Exercises — Applied practice

Drills clean your strokes. These cards apply them: speed work, call-and-response, folk grooves (Samala → Jhyaure → Kaharba), independence, accents, and a starter tihai. Use the bottom bar for tempo; ▶ loops any grid.

10-minute warm-up Daily

Ghin-Ghin-Taang roll Signature

The classic madal cell (Drill 2c) — compound 6/8 feel counted in two. Even spacing; pulse on each Ghin. This is the Jhyaure heartbeat.

L L R · L L R — loop until automatic.

• Six notes evenly spaced (no rest)
• Danceable, not stiff — then speed pyramid on the same cell

Speed pyramid Warm-up

Take the roll above (or the Ghin–Taang loop). Play 4× slow → 4× medium → 4× fast → back down. Or climb BPM: 60 → 72 → 84 → 96 → down.

• 1 minute clean at each tempo step
• Tone and spacing stay even at the top

Four-count coordination Level 3

All five bols in one flowing bar (Drill 3a). Smooth hand-to-hand transitions.

• Dha lands together (no flam)
• Can loop 1 minute without stumbling

Call & response Ears

From Drill 3c — play Call, then Response; loop the pair. Rests are intentional.

Call

Response

• Call and answer feel like one conversation
• Don’t fill the rests

Bass ostinato + right fills Independence

Left keeps Ghin on every beat; right fills each & (Drill 3d).

• Left stays metronomic — never follows the right
• Right Taang / Taak stay crisp on the &s

Accent displacement Feel

Steady stream of Taang (Drill 3e). The player plays every stroke the same — you supply the loud/soft. Terra underline marks the intended accent. Practice each row, then rotate: loud on 1, then 2, then 3, then 4.

Accent on beat 1 (sam)

Accent on beat 2

Accent on beat 3

Accent on beat 4

Madal tihai Cadence

A short phrase ×3 that lands back on sam (Drill 3f). Say it first, then play.

Phrase ×3, then big Dha on the next “1”

• Final Dha lands on the intended sam
• Three phrases identical in spacing

Resham Firiri feel — Samala Groove

Full Khyali / Samala theka (Raju Maharjan / Kutumba). The pocket behind many Nepali folk songs. Target 60 → 100 BPM.

Chant: “Ghin — Kha-Taang — Taak-Ghin — Ghin-Taang.”

• 2 minutes without losing sam
• Can hum a folk tune over it

Maruni taal groove 4-beat

Brighter than Samala — opens on Taang. (Different from 6/8 Jhyaure dance feel.)

“Taang — Kha-Taang — Taang-Ghin — Ghin-Taang.”

Sangini — 3/4 pocket Six counts

Feel three pulses; six counts are the subdivisions.

• Cycle turns without adding a 7th count

Jhyaure dance groove 6/8

The sound people picture when they think “madal.” Built on Ghin-Ghin-Taang. Feel two big beats; six eighths roll underneath. Target lively 90 → 140.

• Danceable lilt, not stiff quarters
• Opening Dha is simultaneous both hands

Kaharba / Keherwa groove Song pocket

Most common light-music beat across South Asia. Eight eighths in 4/4. If you learn one “real” accompaniment groove after Samala, make it this.

Left steady on bass; right decorates. Often feels 3-3-2 inside.

• 2 minutes straight; can switch Samala ↔ Kaharba on demand

Optional permutations 1e–1j

Same four strokes as Drill 1d, reordered so hands don’t settle into one habit. Skip until 1d / independence feels solid. Target 70–80 BPM (start 50–60 for doubles).

1e — Right-lead (R L R L)

1g — Both opens, then both closes

1h — Left double → right double

1j — Broken grouping (L R R L)

Dadra — odd-meter start 6 counts

Light 3/4 pocket. Step 1 skeleton first, then full theka. Target 70 → 110.

Build · Step 1

Full theka

Rupak — 7/8 Odd

Starts on the khali feel. Count 3+2+2. Target 60 → 100.

Build · Step 1

Full theka

Jhaptaal — 5/4 Odd

Ten eighths in 2+3+2+3. Target 50 → 90.

Build · Step 1 (group starts)

Full theka

Groove switch drill Musical

Play 4 cycles of Samala, then 4 of Maruni, then 4 of Kaharba, without stopping the metronome. Same BPM — only the bol pattern changes.

• Sam stays clear when the pattern changes
• No panic-fill between grooves

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