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Taal · 14 matras

झूमराJhoomra

Fourteen matras, three and four, three and four, and a theka that sways: a taal for the slowest, grandest khayals.

  • 14 matras
  • 4 vibhags: 3 + 4 + 3 + 4
  • X 2 0 3
  • Bada khayal
X203Dhin–DhaTiRaKiTaDhinDhinDhaGeTiRaKiTaTin–TaTiRaKiTaDhinDhinDhaGeTiRaKiTa14matrasPractise with it on Meend’s tabla →
40 madhya
About these soundsMeend makes the harmonium and santoor sounds itself. They aren’t recordings of real instruments, so they sound close, but not quite the same. They are here to let you hear how the swaras go.The tanpura and tabla are recordings of real ones.

Jhoomra has fourteen matras in four vibhags: three, four, three and four. Like Ektaal and Tilwada, it is a taal of the bada khayal, played very slowly, so that a singer, or a bansuri playing in the khayal manner, has room to unfold a raag at leisure. Its name is often heard as jhoomna, to sway, and its theka does.

The theka

  1. X
    1. 1Dhin
    2. 2–Dha
    3. 3TiRaKiTa
  2. 2
    1. 4Dhin
    2. 5Dhin
    3. 6DhaGe
    4. 7TiRaKiTa
  3. 0
    1. 8Tin
    2. 9–Ta
    3. 10TiRaKiTa
  4. 3
    1. 11Dhin
    2. 12Dhin
    3. 13DhaGe
    4. 14TiRaKiTa

Listen to the 2nd matra, –Dha: a pause, then the stroke, late. The same comes on the 9th, –Ta. These delayed strokes give Jhoomra its swaying, unhurried gait. The khali vibhag, from the 8th matra, trades Dhin for Tin: Tin –Ta TiRaKiTa, the bayan's bass left out, until Dhin Dhin returns on the 11th.

Counting with the hands

Clap, clap, wave, clap, X 2 0 3, over vibhags of three, four, three and four: sam on the 1st matra, talis on the 4th and 11th, khali on the 8th.

  1. XClap: sammatras 1–3
  2. 2Clapmatras 4–7
  3. 0Wavematras 8–10
  4. 3Clapmatras 11–14

At the slow tempos Jhoomra is played at, counting each matra on the fingers is what keeps you in the cycle.

The bols

BolHow it is playedOn
TinThe dayan between the rim and the black syahi, ringingDayan
GeThe bayan, open: the bass, its pitch bent by the heel of the handBayan
DhinTin and Ge at onceBoth
NaThe dayan’s rim, struck with the tip of the index finger, lifted at once so it ringsDayan
DhaNa and Ge at onceBoth
TiRaKiTaFour quick strokes, all closed: Ti and Ra on the dayan’s syahi, Ki on the bayan, Ta on the dayanBoth
TaAs Na, on the dayan’s rim; inside TiRaKiTa, closedDayan

How fast it is played

Jhoomra is a vilambit taal: often below 30 matras a minute, the tabla filling each long matra with strokes the theka doesn't show. It is rarely played fast.

Layakari: dugun, tigun, chaugun

At such slow tempos, layakari is how a slow khayal moves: the singer's phrases run in dugun or chaugun against the steady matras.

Dugun: two to each matra
  1. X
    1. 1Dhin–Dha
    2. 2TiRaKiTaDhin
    3. 3DhinDhaGe
  2. 2
    1. 4TiRaKiTaTin
    2. 5–TaTiRaKiTa
    3. 6DhinDhin
    4. 7DhaGeTiRaKiTa
  3. 0
    1. 8Dhin–Dha
    2. 9TiRaKiTaDhin
    3. 10DhinDhaGe
  4. 3
    1. 11TiRaKiTaTin
    2. 12–TaTiRaKiTa
    3. 13DhinDhin
    4. 14DhaGeTiRaKiTa
Tigun: three to each matra
  1. X
    1. 1Dhin–DhaTiRaKiTa
    2. 2DhinDhinDhaGe
    3. 3TiRaKiTaTin–Ta
  2. 2
    1. 4TiRaKiTaDhinDhin
    2. 5DhaGeTiRaKiTaDhin
    3. 6–DhaTiRaKiTaDhin
    4. 7DhinDhaGeTiRaKiTa
  3. 0
    1. 8Tin–TaTiRaKiTa
    2. 9DhinDhinDhaGe
    3. 10TiRaKiTaDhin–Dha
  4. 3
    1. 11TiRaKiTaDhinDhin
    2. 12DhaGeTiRaKiTaTin
    3. 13–TaTiRaKiTaDhin
    4. 14DhinDhaGeTiRaKiTa
Chaugun: four to each matra
  1. X
    1. 1Dhin–DhaTiRaKiTaDhin
    2. 2DhinDhaGeTiRaKiTaTin
    3. 3–TaTiRaKiTaDhinDhin
  2. 2
    1. 4DhaGeTiRaKiTaDhin–Dha
    2. 5TiRaKiTaDhinDhinDhaGe
    3. 6TiRaKiTaTin–TaTiRaKiTa
    4. 7DhinDhinDhaGeTiRaKiTa
  3. 0
    1. 8Dhin–DhaTiRaKiTaDhin
    2. 9DhinDhaGeTiRaKiTaTin
    3. 10–TaTiRaKiTaDhinDhin
  4. 3
    1. 11DhaGeTiRaKiTaDhin–Dha
    2. 12TiRaKiTaDhinDhinDhaGe
    3. 13TiRaKiTaTin–TaTiRaKiTa
    4. 14DhinDhinDhaGeTiRaKiTa

A tihai

TiRaKiTa Dha, a matra's rest, three times: eight matras. To land on sam it begins on the 8th matra, with the khali.

1st avartan

  1. X
    1. 1Dhin
    2. 2–Dha
    3. 3TiRaKiTa
  2. 2
    1. 4Dhin
    2. 5Dhin
    3. 6DhaGe
    4. 7TiRaKiTa
  3. 0
    1. 8Tin
    2. 9–Ta
    3. 10TiRaKiTa
  4. 3
    1. 11Dhin
    2. 12Dhin
    3. 13DhaGe
    4. 14TiRaKiTa

2nd avartan

  1. X
    1. 1Dhin
    2. 2–Dha
    3. 3TiRaKiTa
  2. 2
    1. 4Dhin
    2. 5Dhin
    3. 6DhaGe
    4. 7TiRaKiTa
  3. 0
    1. 8TiRaKiTa
    2. 9Dha
    3. 10–
  4. 3
    1. 11TiRaKiTa
    2. 12Dha
    3. 13–
    4. 14TiRaKiTa

3rd avartan

  1. X
    1. 1Dha
    2. 2–Dha
    3. 3TiRaKiTa
  2. 2
    1. 4Dhin
    2. 5Dhin
    3. 6DhaGe
    4. 7TiRaKiTa
  3. 0
    1. 8Tin
    2. 9–Ta
    3. 10TiRaKiTa
  4. 3
    1. 11Dhin
    2. 12Dhin
    3. 13DhaGe
    4. 14TiRaKiTa

For the flute

Start the tabla, then play these with it, slowly: they begin with its next sam.

Long notes: Sa through the first two vibhags, Pa through the last two
S––––––P––––––
One swara to a matra, up and down
SRGMPDNSNDPMGR

At Jhoomra's pace a held swara is a long breath: keep it steady to the very end of its matras.

Questions

How many matras does Jhoomra have?

Fourteen, in vibhags of three, four, three and four. Its signs are X 2 0 3.

How is Jhoomra different from Deepchandi?

They share their count: fourteen matras, three and four, three and four, X 2 0 3. Jhoomra is slow and grand, for the bada khayal; Deepchandi is lighter, for thumri and folk.

How is Jhoomra different from Dhamar?

Dhamar also has fourteen matras, but in five, two, three and four, and belongs to the pakhawaj and to dhrupad.