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Lesson 5: Important Practice Phrases

The entire session will deal with practicing on how to play bols, strengthen ones hand, and learn very important phrases commonly used in khol cycles. This is in hope that you have committed each bol name and method playing to memory. If you want to review that in summary, click the Bols page. If you want to look at each bol more informatively, then you may go back to appropriate lesson and review it.

USEFUL PHRASES

These phrases here will be important and are used a good number of times when playing. Take the time to play these and commit these phrases to memory. Since they will be used extensively, you will benefit from mastery of these.

1. SRILA PRABHUPADA’S PRACTICE RELA

This is your first rhythmic piece you are learning through this khol series. Therefore, it is quite befitting to learn the practice cycle that came from Srila Prabhupada’s archived mridanga lesson. In the introduction to the tape, he taught the bols “ki ti tā and ghe ti tā.” From this, he designed a very useful practice beat that helps one get coordinated with the hands, practice how to easily change bols, correct timing of bols, and develop tempo changes. This is not a rhythmic cycle used in kirtana. Hence, this is known as an example of a rela. (A rela is a storm of bols with some successive theme to it).

First learn the following:

ka ti tā

gha ti tā

Practice these very simple phrases. Knowing how to play these phrases crisply and in proper meter will allow you to play Srila Prabhupada’s practice rela nicely.

The rela is as follows:

ka ti tā ka ti tā ka ti tā ka tā (PAUSE)

gha ti tā gha ti tā gha ti tā gha tā (PAUSE)

What does this PAUSE after the final tā in both lines mean? It means that after tā, there is nothing played for one beat.

VIDEO CLIP 5 – 1: Prabhupada Practice Rela

OTHER PRACTICE PHRASES:

After beginning our course of rhythms with Srila Prabhupada’s practice cycle, there are many phrases that are not only found in rhythmic cycles, but they also help to provide strength with one’s hand. It is recommended to take each practice phrase and play it continuously for at least five to ten minutes. With regular practice, the phrases will be remembered in the motor cortex of your brain. When summoned in the future, you would be able to play these effortless or modify them if needed.

There are many more practice exercises that exist besides these eight. However, these eight will be sufficient to understand the rhythms and cycles presented in this course.

2) ti ra ki ti

VIDEO CLIP 5 – 2: ti ra ki ti

3) ti tā ki ti

VIDEO CLIP 5 – 3: ti tā ki ti

4) ti ra ki ti ra ka

VIDEO CLIP 5 – 4: ti ra ki ti ra ka

5) ti ra ki ti tā ka

VIDEO CLIP 5 – 5: ti ra ki ti tā ka

6) dhā (PAUSE) ti ra ghi ti

VIDEO CLIP 5 – 6: dha – ti rag hi ti

7) ghe ti ghe tā

VIDEO CLIP 5 – 7: ghe ti ghe tā

8) ka tā ka ti

VIDEO CLIP 5 – 8: ka tā ka ti

9) ra ti tā ti

VIDEO CLIP 5 – 9: ra ti tā ti

I highly urge you to stop and look back. You have learned the most important letters of the alphabet (i.e. bols) of the khol. You also learned some phrases and words this lesson. The next unit will begin the heart of the course; the rhythmic cycles.

UPDATED: June 23, 2011