5.1 Laghu, drutam, anudrutam, and jaati
Read a tala as a sequence of parts and count how many beats one cycle of it has.
A tala is not a time signature. It is a sequence of named parts — a laghu of variable length, a drutam of two beats, an anudrutam of one — and the length of the laghu, its jaati, is what makes one tala into five. Adi tala is chatusra jaati triputa: a laghu of four, then two drutams, eight beats in all.
Work through these
Name the three parts a tala is built from and say how many beats each has.
Tala (music) · ReferenceWork out the length of one cycle of Adi tala from its parts.
Take one other tala and count its cycle the same way.
Say what changes when the jaati of a laghu changes.
Sign in to keep your progress.
Free resources
Links last checked 30 Aug 2026.
Stuck here?
Ask a mentor. A real person answers, and they can see exactly which topic you're on. Usually within a couple of working days.
Checking your session…
Topics shown in module order.