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Year 4

Playing taals and speaking bols

I can speak and clap a rhythm cycle (taal) in time.

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New
New
Year 4

Playing taals and speaking bols

I can speak and clap a rhythm cycle (taal) in time.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The three key components of Hindustani classical music are taal, raag, and drone.
  2. The main instruments used are the tabla, the sitar, and the tanpura.
  3. We can speak the rhythm cycles of the taals by using the bols, which sound like the drum sounds.
  4. We can clap and wave the rhythm cycles which can help keep us in time.

Keywords

  • Taal - a rhythm cycle that measures musical time in Indian music

  • Bol - a spoken syllable used to recite the rhythm (from ‘bolna’, the Hindi word for ‘speak’)

  • Tabla - a set of two drums on which the taal is played with the hands

Common misconception

Music has four beats in a bar and we always finish at the last beat in the bar.

Rhythm cycles in Hindustani classical music can have anything from 3 beats to 128 beats. The rhythm is cyclical and ends on the first beat of the rhythm cycle.


To help you plan your year 4 music lesson on: Playing taals and speaking bols, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Your music hub may be able to loan you some of these instruments. Tabla drums are great to explore creating a variety of sounds on.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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4 Questions

Q1.
What is rhythm?
An image in a quiz
the steady, regular heartbeat of the music
Correct answer: the pattern of sounds of different lengths
how fast or slow the music is
how many layers of sound there are playing at one time
Q2.
Match these words to their meaning.
Correct Answer:pulse,the regular, steady heartbeat of the music
tick

the regular, steady heartbeat of the music

Correct Answer:duration,the length of a sound or silence
tick

the length of a sound or silence

Correct Answer:melody,a combination of notes to make a memorable tune
tick

a combination of notes to make a memorable tune

Correct Answer:harmony,when two or more notes of different pitches are played together
tick

when two or more notes of different pitches are played together

Q3.
In musical terms, which of the following do you think best describes a 'drone'?
a piece of music in the minor key
a type of musical instrument
Correct answer: a constant sound that runs throughout most or all of a piece of music
a sound that only features in orchestral music
Q4.
What word do we use when we speak in time together to a steady pulse?
Correct Answer: chant, chanting, Chant, Chanting

4 Questions

Q1.
Which three of these instruments are you likely to see in a Hindustani classical music concert?
Correct answer: tanpura
Correct answer: sitar
trumpet
Correct answer: tabla
guitar
Q2.
The three main components of Hindustani classical music are the raag, the drone, and the...
Correct Answer: taal, tala, Taal, Tala
Q3.
What is a bol used for?
A bol is the drum on which the taal is played.
Correct answer: A bol is a vocal sound that represents a sound on the tabla drums.
A bol is a rhythm cycle that can have any number of beats.
A bol is an instrument that plays the drone.
Q4.
Teentaal is a 16 beat rhythm cycle. Put these bols in the correct order to show the taal Teentaal.
1 - dha dhin dhin dha
2 - dha dhin dhin dha
3 - dha tin tin ta
4 - ta dhin dhin da

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