Notes · Guides that answer the question
How the tools work, and why
Long-form guides to the things the Labs tools do — pitch, rhythm, raga, meter. Each one starts with a direct answer, carries the tables you would otherwise have to assemble yourself, and links to the free tool that puts it into practice.
- Adi tala explained, with gati and eduppuEight beats, three hand gestures, and the two things that change how it feels.Adi tala is an eight-beat Carnatic rhythmic cycle counted as 4 + 2 + 2: a laghu of four beats (a clap plus three finger counts), then two drutams (a clap and a wave each). Gati sets how many subdivisions fall inside each beat — usually four. Eduppu sets where the melody starts relative to beat one.Tala Clock · Pulse9 min
- Free tanpura and tala apps, comparedSix options, what each is actually good at, and what ours does not do.For a free tanpura drone in a browser with no sign-up, Shruti and Tala Clock cover the basics on any device. Riyaz and Abhyas offer richer sampled tanpuras and structured courses but require accounts and paid tiers. Talanome and Tala Keeper are focused native tala apps with deeper rhythm features than any browser tool.Shruti · Tala Clock9 min
- How to find your SaYour shruti is not a fact about your voice. It is a decision you make once, then check.To find your Sa, hum the lowest note you can hold steadily without strain, then count up five semitones — that is usually a comfortable Sa. Most adult male voices settle between C and D; most adult female voices between F and A. Play a tanpura at that pitch and sing a plain descending phrase. If the bottom feels forced, move up a semitone.Sa Finder · Shruti8 min
- The 72 melakarta ragas, in one tableNot 72 facts to memorise. Six choices, made twice, in a fixed order.The 72 melakarta ragas are the complete set of seven-note Carnatic scales that contain Sa, Pa, one Ma, one Ri, one Ga, one Dha and one Ni in ascending order. They are generated, not collected: 2 choices of Ma × 6 valid Ri–Ga pairs × 6 valid Dha–Ni pairs = 72. The full table is below.Raga Explorer · Raga & Scale Finder9 min
- Time signatures by feel: 3/4, 6/8 and 7/8The number on the page is a spelling. What you are counting is groups.A time signature tells you how many beats are in a bar and what note value gets the beat, but what you actually hear is grouping. 3/4 is three even beats — one strong, two weak. 6/8 is six eighth notes grouped as two pulses of three. 7/8 is seven, grouped unevenly as 2+2+3 or 3+2+2.Pulse · Grand Stage8 min
- Which raga is this?Notes narrow it to a shortlist. Phrases decide it. Here is how to do both.To identify a raga, first write down its notes relative to Sa, not in absolute pitches. That set usually narrows the field to between three and ten candidates. Then listen for what separates them: which notes are skipped going up but used coming down, which note the phrases keep returning to, and which note carries an oscillation.Raga & Scale Finder · Svara Mirror10 min