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Konnakol trainer: nadai practice with the syllables lit to the beat
Free online Konnakol trainer: recite tisra, chatusra, khanda, misra and sankeerna nadai against Adi tala and other talas, with every syllable lit in time, a ladder that changes gear on the sam, and gap cycles where you speak alone.
Choose a tala, choose a nadai, press play. The tala clicks on every beat with the sam accented, the syllables click quietly inside each beat, and the one you should be saying lights up as it sounds. Switch gear while playing and the change lands on the next beat; run the ladder or the shuffle and it lands on the sam. This page loads the trainer; the tables below are what it plays.
The five nadai and their syllables
A nadai splits every beat of the tala into the same number of equal parts. The first syllable of each group falls on the beat; the rest fill the space evenly. The last column is how many syllables a second that gear needs at 60 BPM.
| Nadai | Per beat | Syllables | Per second at 60 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tisra | 3 | TaKiTa | 3 |
| Chatusra | 4 | TaKaDiMi | 4 |
| Khanda | 5 | TaDiGiNaTom | 5 |
| Misra | 7 | TaKaDiMiTaKiTa | 7 |
| Sankeerna | 9 | TaKaDiMiTaDiKiNaTom | 9 |
The talas you can recite against
Each card shows the beats of one cycle (an avartanam), the groups they fall into and, where the convention is settled, what the hand does on each beat. Gold beats start a group; the first is the sam.
-
Adi tala · 8 beats, 4 + 2 + 2
The most common tala. A laghu of four then two drutams: clap and count three fingers, clap and wave, clap and wave.
1 clap2 little finger3 ring finger4 middle finger5 clap6 wave7 clap8 wave -
Rupaka tala · 6 beats, 2 + 4
A drutam then a laghu of four: clap and wave, then clap and three finger counts.
1 clap2 wave3 clap4 little finger5 ring finger6 middle finger -
Chatusra Eka tala · 4 beats, 4
One laghu of four. The plainest frame for hearing a nadai change.
1 clap2 little finger3 ring finger4 middle finger -
Tisra Eka tala · 3 beats, 3
One laghu of three: clap and two finger counts.
1 clap2 little finger3 ring finger -
Khanda chapu · 5 beats, 2 + 3
Five beats felt as two plus three. Accent the first beat of each group.
1 12 23 14 25 3 -
Misra chapu · 7 beats, 3 + 2 + 2
Seven beats felt as three plus two plus two. Accent the first beat of each group.
1 12 23 34 15 26 17 2
Three ways to practise
Hold one nadai
Stay in the chosen nadai. Tap another gear while playing and it switches on the next beat.
Ladder
Chatusra, then tisra, khanda, misra and sankeerna in turn, returning to chatusra between each so the beat never moves.
Shuffle
A different nadai every few cycles in an order you cannot predict, the way a teacher tests you.
How to practise
- Pick a tala. Adi tala (eight beats) is the standard frame; Chatusra Eka (four beats) is the plainest.
- Start in chatusra at the suggested tempo and say Ta Ka Di Mi on every beat until it is automatic. The first syllable of each beat lands with the tala click.
- Hold tisra, then khanda. Say each group evenly; the trouble spots are the last syllable before the beat, which must not rush.
- Run the ladder: chatusra, tisra, chatusra, khanda, chatusra, misra, chatusra, sankeerna. The beat never moves; only the split changes, on the sam.
- Turn on gap cycles. Every second block the syllable clicks go silent and you carry the gear alone against the tala.
- Try the shuffle: a new gear every few cycles, unannounced, the way a teacher tests you.
Questions
What is a nadai?
The number of equal parts each beat of the tala is split into. Tisra is three, chatusra four, khanda five, misra seven and sankeerna nine. Changing nadai while the tala stays put is the Carnatic way of practising what Western musicians call a polyrhythm.
Which syllables does the trainer use?
The standard groups: Ta Ki Ta for three, Ta Ka Di Mi for four, Ta Di Gi Na Tom for five, Ta Ka Di Mi Ta Ki Ta for seven and Ta Ka Di Mi Ta Di Ki Na Tom for nine. Teachers vary the syllables for feel; the counts do not change.
Does it speak the syllables?
No. The trainer clicks the tala and lights each syllable exactly when it falls, so you do the speaking. Turn the syllable clicks off, or use gap cycles, once you can hold the gear on your own.
How fast should I go?
Slow enough to say every syllable clearly. Nine to a beat at 60 BPM is nine syllables a second, which is fast; the page shows the syllables per second for the gear you have chosen and suggests a tempo.
How is this related to the polyrhythm pages?
Tisra against chatusra is 3:4, khanda against chatusra is 5:4 and misra against chatusra is 7:4. The polyrhythm generator plays those ratios stretched across a cycle; this trainer keeps them inside one beat, as they are recited.