Recently I was able to borrow a copy of Robert Gottlieb's book "Solo Tabla Drumming of North India". I downloaded most of the solo recordings discussed in the book from Dovesong.com. Being a self-taught first year student of tabla, I expected to hear the plain vanilla tintaal theka, so near and dear to my heart (Dha Dhin Dhin Dha . .), in the solos between compositions. But lo and behold, I do not hear the familiar theka in any of the recordings. The author admittedly omits the theka in most of the transcriptions, but even where he includes it, it is a different form of tintaal theka.
Do the experts use their own versions of the tintaal theka? Is the theka different for drut (fast), madhya (medium) and vilambit (slow) tempos?
There are several different forms of teen taal; another one I hear a lot goes "Dha GheDhin GheDha Dha GheDhin GheDha Dha KeTin KeTa Ta GheDhin GheDha." I forget what it's called though. Is that the version you heard?
I doubt if you will ever hear a plain vanilla teental in any of the compositions/recordings. (For that matter, none of the taal's would be played in plain vanilla. .)
It is common practice to play compositions of your own choice but within the limits of the particular taal you are playing. For e.g., one of the umpteen forms of teen tal could be
Dha TrakDhin TrakDhinDhin DhinNaDha
Dha TrakDhin TrakDhinDhin DhinNaDha
Ta TrakTin TrakTinTin TiRaKiTaTa
Ta TrakDhin TrakDhinDhin TirakitaDhaTirakitDhaTirkitDha
Chas you are talking about Sitarkhani which is also known as adital . It's 16 beats, similar but not Teental.
You will get fairly plain vanilla teental when you get to drut speed but for Vilambit(slow) and madhya(medium) teental you will get vanilla with frosting and sprinkles etc etc.
Zakir always told me to try not to get locked into a real busy vilambit teental because if play all the same accents for 3 cycles you will be expected to use them for the whole raag. The more simple you keep it the more you can add to it and change. So just a few ghe's and tete's or trake's at first then you can add more complexities as you go along.
But one thing lots of instrumental players want to hear DHA -, TEREKITA, etc -, for the first 2 matras of vilambit , they always request that terekita so I leave it in there for them, then you are stuck with it.
Chas (May 11, 2003 08:19 p.m.):
There are several different forms of teen taal; another one I hear a lot goes "Dha GheDhin GheDha Dha GheDhin GheDha Dha KeTin KeTa Ta GheDhin GheDha." I forget what it's called though. Is that the version you heard?
Ali Inam Khan of Delhi plays(int the bove record/book) " vanilla teental with frosting and sprinkles etc etc" just after finishing his rella and the start of fixed compositions. Pay attention to his bayan on Peshkar. .a beauty! Also love his last gat.
