Practice: Layakari And Melodic Variation Within A Bandish

In this article Im using the first line (mukhda) of the famous Malkauns composition mukh mora mora musakaata jaata (laughingly turning her face, she goes) as an example, but its a good idea to go methodically through these exercises in whatever bandish you happen to be practicing at the moment. Heres the first line of mukh mora mora in Romanized Bhatkhande notation:

First, count the words. Mukh / mora / mora / musakaata / jaata There are five words; W = 5. The total number of permutations in this exercise is W squared: 25. How many beats in each word? mukh = 2 mora (1) = 3 mora (2) = 3 musakaata = 5 jaata = 3 2 + 3 + 3 + 5 + 3 = 16 There are two parts of this exercise. First, using text syllables and melodic variations. Second, reciting tabla bols for the appropriate parts of the theka, going through all the permutations in exactly the same way. FIRST TEXT & MELODY: Each word in the song segment gets a new melody line, built up one word at a time from the starting word, and keeping the original word length unchanged. Lets say I begin at mukh, which is two beats long in the original. That means I need two beats worth of melody and for ease of singing, it should be melody that links easily with the starting note of the next word in the sequence, which will be sung as it usually is. The second pass through the material asks for new melody on the first and second words. The next word is mora (1), which lasts three beats in the original so I must add three more beats worth of melody that connects nicely to the original melody at mora (2). The third pass through the material asks for new melody on words 1, 2 and 3 from mukha to mora (2). See how this works? 1st word to: 2nd word: beat 7 to beat 8 (starts at mukha, rejoins mora (1)) = 2; 3rd word: beat 7 to beat 11 (starts at mukha, rejoins mora (2)) = 5;

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4th word: beat 7 to beat 14 (starts at mukha, rejoins musakaata) = 8; 5th word: beat 7 to beat 3 (starts at mukha, rejoins jaata) = 13; 1st word: beat 7 to beat 6 (starts at mukha, rejoins mukha) = 16; I composed some melodic variations, just to give the basic idea but please compose your own; there is nothing particularly special about the lines Ive written. Here is the complete set, beginning on mukha. Each successive variation is one word longer; the final 16-beat variation rejoins the original melody at the starting word. For your convenience, the variations are highlighted.

Next, lets start the variations on the second word of the song, in this case mora (1). 2nd word to: 3rd word: beat 9 to beat 11 (starts at mora (1), rejoins mora (2)) = 3; 4th word: beat 9 to beat 14 (starts at mora (1), rejoins musakaata) = 6; 5th word: beat 9 to beat 3 (starts at mora (1), rejoins jaata) = 11;
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1st word: beat 9 to beat 6 (starts at mora (1), rejoins mukha) = 14; 2nd word: beat 9 to beat 8 (starts at mora (1), rejoins that word) = 16;

3rd word to: 4th word: beat 12 to beat 14 (starts at mora (2), rejoins musakaata) = 5; 5th word: beat 12 to beat 3 (starts at mora (2), rejoins jaata) = 8; 1st word: beat 12 to beat 6 (starts at mora (2), rejoins mukha) = 11; 2nd word: beat 12 to beat 8 (starts at mora (2), rejoins mora (1)) = 13; 3rd word: beat 12 to beat 11 (starts at mora (2), rejoins that word) = 16;

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4th word to: 5th word: beat 15 to beat 3 (starts at musakaata, rejoins jaata) = 5; 1st word: beat 15 to beat 6 (starts at musakaata, rejoins mukha) = 8; 2nd word: beat 15 to beat 8 (starts at musakaata, rejoins mora (1)) = 10; 3rd word: beat 15 to beat 11 (starts at musakaata, rejoins mora (2)) = 13; 4th word: beat 15 to beat 14 (starts at musakaata, rejoins that word) = 16;

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5th word to: 1st word: beat 4 to beat 6 (starts at jaata, rejoins mukha) = 3; 2nd word: beat 4 to beat 8 (starts at jaata, rejoins mora (1)) = 5; 3rd word: beat 4 to beat 11 (starts at jaata, rejoins mora (2)) = 8; 4th word: beat 4 to beat 14 (starts at jaata,rejoins musakaata) = 11; 5th word: beat 4 to beat 3 (starts at jaata, rejoins that word) = 16;

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Remember, the composed variations Ive supplied are just filler. You (or your students) should compose your own. I usually go through each line multiple times, trying to create variations that start on all convenient scale-tones. Try this process out on the bandishes youre practicing. Count the words in the first line, and begin developing elaborations in the same way. Its fun, and it will keep you engaged with the material much longer than you would have been otherwise. SECOND USING TABLA SYLLABLES: This is really simple. Do exactly what youve just done, only this time, instead of making up a melodic variation, simply recite the tabla bols that match whatever part of teentaal youre in. Thus: Dhin-Dha-mora mora musakaata jaata Dhin-Dha-Dha-Tin-Tin mora musakaata jaata Dhin-Dha-Dha-Tin-Tin-Ta-Ta-Dhin musakaata jaata

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Etcetera, etcetera. Do all twenty-five of these (or whatever number is appropriate for the bandish youre working on). This exercise will solidify your relationship to the theka more than anything else I can suggest. Do it while keeping taal; dont use a tabla machine until youve gotten it solidly internalized in muscle memory.

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