Matra (music)

In Indian classical music, a Matra[1] is a beat, the smallest rhythmic sub-unit of a tala - the musical meter.

It is one of the three levels of structure for tala[2] along with Vibhag (measure)[3] and Avartan (cycle).

[4] The significance of beats depends on their occurrence in a cycle.

However, the value of the beats may be stretched or contracted depending on various factors.

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