Chautaal
चौताल
The taal of dhrupad, played on the pakhawaj
Also spelled: Chautal, Chartal, Chartaal, Chautala
A twelve-beat cycle in six divisions of two, played on the pakhawaj. It is the principal taal of dhrupad singing.
12 Matras (beats)
6 Vibhags (divisions) 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 2
1, 5, 9, 11 Taali (claps) on beats
3, 7 Khali (wave) on beat
Theka
X = sam · 0 = khali · other numbers = taali, counted in order
Practise Chautaal on Tabla Online| Matra | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bol | धा | धा | दिं | ता | किट | धा | दिं | ता | तिट | कत | गदि | गन |
| Bol (Roman) | Dha | Dha | Din | Ta | Kita | Dha | Din | Ta | Tita | Kata | Gadi | Gana |
| Sign | X | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
Chautaal and Ektaal share 12 beats, six divisions and the same clap pattern (X 0 2 0 3 4). They differ in their bols and their drum: Ektaal is played on the tabla, Chautaal on the pakhawaj. The syllabus also spells it Chartaal.
How to recite it (kriya)
- 1 Beat 1 (sam): clap
- 2 Beat 2: count on the little finger
- 3 Beat 3 (khali): wave the hand to the right
- 4 Beat 4: count on the little finger
- 5 Beat 5 (taali): clap
- 6 Beat 6: count on the little finger
- 7 Beat 7 (khali): wave the hand to the right
- 8 Beat 8: count on the little finger
- 9 Beat 9 (taali): clap
- 10 Beat 10: count on the little finger
- 11 Beat 11 (taali): clap
- 12 Beat 12: count on the little finger
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.