Beat Subdivision in South Indian (Karnatic) Music: - Exploring The Concept of

Nadai - Exploring the Concept of
Beat Subdivision in South Indian

(Karnatic) Music
Wednesday, 23 October, 13
South Indian Classical (Karnatic) Music:
Overview
Bifurcation of Indian music into North (Hindustani) and South (Karnatic) -

c.13th Century (Mughal invasion)
Melodic framework - RAGA (“that which colors your mind”)

Rhythmic framework - TALA South India
Karnatic composers
- Puranadaradasa (15th C.)
- “Karnatic Trinity” Thyagaraja, Muthuswamy Dikshitar,
Syama Sastri (18th C.) - contribution to kriti song form;
composer “saints”
Laya - concept of temporal flow, temporal

space; “sense of laya” is of great importance
Tala : The Rhythmic Framework
Sarngadeva (author of Sangitaratnakara, 13th-Century music treatise): tala

as the root of every form of Indian music (vocal, instrumental, dance)
Tala is “an organized metric cycle composed of traditionally determined

rhythmic units and is performed through a series of conventional hand
gestures such as claps, finger counts, and waves” (Sankaran 1994: 9)
The underlying framework over which solos are played
Functions as both time-keeper (marking the pulse) and time-marker

(outlining ‘important beats’)
Serves as a rhythmic counterpoint to performed rhythmic patterns
Tala Dasa Pranas: 10 Elements of Tala theory
KALA - the division of time into units; a conceptual unit of time
MARGA - measure of the density of musical events; rhythmic construction or poetic setting of a
melody
KRIYA - method of indicating beats of a tala - sounded (sasshabda, e.g. hand clap) or unsounded
(nisshabda, e.g. hand wave)
ANGA - traditionally prescribed divisions or parts of a tala

akshara (1 beat), drutam (O - 2 aksharas; clap + wave)
anudrutam (U - 1 akshara; clap)
laghu (I - variable aksharas; clap + finger counts);
e.g. Adi Tala = Chatusra Triputa Tala (I4 O O) = 8 beats
JATI - “classification”; basic lengths of rhythmic units;

Chatusra (4) - “ta ka di mi”
Tisra (3) - “ta ki ta”
Khanda (5) - “ta ka ta ki ta”; “ta din gi na tom”; etc.
Misra (7) - “ta ki ta ta ka di mi”; “ta . din . gi na tom”
Sankirna (9) - “ta ka di mi ta ka ta ki ta”; “ta - din - gi - na - tom”; etc.
Tala Dasa Pranas: 10 Elements of Tala theory
GRAHA : position of the beginning of a composition - sam, sama, atita (before 1st beat of tala), anagata
(after 1st beat of tala)
KALAI : method of stretching a tala cycle exponentially, e.g., 2x, 4x, 8x; related to slower tempi
LAYA : the concept of time; tempo; the inwardly flow of rhythm; term under which nadai
is found
Varieties of Yati
YATI : geometric shapes that give form to various
arrangement of rhythmic patterns; can be applied
to text, melody, rhythmic patterns, etc
PRASTARA : “spread out” or elaboration; method gopuccha srotogata mrdanga

for dealing with logical and mathematical process
of permutations and combinations of rhythmic vishama
factors. e.g., 9 = 4+5, 3+6, 2+2+2+3, etc (random
configuration)
sama
damaru
Nadai − Beat subdivision
- Nadai (Tamil) / Gati (Sanskrit) = the rate of movement within each akshara of a tala; the number of
inner divisions of each akshara
From Trichy Sankaran’s “The Rhythmic Principles and Practice of South Indian Drumming” (Lalith
Publishers, 1994)
Nadai in Western Notation
- Nadai bedam = “The concept of changing
the inner pulse divisions governing the tala
aksharas in a cycle without changing the
tempo of the tala”
- “Perfect sense of laya, mathematical preci-

sion, and articulation are fully in demand for
a command over intricate nadai changes”
- “Maintaining a steady tempo for the tala

throughout a musical composition is one of
the stipulated principles of South Indian
performance practice.”
Features of Nadai
- practical performance aspect
- transposition tool - a exercise/solo can be “transposed”

into different nadais, revealing and creating different
rhythmic relationships between solo pattern and tala
- steady tempo (through keeping tala) must be maintained

during nadai change (audio samples)
- training tool for developing sense of laya
Application of nadai: Korvai exercises
“strung together”; complex cadential form consisting of various phrase structures
arranged in sequential order following the model of a yati (geometric shape)
Values of korvai exercises:

- traditionally prescribed cadential structures prevalent in Karnatic music
- training in rhythmic calculations of patterns in relation to tala (where the korvai begins within a tala)
- cultivate sense of laya through awareness of precise rhythmic spacing between patterns and within
patterns; recognize points of reduction (where the phrase is reduced)
“9-7-5-3” Korvai
in chatusra (4) and tisra (3) nadai
“tom-ta-tom” korvai:
chatusra(4), tisra(3), khanda(5) nadai
Audio Samples of Nadai Bedam
from Trichy Sankaran, Laya Vinyas. 1990, Music of the World, Chapel Hill,
North Carolina
Track 1 “Mrdangam Solo in Adi Tala” (finger cymbals mark 8-beat adi tala)
Example 1. 04:48 - 05:30 - Chatusra (4) to Khanda (5)
Takadimi takajonu takadimi takajonu

takadimi takajonu takadimi takajonu
takadimi takajonu takatakita takatakita
Takadimi takajonu takatakita takatakita
Takatakita takatakita takatakita takatakita
takatakita takatakita takatakita takatakita
North Carolina
Example 1. 04:48 - 05:30 - Chatusra (4) to Khanda (5)

takadimi takajonu takadimi takajonu
Takadimi takajonu takatakita takatakita
Takatakita takatakita takatakita takatakita
takatakita takatakita takatakita takatakita
North Carolina
Example 2. 05:57 - 06:39 - 2 cycles of Chatusra (4) to Tisra (3)
North Carolina
Example 2. 05:57 - 06:39 - 2 cycles of Chatusra (4) to Tisra (3)
North Carolina
Example 3. 08:25 - 10:00 - Tisra (3) to Chatusra (4) to Misra (7) to Chatusra (4)
tisra nadai - 2 cycles

chatusra nadai - 3 cycles
misra nadai - 12 cycles
chatusra nadai
North Carolina
Example 3. 08:25 - 10:00 - Tisra (3) to Chatusra (4) to Misra (7) to Chatusra (4)
tisra nadai - 2 cycles

chatusra nadai - 3 cycles
misra nadai - 12 cycles
chatusra nadai
Conclusion
Key to nadai changes - mastering sense of laya
Beat subdivision in Karnatic music is less about poly-rhythm

or complex rhythmic layers; display of horizontal
contraction and expansion of the flow of rhythm
In performance, role of the tala keeper is crucial in keeping

steady tempo
Publications on Karnatic Rhythmic Principles
by Trichy Sankaran

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Nadai - Exploring the Concept of

Beat Subdivision in South Indian

Bifurcation of Indian music into North (Hindustani) and South (Karnatic) -

Melodic framework - RAGA (“that which colors your mind”)

Laya - concept of temporal flow, temporal

Sarngadeva (author of Sangitaratnakara, 13th-Century music treatise): tala

Tala is “an organized metric cycle composed of traditionally determined

The underlying framework over which solos are played

Functions as both time-keeper (marking the pulse) and time-marker

Serves as a rhythmic counterpoint to performed rhythmic patterns

KALA - the division of time into units; a conceptual unit of time

ANGA - traditionally prescribed divisions or parts of a tala

JATI - “classification”; basic lengths of rhythmic units;

PRASTARA : “spread out” or elaboration; method gopuccha srotogata mrdanga

- “Perfect sense of laya, mathematical preci-

- “Maintaining a steady tempo for the tala

- practical performance aspect

- transposition tool - a exercise/solo can be “transposed”

- steady tempo (through keeping tala) must be maintained

- training tool for developing sense of laya

Values of korvai exercises:

Example 1. 04:48 - 05:30 - Chatusra (4) to Khanda (5)

Takadimi takajonu takadimi takajonu

Example 1. 04:48 - 05:30 - Chatusra (4) to Khanda (5)

Takadimi takajonu takadimi takajonu

Example 2. 05:57 - 06:39 - 2 cycles of Chatusra (4) to Tisra (3)

Example 2. 05:57 - 06:39 - 2 cycles of Chatusra (4) to Tisra (3)

tisra nadai - 2 cycles

tisra nadai - 2 cycles

Beat subdivision in Karnatic music is less about poly-rhythm

In performance, role of the tala keeper is crucial in keeping

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