Teentaal: the 16-beat cycle of Hindustani music

Teentaal

Count four beats, then another four, then four, then four again. That gives you one cycle of teentaal, the most common taal, or repeating rhythmic cycle, in Hindustani classical music. You may also see it written as tintal or trital.

Each beat is a matra, and each group of four is a vibhag, or division. Sam is the first beat of the cycle. Tali means a clap, marking beats 1, 5 and 13. Khali is the empty division, marked by a wave on beat 9.

Teentaal has 16 beats in four divisions

Count 1, 2, 3, 4, then keep going to 16. Those 16 beats make one cycle of teentaal. Each beat is called a matra, and each group of four is a vibhag, or division.

• First vibhag: beats 1, 2, 3, 4.
• Second vibhag: beats 5, 6, 7, 8.
• Third vibhag: beats 9, 10, 11, 12.
• Fourth vibhag: beats 13, 14, 15, 16.

The layout is 4 + 4 + 4 + 4. After beat 16, return to beat 1, called sam, the first beat of the cycle.

Claps fall on 1, 5 and 13, with a wave on 9

Now add a clap on beats 1, 5 and 13, and a wave on beat 9. Each gesture marks the start of a vibhag, a four-beat division in teentaal.

A tali is a clap marking a division. Sam, the first beat of the cycle, falls on beat 1 and gets a clap. Khali means the empty division, marked by a wave rather than a clap.

• Beat 1: clap. This is sam.
• Beat 5: clap again.
• Beat 9: wave for khali.
• Beat 13: clap for the final division.

Teentaal’s basic tabla pattern

The theka is the basic pattern of tabla bols, the syllables used to name the strokes. In teentaal, it follows four vibhags, or divisions, of four beats each. Read one bol for each beat:

• Beats 1 to 4: dha dhin dhin dha
• Beats 5 to 8: dha dhin dhin dha
• Beats 9 to 12: dha tin tin ta
• Beats 13 to 16: ta dhin dhin dha

Listen to the third division, the khali, or empty division marked by a wave. Here, the closed sounds tin and ta replace the open dhin and dha. That change lets your ear recognise the division.

How to count teentaal with your hands

Now add the hand movements to your count. Each vibhag, or division, holds four beats. Mark its first beat with a tali (clap) or khali (wave marking the empty division).

• Clap on 1, the sam (first beat of the cycle). Count 2, 3, 4.
• Clap on 5. Count 6, 7, 8.
• Wave on 9. Count 10, 11, 12.
• Clap on 13. Count 14, 15, 16, then return to 1.

Teentaal works at every tempo

Try counting the cycle slowly, then a little faster. Teentaal works at every tempo. Vilambit means slow, madhya laya means medium tempo, and drut means fast. These describe the pace, not a different arrangement of beats.

At a slow pace, there is more time between one beat and the next. At a fast pace, the beats come closer together. The cycle still has 16 beats, arranged in four divisions of four. Speed changes how quickly you return to beat 1, not where that return falls.

Where teentaal is used

Teentaal is the most common taal, or repeating rhythmic cycle, in Hindustani classical music. In some styles, it accompanies slow khayal singing. You also hear it in fast khayal singing, instrumental music and tabla solos.

Instrumental pieces called gats use teentaal at a medium pace, and most fast gats use it too. So the same 16-beat cycle can support music at very different speeds. Listen for its four groups of four rather than relying on speed alone.