Dhamar Taal
धमार ताल
The fourteen-beat taal of dhamar (Hori) singing
Also spelled: Dhamar Tal, Dhamar Taal, Dhamaar
A fourteen-beat cycle in four divisions of 5, 2, 3 and 4, played on the pakhawaj. Dhamar, the dhrupad-family style whose songs mostly celebrate Holi, is sung in it.
14 Matras (beats)
4 Vibhags (divisions) 5 – 2 – 3 – 4
1, 6, 11 Taali (claps) on beats
8 Khali (wave) on beat
Theka
X = sam · 0 = khali · other numbers = taali, counted in order
Practise Dhamar on Tabla Online| Matra | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bol | क | धि | ट | धि | ट | धा | ऽ | ग | ति | ट | ति | ट | ता | ऽ |
| Bol (Roman) | Ka | Dhi | Ta | Dhi | Ta | Dha | - | Ga | Ti | Ta | Ti | Ta | Ta | - |
| Sign | X | 2 | 0 | 3 |
On a beat marked ऽ (avagraha, shown as a hyphen in the roman row) no new bol is spoken; the previous one is held, but the beat is still counted. Deepchandi also has 14 beats, but divides them 3, 4, 3, 4, where Dhamar divides them 5, 2, 3, 4.
How to recite it (kriya)
- 1 Beat 1 (sam): clap
- 2 Beats 2, 3, 4, 5: count on the fingers (little → ring → middle → index)
- 3 Beat 6 (taali): clap
- 4 Beat 7: count on the little finger
- 5 Beat 8 (khali): wave the hand to the right
- 6 Beats 9, 10: count on the fingers (little → ring)
- 7 Beat 11 (taali): clap
- 8 Beats 12, 13, 14: count on the fingers (little → ring → middle)
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.