(Sanskrit: ‘clap’).
In Indian musical theory and practice the marking of musical metre by means of hand gestures (or alternatively by small cymbals or by drum-patterns), and hence, the metres so marked. In Hindustani music the drum pair tablā performs the function of time-keeping through a repeated pattern of strokes called thekā in most genres. However, cheironomy is still used in dhrupad and in Karnatak concert music. Cymbals are often used in religious music, for example Karnatak nāgasvaram music or Newar temple singing (see India, §III, 6(ii); Nepal, §I, 2(i)). Each tāla pattern comprises a fixed number of equal beats, with claps and silent gestures asymmetrically disposed to facilitate time-keeping. The pattern is considered to be a cycle (āvart(anam)), in which the first beat is the culmination of the previous cycle as well as the beginning of the next. The cycle is repeated as many times as necessary to complete the composition and any ensuing improvisation; change of tāla in the course of an item is rare in concert music, but it can occur in pre-composed or non-classical music and dance. (See India, §III, 4).
RICHARD WIDDESS