What exactly is 'leah' in music?

I needed some insight from you all in what exactly does the term "leah" mean in Indian music, that anu malik keeps emphasizing on?

Please explain me in such a way that I can understand atleast the basics of it.

Laya is tempo
Tala is beat

So a very common beat is 4/4. It's very common in Western and Indian music. In Western music, it's called 'quadruple time' and in Indian, it is the keherva taal.

You can say "1-2-3-4, 5-6-7-8" at many speeds. The speed at which you say it is the tempo (laya). The pattern that you are saying is the beat (tala).

Originally posted by: xobile

Laya is tempo
Tala is beat

So a very common beat is 4/4. It's very common in Western and Indian music. In Western music, it's called 'quadruple time' and in Indian, it is the keherva taal.

You can say "1-2-3-4, 5-6-7-8" at many speeds. The speed at which you say it is the tempo (laya). The pattern that you are saying is the beat (tala).

Its still rocket science😭. I mean, just as a listener, how can one make it whether the laya is correct or not? Does the beat in the background music play an important role in it? Any example say of an A R Rehman track?

Cosworthkid -- I think "laya" cannot be explained in words.. Did you feel that he was dozing while he was singing ?? I think that should help.. 😆 😆

Just say a beat.

Like 'One two three four, five six seven eight'

You have to give the same time space between each word (beat) and emphasise One and Five

Now say it at a slower speed, i.e. increase the time spaces between each word (beat)

Now say it at a greater speed...

All you are doing is changing the tempo of the same pattern of beats. This tempo is called laya in hindi.

Originally posted by: cosworthkid007

Its still rocket science😭. I mean, just as a listener, how can one make it whether the laya is correct or not? Does the beat in the background music play an important role in it? Any example say of an A R Rehman track?

Ok heres an example. Many people say the beat of a clock sounds 'tick tock tick tock tick tock...'. Right?

The laya is simply the speed at which the clock goes tick tock tick tock.

A working clock will of course have a gap of 1 second between every tick and tock. That's one way of telling u the tempo of this beat. And tempo is laya.

Do you understand the concept of laya now?

OK, got the basics of it. I have just heard ek ho gaye hum aur tum..humma humma from Bombay and in the beginning the chik chik beat sounds and various other instruments being played before remo gets to sing the first line gave me a good idea of the laya concept. Thanks!

Now imagine you're singing a very simple song.

The song simply requires you to sing the word 'mississippi' whenever you hear the clock go 'tock'.

Now if you can keep up with the clock, you're in laya. So your 'mississipis' are in the right tempo coz no matter how many times you say the word, you've timed yourself so that it always 'lands' on the 'tock' sound. You are in laya.

But if you start to lose your timing and some of your mississippis land on 'tick' sounds or you miss a whole 'tick-tock' without saying mississippi, then you are losing the tempo. You are out of laya.

Hope that helps!

in simple laya/leah is speed.....every song moves with a speed, if u r singing faster/slower than the original song speed then u r out of laya

Originally posted by: xobile

Now imagine you're singing a very simple song.

The song simply requires you to sing the word 'mississippi' whenever you hear the clock go 'tock'.

Now if you can keep up with the clock, you're in laya. So your 'mississipis' are in the right tempo coz no matter how many times you say the word, you've timed yourself so that it always 'lands' on the 'tock' sound. You are in laya.

But if you start to lose your timing and some of your mississippis land on 'tick' sounds or you miss a whole 'tick-tock' without saying mississippi, then you are losing the tempo. You are out of laya.

Hope that helps!

perfect example, i was just going to post the same, am glad you are part of the forum