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Exploring Tagore's Unnamed Taals (Part 3): The 9-Beat Variations
Welcome to the third part of our series on Rabindranath Tagore's unique unnamed taals. After covering the simpler cycles in Part 1 and the asymmetrical rhythms in Part 2, we now focus on the complex and expressive world of the 9-beat taal. Tagore frequently used this cycle, creating several variations to match the intricate emotions of his poetry.
The 9-Beat Unnamed Taals
The 9-beat cycle is one of Tagore's favorites for expressing intricate ideas, and he composed songs using different rhythmic divisions for it.
Variation 1 (2 | 2 | 2 | 3)
| Structure | 4 Divisions (2 | 2 | 2 | 3) |
|---|---|
| Tali (Claps) | 4 claps on the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th beats. |
| Example Song | "Deko Na More Deko Na" |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dha | Dhi | Na | Dhi |
| X (Sam) | 2(Clap) | ||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Dhi | Na | Dha | Dhi |
| 3(Clap) | 4(Clap) | ||
| 9 | |||
| Na | |||
Variation 2 (3 | 3 | 3)
| Structure | 3 Divisions (3 | 3 | 3) |
|---|---|
| Tali (Claps) | 3 claps on the 1st, 4th, and 7th beats. |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dhi | Na | Dha | Dhi |
| X (Sam) | 2(Clap) | ||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Na | Dha | Ti | Na |
| 3(Clap) | |||
| 9 | |||
| Dha | |||
Example Song: "Jodi Prem Dile Na Prane"
Coming Up in Part 4
You have now explored the complex variations of the 9-beat cycle. In the final part of our series, we will cover the grand and majestic 10, 11, and 12-beat unnamed taals.
