Rupak tabla online: 7 beats, theka and free practice player
Rupak has 7 beats in sections of 3, 2 and 2, and it starts on a wave, not a clap: beat 1 is both sam and khali. You then clap on beats 4 and 6. The theka is Tin Tin Na, Dhin Na, Dhin Na.
Free, no sign-up. SurRoots opens on the Tabla panel with Rupak already chosen. Press play.
New to the words? A matra is one beat. A vibhag is a section of the cycle. Sam is the first beat, marked X. Khali is a beat you wave, marked 0; the other marks are claps (tali). The theka is the taal’s basic pattern of bols, the spoken names of tabla strokes.
Rupak at a glance
| Beats | 7 |
|---|---|
| Sections (vibhag) | 3+2+2 |
| Clap and wave | Wave on beat 1 (sam and khali); claps on beats 4 and 6 |
| Pattern | Wave, clap, clap |
| Tempo | Medium tempo (60 to 150 matras per minute); not played fast |
| Often heard in | Almost any style: film songs, khayal, ghazal, instrumental pieces |
| Also spelled | Roopak, Rupak Tal |
The Rupak theka, section by section
| Section | Beats | Mark | Bols |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section 1 | 1 to 3 | 0 · sam and khali · wave | Tin Tin Na |
| Section 2 | 4 to 5 | 1 · clap | Dhin Na |
| Section 3 | 6 to 7 | 2 · clap | Dhin Na |
Bols are the spoken names of tabla strokes. Where a bol is spelled differently by different teachers, we say which spelling we print in the section below.
Sam is the khali
Every taal has a sam, the first beat, normally marked X and clapped. Rupak is the odd one out. Courtney writes that it is unique among the taals in that its first beat is khali, shown with a wave. Gangolli’s notes make the same point and add a consequence: the tabla player has the added responsibility of sounding the khali syllable very clearly, so the soloist can keep their place.
So in Rupak, the beat you land on at the start of every cycle is a wave. The cycle then gives you two claps, on beats 4 and 6.
How to count Rupak
Seven beats, in a long group of three and two short groups of two:
1 2 3 | 4 5 | 6 7
Wave on 1, clap on 4, clap on 6. SurRoots labels the first beat X/0 and treats it as sam.
What to call the first beat
All the sources agree the cycle starts on a wave and that claps fall on beats 4 and 6. They disagree only on the labels. Gangolli and Courtney’s printed thekas number the sections 0, 1 and 2. SwarGanga marks beat 1 with the khali sign and puts its sam sign (+) on beat 4. SurRoots shows beat 1 as X/0. The hand movements are the same.
Where you will hear Rupak
Courtney says Rupak may be found in almost any musical style, from film songs and khayal to ghazal and instrumental pieces. He also notes its theka is uncomfortably similar to Pashtu taal, which many musicians count as all claps.
How fast is Rupak played?
Rupak is a medium-tempo (madhya) taal. In a study of Hindustani recordings, the authors found no fast (drut) Rupak and only eight slow (vilambit) pieces. Like Jhaptaal, its sections are uneven, which the same paper links to slow-to-medium speeds. SurRoots’ BPM is the same unit, and its three presets (80, 120 and 145 BPM) all fall inside the 60 to 150 medium band.
One Rupak cycle takes 5.2 seconds at SurRoots’ Slow preset (80 BPM), 3.5 seconds at Medium (120) and 2.9 seconds at Fast (145).
Practise Rupak with SurRoots
- Press Open Rupak in SurRoots. The taal menu is already set to Rupak (7).
- Pick a tempo (start with Slow) and press the round play button.
- Clap and wave along. Basic keeps a steady theka with no variations; Pro adds variations, fills and a tihai.
- Press the tabla’s stop button once to end on sam, the way a tabla player would.
Try this: turn Mark Sam with to Bell in Tabla settings. Because beat 1 is a wave, the bell gives you something to hear on the beat you cannot clap.
Questions about Rupak
Why does Rupak start with a wave?
Its first beat, sam, is also the khali, so it is waved rather than clapped. Rupak is the only common taal where this happens.
Which beats are claps in Rupak?
Beats 4 and 6, the first beats of the second and third sections. Beat 1 is a wave.
What tempo is Rupak played at?
Medium. A study of Hindustani recordings found Rupak in medium tempo (60 to 150 matras per minute), with no fast examples and only a handful of slow ones.
The other six taals in SurRoots
- Teentaal: 16 beats, 4+4+4+4. The most common taal in north Indian classical music.
- Ektaal: 12 beats, six pairs, two waves. The taal of slow khayal.
- Jhaptaal: 10 beats, 2+3+2+3. A medium-tempo taal with uneven sections.
- Dadra: 6 beats, 3+3. The light-music taal of film songs, bhajans and ghazals.
- Keherwa: 8 beats, 4+4. The folk-and-film taal, spelled four ways.
- Deepchandi: 14 beats, 3+4+3+4. Four silent beats and two versions.
Sources
Beats, sections, marks and bols checked against these pages on 6 November 2026. Where they disagree, we say so above rather than pick one quietly.