Playing taals and speaking bols | Music | Quizalize & Oak National Academy

Starter quiz

What is rhythm?

the steady, regular heartbeat of the music

the pattern of sounds of different lengths ✓

how fast or slow the music is

how many layers of sound there are playing at one time
Match these words to their meaning.

pulse

⇔

the regular, steady heartbeat of the music ✓

duration

⇔

the length of a sound or silence ✓

melody

⇔

a combination of notes to make a memorable tune ✓

harmony

⇔

when two or more notes of different pitches are played together ✓
In musical terms, which of the following do you think best describes a 'drone'?

a piece of music in the minor key

a type of musical instrument

a constant sound that runs throughout most or all of a piece of music ✓

a sound that only features in orchestral music
What word do we use when we speak in time together to a steady pulse?

'chant' ✓

Exit quiz

Which three of these instruments are you likely to see in a Hindustani classical music concert?

tanpura ✓

sitar ✓

trumpet

tabla ✓

guitar
The three main components of Hindustani classical music are the raag, the drone, and the...

'taal' ✓
What is a bol used for?

A bol is the drum on which the taal is played.

A bol is a vocal sound that represents a sound on the tabla drums. ✓

A bol is a rhythm cycle that can have any number of beats.

A bol is an instrument that plays the drone.
Teentaal is a 16 beat rhythm cycle. Put these bols in the correct order to show the taal Teentaal.

1

⇔

dha dhin dhin dha

2

⇔

dha dhin dhin dha

3

⇔

dha tin tin ta

4

⇔

ta dhin dhin da

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

The three key components of Hindustani classical music are taal, raag, and drone.
The main instruments used are the tabla, the sitar, and the tanpura.
We can speak the rhythm cycles of the taals by using the bols, which sound like the drum sounds.
We can clap and wave the rhythm cycles which can help keep us in time.

Common misconception

Music has four beats in a bar and we always finish at the last beat in the bar.

Rhythm cycles in Hindustani classical music can have anything from 3 beats to 128 beats. The rhythm is cyclical and ends on the first beat of the rhythm cycle.

Keywords

Taal - a rhythm cycle that measures musical time in Indian music
Bol - a spoken syllable used to recite the rhythm (from ‘bolna’, the Hindi word for ‘speak’)
Tabla - a set of two drums on which the taal is played with the hands