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RUPAK TAL (A.K.A. ROOPAK TAL, ROOPAKTAL, RUPAKTAL)

Description

Rupak tal is a common seven beat tal in Northern India.

Rupak tal may be found in almost any musical style. It is found in film songs, kheyal, gazal, instrumental pieces; virtually any north Indian form. The only forms where it is absent are the dhrupad and dhammar styles of singing; it is only absent in these styles because tivra tal serves the same function.

Rupak is unique among the tals in that the first beat ( i.e., the sam) is khali (i.e., represented by a wave of the hand).

The theka of rupak is uncomfortably similar to pashtu tal. The only difference is that many musicians prefer to think of pashtu as consisting entirely of claps; while rupak tal begins with a wave of the hand.

The form of rupak is shown below: