🪘GrooveLab
Tabla path
Tabla musical instrument

Core repertoire

Kayda

Theme and variation — the compositional engine of tabla.

Intermediate20 min70 BPM

Please support these amazing teachers by watching on YouTube, liking and subscribing to their channels.

Key concepts

  • Kayda structure: mukhda, paltas, tihai
  • Bharna and khali halves
  • Systematic permutation

Practice exercises

  1. 1Write 4 paltas for one kayda
  2. 2Play the kayda tihai three times

Today's challenge5 min of open Na strokes at 60 BPM Then play it again 3 BPM faster and keep it clean.

Practice tempo

70 BPM

Quick check

Which of these is central to "Kayda"?

Related videos

Finding related videos

Finding related videos for this lesson. This usually takes a few seconds.

Tabla knowledge graph

Bols (syllables)Taal cyclesKayda & variationTihai & landing on samFixed compositions

Comes after

Tabla musical instrumentEktaalIntermediate · 18 minTabla musical instrumentDeepchandi & SitarkhaniIntermediate · 16 min

Linked lessons

Tabla musical instrumentTukdaBuilds on bols (syllables) and taal cyclesTabla musical instrumentChakradarBuilds on bols (syllables) and taal cyclesTabla musical instrumentAccompanying KathakBuilds on bols (syllables) and taal cyclesTabla musical instrumentKeharwaBuilds on bols (syllables) and taal cycles

This unlocks

Tabla musical instrumentRelaIntermediate · 20 minTabla musical instrumentTihai CraftIntermediate · 18 min
Recommended nextFoundationsThe right entry point for this track