Tala: keeping time with Adi tala and janta varisai

Carnatic music keeps time with a tala: a cycle of beats marked by hand claps and finger counts. The most common is Adi tala, with eight counts. You will learn its hand pattern and apply it to janta varisai, an exercise where each swara is played twice, in Mayamalavagowla.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• Keep Adi tala with your hand while counting eight beats.
• Sing sarali varisai 1 with one line per cycle.
• Play janta varisai 1 on the guitar with steady paired notes.

Carnatic music is built on tala: a repeating cycle of beats, marked with hand gestures. Adi tala is the most common, with eight counts per cycle. The hand pattern is:

• Count 1: clap
• Counts 2, 3, 4: touch the little, ring and middle fingers against the palm
• Count 5: clap
• Count 6: wave (turn the palm over)
• Count 7: clap
• Count 8: wave

Then the cycle repeats. Each line of sarali varisai 1 (S R G M P D N S') is eight swaras, so it fits exactly into one cycle: one swara per count.

Janta varisai is the exercise in which each swara is played twice: S S R R G G M M, P P D D N N S' S'. The paired notes build steadiness: both must be equal and clear. In Mayamalavagowla with Sa = A on the 5th string, the frets are 0, 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12.

A written description of hand gestures is a poor substitute for being shown. If you can, learn the tala from a teacher or a good video. The idea to keep: the hand never stops, and it tells you where you are in the cycle.

Adi tala, eight counts per cycle:

 1      2   3   4      5      6     7      8
clap   little ring mid  clap  wave  clap   wave

e|--------------------------|
B|--------------------------|
G|--------------------------|
D|--------------------------|
A|---0--1--4--5--7--8-11-12-|
E|--------------------------|
     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8

e|-------------------------|-------------------------|
B|-------------------------|-------------------------|
G|-------------------------|-------------------------|
D|-------------------------|-------------------------|
A|---0--0--1--1--4--4--5--5|--7--7--8--8-11-11-12-12-|
E|-------------------------|-------------------------|
     S  S  R  R  G  G  M  M   P  P  D  D  N  N  S  S

Hand first, then voice, then guitar.

1. Keep Adi tala with your hand alone for two minutes, counting 1 to 8 aloud at about 40 clicks per minute.
2. Keep the tala and sing S R G M P D N S' across one cycle. If the last note arrives with the final wave, you are in time.
3. Set a metronome to the same count and play the same line on the guitar. Count the tala aloud as you play.
4. Play the janta version: every swara twice, so each line takes two cycles at one note per count. The pairs should be even.

If you lose your place, stop the guitar and keep the hand going. Find count 1 again and rejoin.

Do these in order. Each one is small. Tick the ones you have practised.

• 1.Keep Adi tala

  4 min · 40 → 60 BPM

  1. Count 1 to 8. On 1 clap; on 2, 3 and 4 count with the little, ring and middle fingers against your palm.
  2. On 5 clap, on 6 wave (turn the palm over); on 7 clap, on 8 wave.
  3. Repeat for two minutes at 40 BPM, one count per click.

  You have it when

  • Your hand pattern is steady for two minutes, and you can say which count you are on.
  I practised this one

• 2.Sarali varisai with the tala

  4 min · 40 → 60 BPM

  1. Keep the tala with your hand and sing S R G M P D N S' over one cycle of eight counts.
  2. Sing the descent S' N D P M G R S over the next cycle.
  3. Then play the same on the guitar while a metronome clicks every count, and count the tala aloud.

  You have it when

  • Each line of sarali varisai fits exactly into one cycle of eight counts.
  I practised this one

• 3.Janta varisai 1

  4 min · 40 → 60 BPM

  1. Play each swara twice in Mayamalavagowla (Sa = A): S S R R G G M M, then P P D D N N S' S'.
  2. Count the tala aloud: each line of eight swaras takes one cycle if you play each note for half a count; start with one note per click and count 16 clicks per line.
  3. Play the descent in the same way.

  You have it when

  • The pairs of notes are even and the count is steady.
  I practised this one

Start at 40 to 50 BPM, with one count per click. Tala is learned slowly: the aim is that the hand never stops while the voice and instrument go on.

• Speeding up on the second note of each pair. Both notes of a pair are equal in length. Count each aloud.
• Losing the tala when concentrating on the notes. Practise the tala and the singing first, then add the instrument. The hand should never stop.
• Skipping the hand pattern and only using a metronome. A metronome gives the counts. The hand pattern gives the structure of the cycle: where its main beats fall.

A tala is the frame in which every Carnatic composition and exercise sits. Keeping it by hand is what lets you know where you are in the cycle. A teacher can show you the hand gestures in person, which is better than a written description.

Short version (10 minutes)

Keep Adi tala for two minutes, then sing sarali varisai 1 against it.

Standard version (about 30 minutes)

Do all three exercises, then listen to a Carnatic recording and try to find the start of each cycle.

• Adi tala has eight counts: clap, three finger counts, clap, wave, clap, wave.
• Sarali varisai 1 fits one line per cycle.
• Janta varisai plays each swara twice.
• The hand never stops.

You are ready to move on when you can honestly say:

• I can keep Adi tala steadily.
• I can fit sarali varisai 1 into the tala.
• I can play janta varisai 1 with even paired notes.