SurRoots: free online tanpura & tabla
by Sound of Roots
Tanpura, pad and tabla for daily riyaz, all tuned to your Sa. New here? Step-by-step guide
Tanpura, pad & tabla
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Not sure? Ask your teacher on day 1.
Tanpura
Drone in your Sa
Pad
Soft synth Sa and Pa, same key
Tabla
– / 16
Plays in this page. Nothing is recorded.
No sound on iPhone? Turn off silent mode.
Where these sounds come from
Tabla: real recordings from the “tabla bols” pack by mmiron on Freesound (CC0, public domain). Tanpura: real acoustic tanpura recordings by sankalp (Sankalp Gulati) on Freesound: Tanpura 10 (CC0) and Acoustic Tanpura 5, 11 and 12 (CC BY 4.0), time-stretched, equalised and levelled by us. With Sa or Ni as the first string it is rebuilt in your browser from measurements of tanpura-string recordings by luckylittleraven on Freesound (CC0; a Swar Sangam). Sam sounds (optional): ornamental manjeera by johnnyguitar01 and ghantee-10 by pbimal on Freesound (both CC0), trimmed and levelled by us. For the thekas we referred to SwarGanga, David Courtney’s chandrakantha.com and Prof. Ramesh Gangolli’s University of Washington course notes.
How to use SurRoots
- Pick your Sa. Choose the key you sing from. Not sure? Use the one your teacher gives you.
- Start the tanpura. Press play. Leave the first string on Pa (the fifth note above Sa) unless the raag has no Pa; then choose Ma (the fourth).
- Add the tabla. Choose a taal, set the tempo, and press play. The beat cycle shows where you are.
- Stop on sam (the first beat of the cycle). Press the tabla’s stop button once and it finishes on sam. Press it again to stop at once.
Read the full guide, with pictures of every step →
The seven taals in SurRoots
| Taal | Beats | Sections | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teentaal | 16 | 4+4+4+4 | X 2 0 3 |
| Ektaal | 12 | 2+2+2+2+2+2 | X 0 2 0 3 4 |
| Jhaptaal | 10 | 2+3+2+3 | X 2 0 3 |
| Rupak | 7 | 3+2+2 | 0 1 2 |
| Dadra | 6 | 3+3 | X 0 |
| Keherwa | 8 | 4+4 | X 0 |
| Deepchandi | 14 | 3+4+3+4 | X 2 0 3 |
Each taal name opens its own page with the full theka, tempo notes and a player set to that taal. X is sam, the first beat. 0 is khali, shown with a wave of the hand. The numbers are claps (tali). Rupak starts on a khali, so its sam is shown as 0. Beats and sections follow SwarGanga’s Taalbase, checked against David Courtney’s chandrakantha.com and Prof. Ramesh Gangolli’s University of Washington course notes.
Questions
Is SurRoots free?
Yes, Basic and Pro alike. There is no account and no sign-up. It plays in your browser, and no academy pays for it.
Which Sa should I choose?
Choose the note you can sing comfortably, without straining up or down. On day 1, ask your teacher which pitch (shruti) to use. If a harmonium sits between two keys, use Fine tune under Tanpura settings; it moves the pitch in steps smaller than one key.
Does SurRoots record me?
No. It only plays sound and never uses the microphone. Your Sa, taal, tempo and volumes are saved in this browser, so the page opens the way you left it. Like every page on this site, it counts visits in aggregate, with no cookies (see Privacy).
What is the difference between Basic and Pro?
Basic plays the plain theka, the taal’s basic pattern. Pro adds variations, fills and a tihai (a phrase played three times that lands on sam). A change starts at the next sam.
Can I send my setup to a student?
Yes. Press Help next to “Your Sa (key)”, then “Copy link to this setup”. The link opens SurRoots with the same Sa, taal and tempo.
Why is there no sound on my iPhone?
Turn off silent mode, then press play again. SurRoots is built for recent versions of Safari, Chrome, Edge and Firefox.