Dhakka ਧੱਕਾ (ਇਕ-ਤਾਲਾ)
A 12-matra taal (also known as Ik-taala / Ektaal), counted in 6 vibhags of 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2.
Practise over this theka A palta in Dhakka
- Matras
- 12
- Vibhags
- 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2
- Sam (×)
- matra 1
- Taali (clap)
- matras 5, 9, 11
- Khali (0, wave)
- matras 3, 7
The theka
| Matra | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark | × | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | ||||||
| ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ | ਧਿੰ | ਧਿੰ | ਧਾਗੇ | ਤਿਟਕਿਟ | ਤੂ | ਨਾ | ਕੱਤ | ਤਾ | ਧਾਗੇ | ਤਿਟਗਿਟ | ਧਿੰ | ਧਾਧਾ |
| देवनागरी | धिन | धिन | धागे | ਤਿਟਕਿਟ | तू | ना | कट | ता | धागे | ਤਿਟਗਿਟ | धिन | ਧਾਧਾ |
| English | Dhin | Dhin | Dhage | ਤਿਟਕਿਟ | Tu | Na | Kat | Ta | Dhage | ਤਿਟਗਿਟ | Dhin | ਧਾਧਾ |
What the studio plays
The book prints its own theka for Dhakka. When the studio plays Dhakka it sounds the common Ektal theka instead, keeping the book's sam, taali and khali, because that is the one most players will know:
| Matra | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark | × | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | ||||||
| ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ | ਧਿੰ | ਧਿੰ | ਧਾਗੇ | ਤ੍ਰਿਕੜ | ਤੂ | ਨਾ | ਕੱਤ | ਤਾ | ਧਾਗੇ | ਤ੍ਰਿਕੜ | ਧਿੰ | ਨਾ |
| देवनागरी | धिन | धिन | धागे | त्रिकट | तू | ना | कट | ता | धागे | त्रिकट | धिन | ना |
| English | Dhin | Dhin | Dhage | TrikRa | Tu | Na | Kat | Ta | Dhage | TrikRa | Dhin | Na |
How to keep Dhakka
Count the 12 matras aloud while you clap the taal: a clap on sam, the first and strongest beat, and on every taali, and a wave of the hand on khali, the empty beat. The vibhags of 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 tell you where each clap or wave falls; the theka above is what the tabla plays across one avartan, and the melody of a bandish lands back on sam at the end of every avartan.
In the studio, every bandish and palta in Dhakka plays over this theka, with the matra that is sounding lit in the notation and the bol lit in the theka, at any tempo from 30 to 260 matras a minute.