Taan
तान
In short
A taan is a fast run through the notes of a raga.
राग के स्वरों का द्रुत गति में किया गया विस्तार तान कहलाता है।
What a taan is
From level 2A taan (तान, from tan, "to stretch") is a fast, continuous run of notes within a raga. Where alaap dwells, taan flows: it brings speed, energy and brilliance to the performance, usually after alaap has established the raga.
Taans are mostly sung in akar, on an open "आ". They can also be sung in sargam (sargam taan) or on the words of the bandish (bol-taan).
Fitting a taan into the taal
From level 3A taan is fast relative to the bandish. In a madhya laya bandish, taans are normally sung in dugun (two notes per matra) or chaugun (four per matra). Every taan must end so that you return to the mukhda and arrive on sam exactly.
An eight-matra dugun taan in Bhupali (16 notes, two per matra):
| Matra | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notes | सारे | गप | धसां | धप | गप | धप | गरे | साऽ |
Count the matras with your hand while you sing. Most taan mistakes are not wrong notes but a taan that ends a beat early or late.
Singing in akar
From level 3- Keep the mouth open in a steady "आ" throughout; do not let it close into "ओ" or "अ" as you speed up.
- Each note must be distinct. Avoid an "aha-aha" sound: the notes should be separated by the voice, not by pushes of breath.
- Learn every taan slowly first, in thaah, with note names. Then dugun, then akar, then speed.
- A clean taan at moderate speed always scores better than a fast, blurred one.
Types of taan
From level 4The Madhyama syllabus names five types. The examples use shuddha swaras so the shapes are easy to see.
| Type | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Saral or shuddha (सरल, शुद्ध) | notes in straight order, up and down | सारेगम पधनिसां सांनिधप मगरेसा |
| Koot (कूट) | notes deliberately out of order, with no regular pattern | गरेसानि़ सागरेम धपमग रेगरेसा |
| Mishra (मिश्र) | part saral, part koot | सारेगम पधनिसां निसांधनि पमगरे |
| Sapaat (सपाट) | a very fast, flat sweep straight up and down, often across a wide range | सारेगमपधनिसां सांनिधपमगरेसा |
| Vakra (वक्र) | a zigzag that moves forward and turns back in a regular pattern | सागरेम गपमध पनिधसां सांधनिप धमपग मरेगसा |
Other named kinds you will meet: bol-taan (on the bandish words), gamak taan (each note shaken with gamak), and alankarik taan (built from an alankar pattern).
Exam questions
Answer these the way the examiner expects: short and exact.
What is a taan? Level 2
A fast run through the notes of a raga, usually sung in akar.
In which laya are taans usually sung in a madhya laya bandish? Level 3
Dugun or chaugun of the bandish laya, ending so that the mukhda arrives on sam.
Name the five types of taan in the Madhyama syllabus. Level 4
Saral (shuddha), koot, mishra, sapaat and vakra.
What is a koot taan? Level 4
A taan in which the notes are deliberately sung out of sequence, without a regular pattern.
What is a bol-taan? Level 3
A taan sung on the words of the bandish instead of on akar.
Related
- Ragas
- Raag Bhupali
Learning this with a teacher
These pages will take you a long way on theory. The singing needs a guru — live online classes, one level at a time, with exam preparation built in.