Vibhag

A vibhag is somewhat similar to a measure in Western music. However, there are some important differences. A vibhag may consist of any number of beats, or matras, but the number of beats in a vibhag may change from one to the next. In Western music, the number of beats in a measure is always the same.

Most of the time, a vibhag will consist of two, three, or four matras. For example, in teentaal there are four vibhags of four matras each (sixteen matras total) and in ektaal there are six vibhags of two matras each (twelve matras total).

Each vibhag is designated either tali or khali. A '0' indicates khali, or a wave of the hand. Any other symbol indicates tali, or a clap. In most cases, numbers are used to designate tali, with one exception. For example, a '2' indicates the second clap in the avartan and a '4' indicates the fourth clap. The exception to this convention is the sam, or first matra of the avartan, which is notated with an 'X'.