I have tried to figure out the best ways to type a composition on the computer , here are some examples of the same phrase typed several different ways:
This first way seems the most common but for me I have the biggest problem with it as I feel the phrase is chopped up and harder to understand
Dhate tedha tete dhadha dha- - dhadha tete
This second way I find to be easier to cope with:
Dha te, te dha, te te, dha dha, dha -, S, dha dha, te te,
In addition adding straight lines help to seperate the Vibhags:
|Dha te, te dha, tete, dha dha,|dha -, S, dha dha, te te,|
Another style I have seen is to try and type the Vibhags above which usually gets out of alignment when you cut and paste or edit files, so some have used this method , I still find this confusing:
+Dhate tedha tete dhadha 1dha- - dhadha tete 0
Some other versions like using underlines are very problematical , for instance like on this site where the underlines are lost when pasting:
Also we have seen Excel or frame boxes used to divide the beats and this seems to be a lot of trouble.
Does anyone have any good ideas for typing compositions , what style do you prefer?
I personally don't like the commas. . I find them visually distracting. Though, they do serve to make the matras clear.
Visually, I prefer the way the compositions are here, at the Tabla Site. Of course, that it because I made them that way. . so they reflect my personal preferences.
The pipe symbol (|) for vibhags is nice though, but if each vibhag is written on a new line, then I don't think it's necessary.
Shawn, I don't like the commas either but its the next neatest thing. One argument is how would you deal with bols that are played between the matras (beats - claps), for example, the tirakita's, ge na's, na nana's etc when played at duggan, trigggun and x4 speed, or the Chakradha's for that matter.
Perhaps, what might be useful is to have the matra bol (beat bol) highlighted in Bold so one could work out the timing that is essential to regular practice (Riyas)
Or another suggestion would be to describe the bols/compositions in various drut, vilambit and madhyam (different tempos) laya with the numbering above the bols. The laya could be denoted at the begining of the composition
My final suggestion as far as computers/technology goes is to have a repititive audio/visual version of the accompaniment composition that clearly demonstrates the claps, vibhags, divisions etc. - a real time 3D database! (boy this beer is strong!)
But whatever it is, the tabla is the only instrument in the world that I know of that has syllables for notation and therefore it inevitably become increasingly difficult to document. I think that the respected Gharana heads of today need to globally confer (perhaps in Austin :-) he! he!) with students of today to define this beautiful instrument as it is ever becoming increasingly popular.
"Visually, I prefer the way the compositions are here, at the Tabla Site".
AH HAH! Shawn I didn't mean to pick on you directly, I forgot you did all the hard work on the compositions for this site, now I am going to pick on you because probably I need glasses . But honestly is this hard to read or is it just me.
Ram ,
I think your idea is interesting , are you saying the first initial of the beat bol would be in bold , can you type a little demo to demonstrate .
Also all that other stuff is to much, because when your talking about typing a couple of hundred compositions you would hope it should be the easiest to type and easiest to understand . Although it would be cool if there was a formula that a computer could use to speak in time but then I think were getting into Swar systems area.
Cool idea you type out a composition and the computer recites it in correct time!
Ram (Jan 14, 2003 10:40 a.m.):
Perhaps, what might be useful is to have the matra bol (beat bol) highlighted in Bold so one could work out the timing that is essential to regular practice (Riyas)
Regards - Ram
Well, it's a dense composition . . so 8 bols in a row per matra. In the forum, the lines are wrapping around too early, but in the database, each line should display properly. .
Shawn
http://www.percussionist.net
It is rough to read but not unbearable. After looking at it for a second it is not too bad.
If tabla players had to sight read alot then this would be a real problem, but it seems that they don't. (By sight reading I mean to play something, reading it off of paper, for the first time)
I
t seems that it would be much harder if some didn;t recognuise phases that they knew, and that what may be easier to read for a beginner may be harder to read for a more experienced player (like what Shawn was saying about the commas)
Warren (Jan 15, 2003 04:42 p.m.):
"Visually, I prefer the way the compositions are here, at the Tabla Site".
AH HAH! Shawn I didn't mean to pick on you directly, I forgot you did all the hard work on the compositions for this site, now I am going to pick on you because probably I need glasses . But honestly is this hard to read or is it just me.
Dha - GhiDa NaGa DhiNa
DhinNa GhinNa NaGa DhiNa
DhinNa Ghin NaDha - GhiDa
Na Ga TiNa TinNa KinNa
Ta - KiDa NaGa TinNa
TinNa KinNa NaGa DhiNa
DhinNa Ghin NaDha - GhiDa
Na Ga DhiNa DhinNa GhinNa
Although this method has its drawbacks, like the lay is not indicated, it does make it easier to play as the bols are clear, grouped to a certain extent and are simple to read and sound.
One of the problems with my personal notes is that fact that everything is written differently.
But your right this version is easy to read and understand that I like about it but it ends up forcing me to make double framed pages and then I run into problems. In other words if you write this way your book will require a lot of paper.
And isn't that also a problem, don't you hate practicing through a kaida and having to turn pages.
Someone remind me but didn't Aloke have the compositions in landscape form in his book so that you could fit more on each page , I remember his pages were well written , does anyone remember the format he used?
omja (Jan 16, 2003 08:42 a.m.):
I rather like this way of presenting compositions. For example the piece above would look like this,
Dha - GhiDa NaGa DhiNa
DhinNa GhinNa NaGa DhiNa
DhinNa Ghin NaDha - GhiDa
NaGa TiNa TinNa KinNa
Dha - GhiDa NaGa DhiNa
DhinNa GhinNa NaGa DhiNa
DhinNa Ghin NaDha - GhiDa
Na Ga TiNa TinNa KinNa
Ta - KiDa NaGa TinNa
TinNa KinNa NaGa DhiNa
DhinNa Ghin NaDha - GhiDa
Na Ga DhiNa DhinNa GhinNa
Although this method has its drawbacks, like the lay is not indicated, it does make it easier to play as the bols are clear, grouped to a certain extent and are simple to read and sound.
I also think this way is the most readable, but it's an individual question ofcause - anyways I have seen both Trilok and Pete Lockett use this form (my self included) .
according to paperspace, you should always learn everything on the backbone as quick as possible anyways, right. . (he, he).
