ABSTRACT
Gati bhedam is a technique by which the phrasing in a gati/jathi combination constructed around the jathi rather than the gati. According to the jathi is so ingrained in karnatic music that in khanda jathi 3 one would never conceive of phrasing in khanda and giving accents every matras to provide some sort of colouring' of tisra. Western notation was born and developed because of specific musical parameters. When using gati bhedam, phrases are always notated every 3, 4, 5 or 7 matras within any given gati. In order to create music with this device its essential purpose is to create an illusion of polypulses or polytempi. The phrase is always created around the accent provided by the jathi. Karnatic musicians clearly state that gati bhedam exists only when all the accents are attacked and the phrase is created around the jathi. A gati/jathi combination goes from any gati without jathi to another gati without jathi exclusively on tala sam.
