how to show half beat in tala

[brs]

the mahalakshmi tala i heard is 9 1/2 beats. how do u show the half beat?

[Aishu]

brs, I asked my father this question. He gave me a simple answer and it made sense. He said each beat is subdivided into 4 pulses. So a half beat is 2 pulse. We count the 8 beats regularly and count six pulses in the 9th beat.

As far as putting talam, you will have the 9th beat and 2 beats in succession. The 2nd beat in the 2 beat succession is the start of the second cycle.

Thakadhimi, Thakadhimi Thakadhimi, Thakadhimi,
Thakadhimi, Thakadhimi Thakadhimi, Thakadhimi, Thakadhimi Thaka (back to the head to repeat).

Hope this helps. If Erode Nagaraj mama or Balaji mama (our resident mridanga vidwans could clarify) it would help.

Aishu

[Nick H]

I think this is not one of the theoretically described talas, as per 35, 108 or chappu tala systems, but is something made up by one or musicians for the sake of their own music, or doing something different. I've seen Vikku Vinayakram play a thani in 9 1/2 beats.

As it is made up, the answer would be that the talam could be put, or shown, in any way that the musician chooses. In the instance I saw, I think it was as Aishu says, like 8 beats + 1 1/12

To give Aishu's example in single speed;

||Tha Ka Dhi Mi Tha Ka Ju No Takita

takita comes in second speed, so taking 1 1/2 beats.

||clap 1 2 3 clap wave clap wave clap-clap-wave

[appu]

L Subramaniam performed a beautiful pallavi in ragam Hemavati in a 7 and 3/4 beats. I do not know if it is available comercially.

[brs]

it does make sense, thank you..

[Nick H]

Appu, it sounds familiar, I think I have that on CD, so yes.

[msakella]

Unless we need for any particular purpose, in general, there are no fractional figures like 5 ½ or 5 ¼ or 5 ¾ etc., etc. in the series of figures. In the same manner, even in Talas of our music, there should not be any Tala with any fractional beat as per the 10th element of Talaprastara. But, most unfortunately, while there are only two treatises on Talas, Sangeeta Samayasaara of Parshvadeva of 12th century and Gayakalochana of Tacchoor Singaracharya Bros.,. of 20th century, in which authentic and specific serial numbers of the Talas are furnished basing upon this Talaprastara, even right from Sangeeta Ratnakara of 13th century all the authors of all the treatises have furnished huge lists of Talas of their own fancy very conveniently skipping out the specific serial numbers of them. Sharngadeva, the author of Sangita Ratnakara the Great, having no knowledge of Talaprastara but having conveniently copied this topic from some other treatise and furnished in his treatise with highly controversial versions, is the first person to have conveniently created his own set of 120 Talas including two Talas in his own title ‘Nisshanka-tala’ and in his own name ‘Sharngadeva-tala’ as it is dead easy to furnish a Tala of anybody’s own fancy without furnishing its specific serial number. Later, others also followed the suit conveniently. I have already proved all these lapses in my book ‘Talaprastara of Nisshanka Sharngaceva’s Sangita Ratnakara with a critical interpretation’.

Now, after 900 years, the 10th element Talaprastara has fully been brought out into light and, now, there are people who have reasonably learnt it to prove the authenticity of any serial number of any Tala. So, now, anybody is welcome to furnish the specific and authentic serial number of any Tala and discuss the relevant aspects of it to remove any ambiguity of it. amsharma