlanga in all jAtis and naDais that slightly alters our perception of every tap we make on our foot, making it possible to render any tAlA in Carnatic Music.

Note : Please understand one lesson thoroughly before moving to the next. It starts simple and gets more and more complicated at the end.
Last edited by SrinathK on 03 Dec 2018, 22:58, edited 2 times in total.

SrinathK
Posts: 2477
Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: Visualization Aided Techniques to keep the tAlA on the feet for instrumentalists.

Post by SrinathK »

As a violinist, not having my hands free or anyone to put the tala for me, was the biggest problem I ever faced. I'd say my lack of laya skill stopped me from exploring manodharma and hurt my confidence in the past.

But no longer. I now have the answer I was seeking for many years. The last time I wrote about this, I was still testing. Now it's ready.

The main benefit and purpose of kriya angas is really this - they take the counting out of your head and into your body parts. This way, the mind is free to concentrate on the music and there is nearly no doubt as to where you are in the tala at any given time.

Now the toes are less flexible than the fingers, so I couldn't count on my toes - I tried bending them, but there was no chance. That's when I observed that if you visualize and feel yourself doing a particular movement strongly, even if you don't actually move that part, you will create a tension in the corresponding muscle and a millimeter of movement, this small amount of movement and tension is enough to distinguish two foot beats from each other. Imagine you're lifting huge load using your arms, feel it - your biceps will tense up even with no arm movement.

The arms can move at the fingers, the wrist, the elbow and the shoulder and all talangas use the combo of these 4 to create the sequence for each tala.

The legs also have 4 levels of movement - one the toes, one at the ankle, one at the knee and one at the hip. Visualizing a movement strongly at any one of these spots without actually moving a body part creates a noticeable difference in muscle tension changing the feel of each foot tap, allowing you to count if you have a sequence. But the legs are far less flexible, so their movements are far simpler.

So accordingly, I have created a visualization of the movements (my own kriya system) that was good enough for me to render all the talas, in all jaathis, all the talangas, with no ambiguity, and on one leg only, so I can do two simultaneous talas on two legs (and in theory up to 4 simultaneous talas if I use my hands as well). These movements are all mental, the actual physical movement is just a mild regular foot tap (and even that is not needed after a while). This means I can play without hindrance.

This worked really easily for the regular talas. Later on I also extended it to guru, plutam and kakapadam. To make it easier for these more complicated angas, I eventually added some colors to the visualized movements.

Muscle memory figures out the sequence in no time. So I no longer have to burden my head counting "1,2,3,4..."

The end result is something that is as easy as putting tala with your hands. Now-a-days I follow entire concerts on my feet, with no issues.

I was thinking for a long time to post it step by step up here, but I've been searching for the right words. I don't expect anyone to get what I just said up here. Since it's a visualization + kinesthetic thing, I don't think I can clearly explain it on a forum site. This is the basic principle, but I haven't told you the exact movements (next post I will give a very simple example).

It sounds complicated, but it really isn't. In person though, it's quite easy to grasp.

SrinathK
Posts: 2477
Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: Visualization Aided Techniques to keep the tAlA on the feet for instrumentalists.

Post by SrinathK »

Ok, so theory aside, let me get to lesson #1, the way I do it.

First, imagine and feel a very very flexible set of feet, that can flex to absurd levels. Now I am right footed, so I am going to use my right foot for all the examples.

1) Anudhrutam - Toes neutral. Do a simple foot tap.
2) Dhrutam - For the first foot tap, feel the toes flexing inward (to your sole). For the second, feel them flexing out.

Don't physically bend your toes. Just foot tap. But as you do, visualize strongly enough the toes flexing (exaggerate it far beyond what your physical body can do), feel the movement and the sensations and the muscle tension mentally as if your toes were really flexing hard. Your will power will instigate a small tension in your toe muscles. If you want to, allow your toes to move by a millimeter in each direction to really feel that distinct tension (if your toes have been perfectly still, just initiating the slightest sliver of movement will be felt dramatically)

3) Tisra jaati laghu - Since no one's toes are so individually flexible, we're not going to count on our toes. We are going to do something different.

First beat - Toes inward,
Second - Toes neutral / center
Third - Toes outward

The key here is not the visualization - as you can see a strong visualization needs your total attention which you cannot afford on stage. It's that small stroke of tension it creates for your muscle memory to remember. After sometime, the visualization will be so automatic it becomes a mere afterthought while playing. Your muscles know what the next movement is, you vaguely tense a bit, move 1 mm in a direction and you'll know exactly which beat you are on.

You can very well do this with your hands too. It's very easy, and give the audience the impression that you aren't putting the tala at all.

4) Roopaka (3 beat)
First beat - Toes center
Second beat - Toes Inward
Third beat - Toes outward

This imitates the way the hands do it and distinguishes it from tisra laghu.

So far I have covered only the movement of the toes.

Two weeks of practice will make the process second nature to the muscle memory. Use a metronome and practice from slow to fast speeds (up to 130 bpm). So good is human muscle memory that the slightest mental nod can recall the entire memory of the movement - and that's all we need to count. It's like riding a bicycle with no hands on the bars, once memorized, the body can balance itself easily.

SrinathK
Posts: 2477
Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: Visualization Aided Techniques to keep the tAlA on the feet for instrumentalists.

Post by SrinathK »

There was a good software called Fine metronome (the website is gone now, but I think I still have the installation files)- you can input a custom beat pattern into the editor that will duplicate the exact tala pattern, even up to 4 or 8 kalais (the older version was even more capable at this).

So on to lesson # 2 (request anyone interested to follow -- this will take a while before I'm done and I promise you that what I've come up with is a true game changer). Again using the right foot,

1) tisra chApu - 1 1/2 beats. Just a simple foot tap to a tt, tt, tt, tt, pattern

2) chatushra chApu - foot tap to a t,tt | t,tt | t,tt |... . Visualize and feel as if the toes flexing inward on the 1st beat, which will distinguish it.

Again, do not actually try flexing your toes, it's not needed, you do not have the flexibility of your fingers and pretty soon you'll experience a nasty cramp in your foot. It's all in the will, the feel and tension.

Now for some 'notation'. The inward flex of the toes, I will now denote as "I" and the toes outward as "O". Toes neutral as "N".

3) khanDa chApu - I, NN, | I, NN, |...

4) mishra chApu - NN, I, O, | NN, I, O |...

5) sankeerNa chApu - NN, I, N, O, | NN, I, N, O |

You might find it's actually easier to render chApu talas on the feet than the hands after this.

Lesson 3 will come after a while - it's more complicated, because now you'll need your ankle as well. In the meantime, practice!

SrinathK
Posts: 2477
Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: Visualization Aided Techniques to keep the tAlA on the feet for instrumentalists.

Post by SrinathK »

Lesson # 3. Using your ankle.

Just like your toes, the ankles also have 3 degrees of movement. There is a reason why I follow a 3 level system and not 2 levels and that will be clear when I'm done.

So imagine a hyper flexible ankle. Your ankle can flex forward (down if standing), it can flex backward (upward if standing) or it can stay centered. If you are seated on the floor and using your right foot, your ankle can flex to the left (forward), the right (backward) or stay center (neutral). We will call these positions as F, C and B. F = Forward, C = Centered, B = Backward.

To get used to this, first physically move your ankle and observe the actual movement. Then as you visualize, move your ankle by 1 mm as you did with the toes, that's enough to create a distinct feel. Then just visualize and feel your ankle tensing as if it was moving forward, middle and back.

Now we are moving on to the laghus. Tisra laghu was simple, it did not need your ankle. The other laghus have higher counts, so they will use both the toes and the ankle. I will just take up chatushra laghu in this lesson.

My advice is that just for this part, till you have memorized the movement, at very slow tempo, just bend your toes and ankles and see how that looks and feels. After you get it, you won't need to physically contort your foot. :D

1) Chatushra laghu -

Ankle forward + toes inward to the sole. This is the first beat. We will call this "FI" F for ankle forward, I for toes inward.
Ankle center and toes both neutral. This is the second beat. We will call this "CN".
Ankle back and toes outward. This is the third beat. We will call this "BO".
Ankle center, but toes still outward. This is the fourth beat. This will be "CO". This distinguishes it clearly from the second beat.

So FI + CN + BO + CO. This makes the 4 beats of chatushra laghu. And in doing this, you have also learnt chatushra jaathi Eka tAla.

Then practice with a metronome. Get to a point where you don't have to think about your foot and you know exactly what's going to come next.

With this, you can now put Adi tala, Roopaka (both 3 beat and 6 beat versions), all chApu tAlas and any simple tAla in chatushra jaathi. You may do this with Dhruva, MaTya, Jhampa, ATa and Eka tAla and any other tala that can be mathematically derived and valid in chatushra jaathi.

You should be able to follow most of the items in a concert with just this much. For 2 kalai or 4 kalai, as you do with your hands, foot tap each beat twice or 4x.

SrinathK
Posts: 2477
Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: Visualization Aided Techniques to keep the tAlA on the feet for instrumentalists.

Post by SrinathK »

Lesson # 4 khaNDa jAti, mishra jAti and sankeerNA jAti laghus

My logic of laghu after experimenting with several combinations, is this - like throwing a ball that goes up and comes down, every laghu starts on one side, goes to the other, before returning back - this way was the easiest for me to memorize and maintained a certain continuity to the foot tap pattern.

Again, all visualization and feel, first khaNDa jAti laghu (5 counts)

1) 1st beat - Ankle forward and toes inward (FI)
2) 2nd beat - Ankle forward and toes neutral (FN)- this is the extra beat
3) 3rd beat - Ankle center and toes neutral (CN)
4) 4th beat - Ankle back and toes outward (BO)
5) 5th beat - Ankle center and toes (still) outward (CO)

FI-FN-CN-BO-CO. 5 counts, 5 distinct beats.

EDIT : After some experimentation, I found another way that felt easier for me. You may use this as well:

1) 1st beat - Ankle forward and toes inward (FI)
2) 2nd beat - Ankle center and toes neutral (CN)
3) 3rd beat - Ankle back and toes neutral (BN) - This is the extra 5th beat.
4) 4th beat - Ankle back and toes outward (BO)
5) 5th beat - Ankle center and toes (still) outward (CO)

FI-CN-BN-BO-CO


Now mishra jAti laghu - where 2 extra beats get inserted.

1) 1st beat - Ankle forward and toes inward (FI)
2) 2nd beat - Ankle forward and toes neutral (FN)
3) 3rd beat - Ankle center and toes inward (CI) - note the difference, I am doing these variations to distinguish the patterns apart.
4) 4th beat - Ankle center and toes neutral (CN)
5) 5th beat - Ankle back and toes neutral (BN) - and that's the 2nd extra beat
6) 6th beat - Ankle back and toes outward (BO)
7) 7th beat - Ankle center and toes outward (CO)

FI-FN-CI-CN-BN-BO-CO

And finally the sankeerNa jAti laghu, with 2 more beats for 9 counts

1) 1st beat - Ankle forward and toes inward (FI)
2) 2nd beat - Ankle forward and toes neutral (FN)
3) 3rd beat - Ankle center and toes inward (CI)
4) 4th beat - Ankle center and toes neutral (CN)
5) 5th beat - Ankle back and toes inward (BI)
6) 6th beat - Ankle back and toes neutral (BN)
7) 7th beat - Ankle back and toes outward (BO)
8) 8th beat - Ankle center and toes outward (CO)
9) 9th beat - Ankle forward and toes outward (FO)

FI-FN-CI-CN-BI-BN-BO-CO-FO

I always prefer to end with toes out, it makes it easier to remember.

For 2 or 4 kalai, you know what to do.

And here's the logic behind the 3 degrees of movement. For both toes and ankle, this yields 3 x 3 = 9 distinct combinations. Which allows you to tap up to sankeerNa jAti, with no repetitions (even the hands cannot do this with only 5 fingers).

Now with this, you can put in all the 35 talams, or any talam that does not have the more complex angas of guru, plutam and kAkapadam. I have found a way for those 3 as well, but to go there, it is absolutely mandatory to master the laghu variations, because the above movements are going to be used in these 3 as well.

There is an additional layer of imagination with them, a somewhat 'crazy' visualization that will help us master them. But that is for later.

The next stop will be the nadai subbeats.

SrinathK
Posts: 2477
Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: Visualization Aided Techniques to keep the tAlA on the feet for instrumentalists.

Post by SrinathK »

Lesson # 5 Now for nadai subbeats.

First of all, go back to the chApu beats and put them all imagining and feeling the foot in a neutral position. Learn to count with just the basic foot tap.

1) tisra chApu - NN, | NN, ....
2) chatushra chApu - N,NN | N,NN
3) khaNDa chApu - N,NN, | N,NN, |
4) mishra chApu - NN,N,N, | NN,N,N, |
5) sankeerNa chApu - NN,N,N,N, | NN,N,N,N, |

Get used to it first.

As with the hands, these beats will now be superimposed as a subbeat pattern into the main talanga beats, so practice them in all the visualized positions for laghus, dhrutam and anudhrutam.

You will therefore be repeating the subbeat pattern thrice for tisra laghu or roopakam as they have 3 different foot positions, 8 times for Adi, etc. This is identical to what they do on the hands, where they will be putting a chApu tAla on each finger and wave for an Adi tala - turning it into an 8-cycle chApu tAla.

If you do develop a feel for counting 1-18 notes and pauses (especially pauses!) in a beat without the use of subbeats (and claim laya godhood), or at least 1-9 per beat (even this is not a feat to be taken lightly), then you can ditch the subbeats and with a normal tala, proceed to wreak havoc on both your audience and your accompanists.

This along with the other laya lessons already covered, should be enough to handle nearly everything thrown at you. Almost. A few more lessons are pending.

Now that you have done this on your right leg, do it also with your left leg. A violinist may need to use a cushion from where his left foot can hang loosely over the edge of the cushion to get that space to tap. Please note that the movements for the left leg will be a mirror image of those on the right, but the notation is the same for both legs.

Why this? Because apart from the fact that some people are more comfortable with one leg than another, in the next lesson, you are going to use both your legs.... And when I'm done with you I'll ask your hands to join in.

Now you know why I wanted to do it all on 1 foot. :mrgreen:

SrinathK
Posts: 2477
Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: Visualization Aided Techniques to keep the tAlA on the feet for instrumentalists.

Post by SrinathK »

And now the dreaded topic of putting tala on both feet, which you will need very rarely, unless you are tested by those laya specialists (ahem, terrorists :mrgreen: ). Or if you plan on creating rhythmic terror yourself. :D

I presume that all the laya exercises like the AMS ones, eduppu varsais or their more complex variations first with simply beating and then in various talas and nadais for the hands have been transferred to your feet. You should have tried them on both your left and right leg.

I also hope you have at least as a rasika, taken this concept to your nearby concert and tested the waters and found out how well it works for you.

Now get a notebook and a pen / pencil. Write down the two talas one below the other. Let's say you have decided to do Adi and roopaka talas. Their LCM works out to be 24, so 3 cycles of Adi and 8 of roopaka will coincide.

First start with tapping, and instead of proceeding to singing or playing, for the first beat, think of what you will be putting on your right foot and your left foot, as you so with the hands. And then the next. And so on.

First master the combined cycle movement. Write down the beats of each tala one below the other and if required, physically bend your foot and see it for yourself. The combined cycle will always have a unique pair for each beat.

For chapu talas, note that the half beat can create a complication where the beats are first aligned in sync, then they criss cross out of sync by 1/2 a beat. You must write down exactly where in the pattern will each beat come and how they overlap. Pay attention to every beat pair separately, then 2 beat pairs at a time, then 4, etc. Then get the entire pattern. Only then try to render the entire cycle in one go.

Then start with a laya exercise or a sarali or janta varsai at 1 note per beat, then 2, 4, maybe 8 if you can, then 1 note per 2 beats and 1 note per 4 beats. The notebook and pen are your best friends. Things will get complicated when you attempt more complex patterns or do eduppu exercises.

This in general is no different from mastering it on the hands.

There is a way to combine 2 talas in 2 different nadais, which you will get if you put 1 regular and 1 chapu tala or 2 chapu talas together. For further details on double talas, I will see if I can have a separate thread for it.

Using this same principle, you can combine legs and hands to do 3 talas at once, or even 4. You just need to know the combined sequence, which will be unique for each beat. It is not impossible or as tough as it seems. It's just a question of trying.

Ok, if you're sweating bullets, or all this 'academic mumbo jumbo' has turned you off, I have good news. We are going back to one foot. But next time, we will first take a look at the specific movements in guru, plutam and kakapadam and how I render them - namely krshya, sarpini, patakam and patitam. Then we can come to the 3 talangas. Next time, I will introduce you to 'the detachable foot' and a splash of color.

SrinathK
Posts: 2477
Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: Visualization Aided Techniques to keep the tAlA on the feet for instrumentalists.

Post by SrinathK »

Anyway, Lesson # 7. Add a bit of colour.

Next time you do the exercises, just as you start, think for one moment that there's a flash of green light illuminating your foot, or that some how your foot is in a 'green zone' immediately in front of you. Or remember a green signal on the first beat. You may even think of your foot in clear water with a tinge of light green. Or tapping on a bed of green grass. Anything you want.

I hope you all remember what a spectrum looks like right? I go with red on the left end, green in the middle, violet on the right.

So now think of the left end with a flash of red and keep tapping. You may imagine a Ferrari or a red cushion, anything.

Then, think of the right end with a flash of purple. Tap a pattern to it. A royal velvet purple cushion maybe.

Then come back to middle, back to green again.

Then do this with two additional colours - sky blue (literally think of your foot tapping in the sky and clouds) and brown (think either the garden earth or through the wooden stage).

This lesson could be skipped in favour of the next. But as a visual marker, it's useful for now.

SrinathK
Posts: 2477
Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: Visualization Aided Techniques to keep the tAlA on the feet for instrumentalists.

Post by SrinathK »

So, after a long break, here I go once again. And now introducing the detachable foot. This requires a more advanced imagination, so you should have practiced the above exercises a lot and understood the concept of creating a small amount of tension through visualization and will power. You should have no problems feeling and visualizing any of the 35 talams.

Just imagine your foot is actually a 5 fingered boot with an ankle that can be detached like a dolls foot and placed anywhere you want (do not try it for real!!!!).

The question : What do you do for the more complex movements - krishya (handwave to the left + finger counts), sarpini (handwave right + finger counts), patakam (handwave up + finger counts) and patitam (handwave down + finger counts)?

This is what you do. First, do the usual movement for laghu of 4 counts on your right foot. FI-CN-BO-CO. We will now call this the centre zone. This zone is now only for laghu.

Then in a flash of red light, your right foot has now appeared on your left side (as if someone put it next to you). The foot facing left (ankle to toes), tapping the same 4 laghu count pattern. Or imagine that your right leg somehow instantly stretched all the way to your left side and your foot is tapping the laghu pattern there - this might create a tension on the inside of your thigh muscle. Or your ankle might have instinctively moved a bit further left than usual. Maybe your head moved left a bit. It's fine. It means you felt the difference at least by a millimeter.

The reason for red is to add to the visualization. You may also for simplicity visualize your foot now tapping and illuminated red in an area left of center.

You must synchornize the "teleportation" of your foot with the first beat of the tAlanga that you are counting. In other words, on the first beat of the laghu, your foot is instantly on your left side. Other beats will then happen as normal.

We will now put an additional L symbol in front of our usual notation. Therefore, the 4 laghu movement becomes LFI-LCN-LBO-LCO. This is the krishya.

For the sarpini, imagine your foot suddenly appeared in a flash of violet / purple colour on your right side like someone placed it on your right --- on the first beat.

The toes and the whole foot are pointing right instead and tapping as usual. We will then add an R to our notation and make it RFI-RCN-RBO-RCO. This is the sarpini. For additional visualization imagine a zone illuminated by purple light where you foot is tapping, right of center.

For patakam, in a flash of sky blue, think of your foot standing vertically on your head, facing vertically upward (ankle on the head, toes pointing up to the sky) and tapping (ok, now your tapping is perpendicular). Or imagine the urdha tandava murti, where Shiva has his foot facing up. The first beat will happen in this position, which means the visualization occurred instantly on the first beat.

So imagine there is a vertical plate for your foot to tap against, or imagine your foot tapping on your head. The sky blue conveys a memory of looking upward. So this is the upward zone. We shall now call this movement as UFI-UCN-UBO-UCO.

For patitam, do the exact opposite. In a flash of brown colour (for ground), imagine your foot fell through the floor like some trap door opened up and is now facing vertically downward (toes downward) -- and then the first beat of the laghu happens. It is tapping against a vertical surface. And it's illuminated by brown light. So we will put a D prefix and call this movement as DFI-DCN-DBO-DCO.

Put simple tAlas like tisra ekam, mishra chApu or roopakam in all 4 zones (left, right, up and down) to get the idea.

This was for chatushra jAti laghu. Now you can combine this concept with the other 4 laghus as well.

So what you basically did was, you tapped the same laghu beats as before, but you imagined your foot tapping to 4 different places in 4 different directions. That extra dimension is superimposed over the laghu beats

Using these four movements, you may then simulate a guru, plutam and kAkapadam. Now this is how I do it for chatushra jAti.
1) Guru - RFI-RCN-RBO-RCO-LFI-LCN-LBO-LCO -- Why this order of combination? Because to avoid confusion with laghu, plutam and kAkapadam. Basically 1st 4 beats with foot on right side, then next 4 beats with foot on left side.

2) Plutam - FI-CN-BO-CO-LFI-LCN-LBO-LCO-RFI-RCN-RBO-RCO - first 4 beats normal laghu, next 4 beats with foot on left side, next 4 beats with foot on right side.

3) kAkapadam - LFI-LCN-LBO-LCO-RFI-RCN-RBO-RCO-UFI-UCN-UBO-UCO-DFI-DCN-DBO-DCO - first 4 beats with foot on left side, next 4 beats with foot on right side, next 4 beats with foot on top of head, next 4 beats with foot under the ground.

All this applies to your right foot. If it were your left foot, just like with your left hand, you'd have to mirror the left and right movements. Up and down does not change.

With this, if you can integrate all the lessons, you can render all the tAlAs in Carnatic Music, in all kalais and naDais, and it will only be as difficult is it is on the hands.

There is another simpler visualization as well. Next post.
Last edited by SrinathK on 03 Dec 2018, 23:01, edited 2 times in total.

SrinathK
Posts: 2477
Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: Visualization Aided Techniques to keep the tAlA on the feet for instrumentalists.

Post by SrinathK »

Another way is to imagine 4 glass plates in front of you. The red plate is on your front left, the right plate is purple and on your front right. The sky blue plate is floating in the air at head level. The brown plate is located below the ground level (think if you're sitting on a platform on top of the stage and the plate is on the stage floor, it will be below the platform level).

Now if your foot instantly appears on the first beat on the left, red plate and taps the laghu beats there, that is krishya (L). Similarly, right purple plate is sarpini (R), top blue plate is for patakam (U) and the plate at the bottom is for patitam (D). For normal laghu, you assume your foot instantly attached itself back to your leg as normal. On all plates, your foot is tapping normally up and down. You just essentially tap the laghu on 4 different plates kept in 4 different directions.

This is a simpler visualization. By adding a directional component to the normal l, we can now execute the guru, plutam and kakapadam in chatushra jAti as follows :

1) Guru - RFI-RCN-RBO-RCO-LFI-LCN-LBO-LCO - 4 beats on the right plate, then 4 beats on the left plate
2) Plutam - FI-CN-BO-CO-LFI-LCN-LBO-LCO-RFI-RCN-RBO-RCO - 4 beats normal, then 4 beats on the left plate, and the next 4 on the right plate.
3) kAkapadam - LFI-LCN-LBO-LCO-RFI-RCN-RBO-RCO-UFI-UCN-UBO-UCO-DFI-DCN-DBO-DCO - 4 beats on left plate, next 4 on right, next 4 on top plate, next 4 on bottom plate.

If you use the left foot, the movements are mirrored. So left and right should swap. If you can work hard enough, you can actually do double talas on both feet even with these complicated angas.

I told you it is very difficult to communicate it through writing. But maybe you should try it for a few weeks and then you will suddenly get it.

And there we are. Now you can put any tAlA, even the Simhanandana, with knowledge of these movements.

Any easier ways? Well there is one. See, a video is worth a million words, so I will try to see if I can share a video of just what I am trying to suggest. In that video, I will show the visualization movements with my HANDS (because see, the foot can't do any of these movements, it can just tap up and down) which once you see them again and again and get it memorized will allow you to visualize those movements and count on your feet. This is very easy to show. The whole concept will be quite easily clear after that.

Pro Tip : If any of you have doubts about visualization, try using your hands to imitate the movements from post #122 onwards and tap your feet in sync with your hands. The hands can do all these movements and you can also move your arms to the left, right, over your head head and below your legs easily. Turn your hand sideways (thumbs up position) instead of palms down so that it will be oriented just like your foot will be while sitting down on the floor and try it. Your hands will show you what to visualize. You may even memorize the movements on your hands an then use those visualizations to guide the feet and they will work just as well.

As Albert Einstein once put it, Imagination is more powerful than knowledge. :mrgreen:

SrinathK
Posts: 2477
Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: Visualization Aided Techniques to keep the tAlA on the feet for instrumentalists.

Post by SrinathK »

The glass plate idea was also useful for handling back to back angas - like Dhruva tala - L+D+L+L. I could just visualize two glass plates in a zone and tap on one, then the other to demarcate the two laghus apart (a trick I do with my hands is to ever so slightly tap at a slightly different place for the 2nd laghu, works like a charm).

I had an idea to use the same technique for handling 2x or 4x kaLais. Make sure your tapping sequence is fixed.

So looking back, what did I do?

1) A visualization + feel sequence for each talAnga
2) naDai subbeats.

This alone is enough for all the 175 tAlas and the chApu tAlas and others in all eDuppus and even 2x and 4x kaLais on it's own

3) More complex visualizations. Concept of using 5 zones in 5 directions and colors for the 108 talas and their special angas - guru, plutam, kakapadam a.k.a. The glowing coloured glass plate technique.

4) Using multiple glass plates in a zone for back to back tALangas or multiple kaLai (2x or 4x). Just because it makes it easier. Not really necessary though. You never see anything more complex than 2 laghus or dhrutams back to back. And the hands don't have it easier.

SrinathK
Posts: 2477
Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: Visualization Aided Techniques to keep the tAlA on the feet for instrumentalists.

Post by SrinathK »

Some cheats:

Use the main artiste and take help from the percussion. If there's more than one percussion artiste on the team, one of them will almost always be kind enough to help you with the tAlA. Don't use the audience though. Most of them put it totally wrong for the simple stuff, and all of them put it beyond wrong for more complex stuff. :lol: :twisted:

99.5 % of the time, no one will test you with anything more than 1 tALa on 1 hand (Gayathri K will though :mrgreen:). You still don't need to use both your feet because she's putting the tALa for you. Nobody is so mean that they'll hide the tALa and expect you to read their mind. And if you are solo, I should just tell you that I have never seen any instrumentalist ever attempt a dwi tala pallavi on their feet, so you may actually be the first.

So you can in fact use your other foot for back to back tAlAngas. Or mark the first beat of the tala cycle, or the first beat of a laghu or dhrutam by tapping with both feet.

You may in fact physically flex your big toe on the first beat of a tAlA or on the first beat of a tAlAnga. Earlier I considered doing all the time in imitation of the fingers, but after a few rounds of continuous flexing resulted in some rather painful muscle pulls, I realized this wasn't going to work. For me to do this routinely I should have kept flexing my toes from infancy. Still it may be used for the occasional marker. It will also coincide with the visualizations.

You may tap the laghu portion of Adi tala on one foot, and the dhrutam portion with the another.

You may, as a shortcut for guru, tap a laghu on one foot (I prefer to start with the foot you don't normally use) and the 2nd laghu on the other (the regular) foot. This will distinguish it. And you will not need to use the more complex visualization. For talas using only guru as the complicated anga, this will work.

You can also use your other foot to help you mark the first beat of a complex naDai. So one foot puts the naDai sub-beats beat, another simply counts the main beats.

If you're tested with 4 kaLai or more (I have not actually seen even a single 4 kaLai pallavi or more in recent years anywhere), each beat will need 4 or more taps. You could split those 4 or 8 50:50 on either foot.

You will get many opportunities all the time where your hands will be free and only the percussion or your other soloist / accompanist, will be playing. This includes all interludes and manodharma reply parts. Use them. You can put the tAla on your hands whenever you don't need to play.

Have someone capable on stage or in the front row keeping the tALa. Ok, now I am really cheating :lol: , but hey I've seen it. It could even be the tambura artiste. And what do you think many nagaswara musicians do? They have a guy on the cymbals paid for the job.

Do an instrumental duet. This is the mother of cheats, and it can make this thread irrelevant. :twisted: When one of you needs to improvise, the other can guide you along. It will also help that the back and forth replies and challenges will add far more spice to a concert than an individual solo. :mrgreen:

:ugeek:
Last edited by SrinathK on 02 Jan 2019, 15:01, edited 6 times in total.

SrinathK
Posts: 2477
Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: Visualization Aided Techniques to keep the tAlA on the feet for instrumentalists.

Post by SrinathK »

Request mods to remove the quote shading, and make this into normal posts. In retrospect, it was not a good idea.


Post Reply