Konnakol is South Indian (Carnatic) "vocal percussion" in which performers use sounds rather than words to to improvise within the structure of composition's melody and rhythm, somewhat like a jazz singer may "scat" or a rapper would beat-box. There are many potential vocalizations in konnakol, enabling a skilled performer to effectively create entire conversations within a piece of music. Note that this is different from the Hindustani practice of speaking out "bols," which correspond to finger positions used when playing tabla.

Can you fit all of these syllables into the same amount of time? YES! One, two, four and eight are easy. Three, five, seven and nine...

1: THA

2: THA-KE

3: THA-KI-TA

4: THA-KE-DHI-ME

5: THA-KE-THA-KI-TA

6: THA-KE-THA-KE-DHI-ME

7: THA-KI-THA THA-KE-DHI-ME

8: THA-KE-DHI-ME THA-KE-DJUNNO

9: THA-KE-DHI-ME THA-KE THA-KI-TA