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Tabla Cheat Sheet

Bols · Drills · Thekas — one page

Bols — Dayan (right / treble)

Na / TaIndex on rim (chanti); rings bright & open
TinFinger on maidan, syahi muted; soft ring
Tu / TunOpen bounce on center; full resonance
TeSlap syahi & stay; short, dry, closed

Bols — Bayan (left / bass)

Ge / GheFingers strike, heel controls pitch; open bass
Ka / KeFlat hand slaps & stays; dull, dry, closed

Combined & Fast Bols

DhaNa + Ge together (the "home" stroke)
DhinTin + Ge together; singing bass+treble
TeTeTwo quick closed dayan strokes
TiRaKiTa4 rapid strokes, alternating hands = the roll

Daily Drills — work a→d, only advance when clean (60 BPM, recite aloud)

Drill 1 — Na / Tin clarity
1aNa Na Na Na Na Na Na Naclean ringing Na
1bTin Tin Tin Tin Tin Tin Tin Tinsofter, rounder
1cNa Na Na Na · Tin Tin Tin Tinblocks
1dNa Tin Na Tin · Na Tin Na Tinalternate
Drill 2 — Open vs closed (Te)
2aTe Te Te Te Te Te Te Tedry, muted
2bNa Te Na Te · Na Te Na Tering then kill
2cTin Te Tin Te · Tin Te Tin Tesame w/ Tin
2dNa Te Tin Te · Na Te Tin Temixed
Drill 3 — Bayan bass + Dha / Dhin
3aGe Ge Ge Ge Ge Ge Ge Geopen bass
3bGe Ka Ge Ka · Ge Ka Ge Kaopen vs closed
3cDha Dha Dha Dha Dha Dha Dha DhaNa+Ge together
3dDha Dhin Dha Dhin · Dha Dhin Dha Dhinno flams
Drill 4 — TeTe doublets
4aTe Te – – · Te Te – –doublet + rest
4bTe Te Ka Ta · Te Te Ka Tafull phrase
Drill 5 — TiRaKiTa roll
5aTi Ra Ki Taslow, crisp
5bTi Ra Ki Ta Ti Ra Ki Tachain, no gap
5cTira Kita Tira Kitaas fast doublets

Keherwa — 8 beats (4+4)

Most common song groove; learn first
1Dha
2Ge
3Na
4Ti
5Na
6Ka
7Dhi
8Na

Dadra — 6 beats (3+3)

Gentle, lilting; ghazals & folk
1Dha
2Dhin
3Na
4Dha
5Ti
6Na

Teentaal — 16 beats (4+4+4+4)

Classical backbone; land clean on beat 1
1Dha
2Dhin
3Dhin
4Dha
5Dha
6Dhin
7Dhin
8Dha
9Dha
10Tin
11Tin
12Ta
13Ta
14Dhin
15Dhin
16Dha

First Kaida (Teentaal theme)

1Dha
2Dha
3Tira
4Kita
5Dha
6Dha
7Tira
8Kita
9Ta
10Ta
11Tira
12Kita
13Dha
14Dha
15Tira
16Kita
Tihai ending (play 3× to land on sam): Dha Tira Kita Dha S ×3

Remember

  • Slow is fast — clarity & even volume before speed
  • Always practice with a metronome / lehra
  • Recite the bols out loud as you play
  • 20–30 min daily > long occasional sessions
  • ■ Sam = emphasized "1"   ■ Khali = bass lifts