Dadra Theka — 6-Matra Taal | Tabla Focus

Sourcing

The structure and theka on this page come from the sources this project works from. A note with no source number is still being checked.

This taal in the glossary

Tempo80 BPM

Demo sound: manjira samples recorded by Tejus and Geetha for Tabla Focus.

Theka

ClapWave (khali)

Keeping it

Clap on 1. Wave on 4. Nothing structural falls on the other matras.

Structure

Two mirrored 3-cells (Dha Dhin Na | Dha Tin Na): the only difference between the tali and khali halves is Dhin->Tin, i.e. the bayan drops out — the minimal possible tali/khali contrast, which is why dadra feels light and rolling.

Origins

Lends its name to the semi-classical 'dadra' song-form; used for thumri, ghazal and bhajan. Light/folk-derived, not a treatise tala.

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Tabla Focus — the practice companion app for tabla and daily riyaz on iOS

The practice companion for the tabla, coming to the App Store for iPhone and iPad: mastery tracking and practice goals, your own repertoire in bol notation, a private personal record, Parampara, and focused practice tools.

Core Features

Practice: Lehra, Sangat, Lehra Composer, Sheet Music, the Taal Metronome, and Practice Progress with its charts and Activity Map.
Library: your Compositions and phrases in bol notation, your Scan Notes, your Recordings, and the Set List.
Explore: the Listening Room's tabla discography, Parampara for lineage, artist context, the artist map, and recordings, plus the Mock Exam, Tabla Tuner, Tabla Math, and the Taal Guide.
Only in Tabla Focus: .tabla Sharing, Siri, Hands-free control, Live Activity, and Widgets.

Technical Specifications

Platform: coming to iPhone and iPad; requires iOS or iPadOS 18.0 or later.
Notation: keyboard-entered bol notation.
Compositions and Scan Notes: stored separately in your private iCloud account.
Availability: coming to the App Store for iPhone and iPad.

Join the waitlist