Karnatak Tala

Karnatak musicians count time by clapping (one hand moving up and down against the other), touching the fingers on the hand or thigh, and turning the palm up in a hand wave. These types of gestures, called kriyā, are the only ones used to reckon talas in modern times; older musical texts list several others, but none continues to be used. Gestures fall into two general categories: sounded like the clap (taṭṭu); and unsounded like the finger count and hand wave...