What matters the most to you hits you again and again and you would love to take it because you know there is no escape.
So, we were listening to the song 'Bangaru Konda' from a movie Simha in Telugu and started discussing which beat it is in.
Is it 6?
If you count in this pattern...
Pattern I : dha - dhin - na | ta - dhin - na ||
(The way we do this is, wherever there is this sound - dha, dhin, tirkit, ta, tin, etc - we count 1. So, there are 6 as we see. I hope you noticed the hyphens there. Let them be there, we will get back. )
Is it 8?
Pattern II : dha - dhin - - | tha - dhin - - | dha - dhin - - | ta - dhin - - ||
It's very interesting here. How should we decide the cycle. When should we end the count and put '||' ?
Every composition has a set of notes, which follow rhythm. Rhythm or Taalam is a constantly repeating cycle of sounds throughout the composition. The composer sets the notes as per this pattern to create the effect. There are different ways in which we can identify this pattern. That's the beauty of music.
We can catch this pattern from stresses the rhythm instrumentalist (drummer or tabla player). This is my favorite way because we can easily see what the drummer is showing, for example a tabla/mridangam/ghatam/kanjeera player looks at others - typically the vocalist or violonist or a sitar player - and shares an assuring smile. It's very evident in case of tabla/mridangam players as they have a signature nod for 'sam' or 'samam'. Some of them animate this a lot. They look at audience and nod as if they are telling us 'Wah! Kya kamaal hai! Main kabhi socha nahi ki yeh sam pe ho jayegi...' (What a surprise! I never thought we will make it to the 'sam' on time ;)). Big flirts, I tell you!
We can also listen to lyrics and see where each phrase is logically breaking like we read a poem. If we take this song, we can break like this,
Ban | garu | kon | da ||
Maru | malle | dan | da ||
Or we can also recognize the underlying notes and their average spacing ( Warning: This is very tricky as the notes are repeated or elongated in many cases. Not that the other 2 methods are easy. This is my weak area. Am working on it ).
Coming back to our song at hand,
It is not 6 because, in pattern I, there is one beat between dha and dhin, dhin and na but is it missing between na and ta. Notice the poor hyphens we left on the middle of the road? Those hyphens also consume a beat (or a matra as we affectionately call in Hindustani) each. So, if it had been 6 - dadra - it should actually have been
dha dhin na | ta dhin na ||
(no spaces)
OR
dha - dhin - na - | ta - dhin - na - ||
(all beats have spaces)
Similarly, we can break down pattern II. One more mismatch in 8 beat is that the cycle repeats after 2 lines of the song. We may also be tricked into thinking it's double the tempo.
I am convinced that this rythm is 10 beat. That is
Pattern III : | dhi na | dhi dhi na | ti na | dhi dhi na ||
On a similar beat, let me also refer to some other examples
So, we were listening to the song 'Bangaru Konda' from a movie Simha in Telugu and started discussing which beat it is in.
Is it 6?
If you count in this pattern...
Pattern I : dha - dhin - na | ta - dhin - na ||
(The way we do this is, wherever there is this sound - dha, dhin, tirkit, ta, tin, etc - we count 1. So, there are 6 as we see. I hope you noticed the hyphens there. Let them be there, we will get back. )
Is it 8?
Pattern II : dha - dhin - - | tha - dhin - - | dha - dhin - - | ta - dhin - - ||
It's very interesting here. How should we decide the cycle. When should we end the count and put '||' ?
Every composition has a set of notes, which follow rhythm. Rhythm or Taalam is a constantly repeating cycle of sounds throughout the composition. The composer sets the notes as per this pattern to create the effect. There are different ways in which we can identify this pattern. That's the beauty of music.
We can catch this pattern from stresses the rhythm instrumentalist (drummer or tabla player). This is my favorite way because we can easily see what the drummer is showing, for example a tabla/mridangam/ghatam/kanjeera player looks at others - typically the vocalist or violonist or a sitar player - and shares an assuring smile. It's very evident in case of tabla/mridangam players as they have a signature nod for 'sam' or 'samam'. Some of them animate this a lot. They look at audience and nod as if they are telling us 'Wah! Kya kamaal hai! Main kabhi socha nahi ki yeh sam pe ho jayegi...' (What a surprise! I never thought we will make it to the 'sam' on time ;)). Big flirts, I tell you!
We can also listen to lyrics and see where each phrase is logically breaking like we read a poem. If we take this song, we can break like this,
Ban | garu | kon | da ||
Maru | malle | dan | da ||
Or we can also recognize the underlying notes and their average spacing ( Warning: This is very tricky as the notes are repeated or elongated in many cases. Not that the other 2 methods are easy. This is my weak area. Am working on it ).
Coming back to our song at hand,
It is not 6 because, in pattern I, there is one beat between dha and dhin, dhin and na but is it missing between na and ta. Notice the poor hyphens we left on the middle of the road? Those hyphens also consume a beat (or a matra as we affectionately call in Hindustani) each. So, if it had been 6 - dadra - it should actually have been
dha dhin na | ta dhin na ||
(no spaces)
OR
dha - dhin - na - | ta - dhin - na - ||
(all beats have spaces)
Similarly, we can break down pattern II. One more mismatch in 8 beat is that the cycle repeats after 2 lines of the song. We may also be tricked into thinking it's double the tempo.
I am convinced that this rythm is 10 beat. That is
Pattern III : | dhi na | dhi dhi na | ti na | dhi dhi na ||
On a similar beat, let me also refer to some other examples
- Kalaganti kalaganti - Telugu - Annamayya (Movie)
- Tagara srirama namamrutham - Telugu - Sri Ramadasu (Movie)
- Aansu Bhari Hai - Hindi - Parvarish (Movie)
Listening to MJ's "Beat it!" It's 8 beat, btw.
In the drum kit, high hat cymbal - the two plate stand with a pedal - is a best indicator of tempo. I increase the treble and keenly listen to this to find out what's going on there.
In the drum kit, high hat cymbal - the two plate stand with a pedal - is a best indicator of tempo. I increase the treble and keenly listen to this to find out what's going on there.
