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Taal · 7 matras

रूपकRupak

Seven matras, three and two and two, and a cycle that begins not with a clap but with a wave.

  • 7 matras
  • 3 vibhags: 3 + 2 + 2
  • 0 2 3
  • Gats, light classical, bhajans
023TinTinNaDhiNaDhiNa7matrasPractise with it on Meend’s tabla →
90 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.

Rupak has seven matras in three vibhags: three, two and two. What sets it apart from every other common taal is its first vibhag: its sam falls on khali. The cycle begins not with a clap but with a wave, quietly, and the weight comes after. Bansuri and sitar players love it for gats in madhya laya, and it is heard in light classical music, bhajans and film songs.

The theka

  1. 0
    1. 1Tin
    2. 2Tin
    3. 3Na
  2. 2
    1. 4Dhi
    2. 5Na
  3. 3
    1. 6Dhi
    2. 7Na

Tin Tin Na: the first vibhag is the dayan alone, light and closed. Then Dhi Na, Dhi Na: the bayan's bass comes in twice, on the 4th and 6th matras, and those two strokes carry the taal. Listen for them, not for sam: in Rupak, sam is where you arrive softly.

Many teachers clap Rupak's sam all the same, and write it X 2 3; written with its khali, as here, it is 0 2 3.

Counting with the hands

Wave, clap, clap: 0 on the 1st matra, 2 on the 4th, 3 on the 6th.

  1. 0Wavematras 1–3
  2. 2Clapmatras 4–5
  3. 3Clapmatras 6–7

Starting a cycle with a wave feels strange at first. Count it aloud until it doesn't: wave two three, clap two, clap two.

The bols

BolHow it is playedOn
TinThe dayan between the rim and the black syahi, ringingDayan
NaThe dayan’s rim, struck with the tip of the index finger, lifted at once so it ringsDayan
GeThe bayan, open: the bass, its pitch bent by the heel of the handBayan
DhiTin and Ge at once (Dhin, said short)Both

How fast it is played

Mostly in madhya laya, about 70 to 140 matras a minute: gats, light classical songs and bhajans. It is played faster for drut compositions, and it keeps its lilt at any speed.

Layakari: dugun, tigun, chaugun

Dugun: two to each matra
  1. 0
    1. 1TinTin
    2. 2NaDhi
    3. 3NaDhi
  2. 2
    1. 4NaTin
    2. 5TinNa
  3. 3
    1. 6DhiNa
    2. 7DhiNa
Tigun: three to each matra
  1. 0
    1. 1TinTinNa
    2. 2DhiNaDhi
    3. 3NaTinTin
  2. 2
    1. 4NaDhiNa
    2. 5DhiNaTin
  3. 3
    1. 6TinNaDhi
    2. 7NaDhiNa
Chaugun: four to each matra
  1. 0
    1. 1TinTinNaDhi
    2. 2NaDhiNaTin
    3. 3TinNaDhiNa
  2. 2
    1. 4DhiNaTinTin
    2. 5NaDhiNaDhi
  3. 3
    1. 6NaTinTinNa
    2. 7DhiNaDhiNa

A tihai

TiRaKiTa Dha, a matra's rest, three times: eight matras, one more than the avartan. So it begins on sam itself and its last Dha lands on the next sam: a tihai that spans exactly one cycle.

1st avartan

  1. 0
    1. 1Tin
    2. 2Tin
    3. 3Na
  2. 2
    1. 4Dhi
    2. 5Na
  3. 3
    1. 6Dhi
    2. 7Na

2nd avartan

  1. 0
    1. 1TiRaKiTa
    2. 2Dha
    3. 3–
  2. 2
    1. 4TiRaKiTa
    2. 5Dha
  3. 3
    1. 6–
    2. 7TiRaKiTa

3rd avartan

  1. 0
    1. 1Dha
    2. 2Tin
    3. 3Na
  2. 2
    1. 4Dhi
    2. 5Na
  3. 3
    1. 6Dhi
    2. 7Na

For the flute

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

One swara to a matra, three and two and two
SRGMPDN
And down
SNDPMGR

Play them as a pair, up then down, and the fourteen matras make two whole cycles. Lean on the swaras that fall with Dhi, the 4th and 6th.

Questions

How many matras does Rupak have?

Seven, in vibhags of three, two and two.

Why does Rupak begin on khali?

Its first vibhag, Tin Tin Na, is played without the bayan's bass and counted with a wave, so its sam and its khali fall together. Some teachers still clap it, writing X 2 3.

How is Rupak different from Teevra?

Both have seven matras, three and two and two. Teevra, a pakhawaj taal of dhrupad, begins with a clap on a heavy sam; Rupak, the tabla's, begins lightly, on khali.