Tab kahat Bilawal
Lyrics, meaning and notation.
About this composition
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Raga | Alhaiya Bilawal |
| Form | Lakshan geet |
| Tala | Teental, sixteen beats |
| Laya | Madhya |
This composition uses shuddha Ni; do not add komal Ni.
Complete lyrics, transliteration and meanings
| Section | Original script | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sthayi | तब कहत बिलावल भेद चतुर जब | Tab kahat Bilaaval bhed Chatur jab | Chatur describes the Bilawal type when |
| Sthayi | मेल मिलावत शुद्ध सुरन को | Mel milaavat shuddh suran ko | its parent collection brings together the natural notes. |
| Sthayi | प्रात समैं नित प्रथम पहर | Praat samain nit pratham pahar | Its time is the first watch of the morning. |
| Antara | धैवत वादी गा सम वादी | Dhaivat vaadi gaa sam vaadi | Dhaivat is vadi and Gandhar is samvadi. |
| Antara | अष्ट भेद सब गाय मधुर | Asht bhed sab gaay madhur | All eight varieties are sung sweetly. |
Words and musical ideas
Suran is an inflected form of sur, notes. Mel is a parent note collection. Pahar is a traditional watch of the day, not a precise universal clock appointment. The lyric's reference to eight varieties belongs to its historical classificatory account; it does not enumerate them or prove that every present-day school uses exactly eight Bilawals.
The split vowel in Bilawal and stretched syllables of mel/milaavat are musical placements, not additional words.
Complete beat-aligned notation
The rows start at beat 9, in the order 9–12, 13–16, 1–4, 5–8. Sam is in the third group. Teental has claps on 1, 5 and 13 and a wave on 9.
The opening (N)S↑ S↑, sung ta ba, occupies beats 7–8 and leads into the first row at beat 9.
How to read this notation
Sa is the chosen reference pitch. Note signs used in this score:
N = shuddha Ni; D = shuddha Dha; P = Pa; G = shuddha Ga; M = shuddha Ma; R = shuddha Re; S = Sa.
↑ marks the upper octave and ↓ the lower octave; an unmarked note is in the middle octave.
Each separate beat position is one matra. Joined notes fall within that beat. — continues the previous sound; · is an unsung position. Padding before an entry or after a close does not add another cycle.
Parentheses mark a grace leading into the next principal note, without adding a beat.
Within-beat durations are exact only where specified. Learn the execution of glides, graces and inflection by listening.
Within a grouped column, spaces separate beats; letters joined without spaces share a beat. The column heading states the beat numbers.
| Section / layer | 9–12 · wave | 13–16 · clap | 1–4 · sam | 5–8 · clap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sthayi 1 | (N)D P (G)M (R)G |
(G)P — N (D)N |
S↑ — S↑ S↑ |
N (D)N P P |
| Syllables | ka ha ta bi |
laa — va la |
bhe — da cha |
tu ra ja ba |
| Sthayi 2 | DN S↑R↑ S↑ S↑N |
D P M G |
G R G M |
G R S — |
| Syllables | me-e e-e la mi-i |
laa — va ta |
shu — ddha su |
ra na ko — |
| Sthayi 3 | S M G P |
P — N (D)N |
S↑ (R↑)G↑ S↑ S↑ |
N (D)N S↑ S↑ |
| Syllables | praa — ta sa |
mai — ni ta |
pra tha ma pa |
ha ra ta ba |
| Antara 1 | P — N (D)N |
S↑ — S↑ — |
NS↑ G↑ (R↑)G↑ M↑ |
(G↑)R↑ — S↑ — |
| Syllables | dhai — va ta |
vaa — di — |
gaa-a — sa ma |
vaa — di — |
| Antara 2 | (M↑)G↑ M↑ P↑ (M↑)G↑ |
M↑ R↑ S↑ S↑ |
DN S↑R↑ S↑ S↑N |
D N S↑ S↑ |
| Syllables | a — shta bhe |
— da sa ba |
gaa-a a-a ya ma-a |
dhu ra ta ba |
The pairs DN, S↑R↑ and S↑N in sthayi 2 and antara 2 share their beats. The NS↑ pair beginning the antara’s sam division also shares one beat. These are not extra grace notes or matras.
Pickups, sam and section joins
The initial ta ba begins on beats 7–8. The successive sthayi sam syllables are bhe, shu and pra; the antara sam syllables are gaa and gaa. Both section endings contain ta ba at beats 7–8. Return from the final ta ba to ka at beat 9 of the first sthayi row.
Sing the pickup, three sthayi rows, two antara rows and the return. Enter the antara at beat 9 after the sthayi’s ta ba. Its first note P is on beat 9; do not add another pickup.
Learning sequence
- Read the five poetic lines and distinguish the song's heading from its shorter sung raga name.
- Count through the beat-7 entrance, passing the wave at 9 before reaching sam.
- Learn each written sthayi row with its syllable layer; include the full continuation.
- Learn the upper-register antara slowly. Keep its joined NS↑ and DN cells within one beat each.
- Restore the small grace notes and link the end through ta ba to the sthayi.
Common pitfalls
Do not add komal Ni; it does not occur in this composition. Do not move sam to the first displayed beat, equate a lyric statement about vadi with the longest note in each line, or treat a historical eight-variety claim as an exhaustive modern catalogue.