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    Shikhar Taal practice

    Choose tabla, spoken bols, or both. Set the pace and press play.

    Taal: Shikhar17 matras

    Interactive Shikhar player

    Tap or click a matra to change its bol.

    Vibhag 1
    Vibhag 1X · Sam · Clap
    Vibhag 2
    Vibhag 20 · Khali · Wave
    Vibhag 3
    Vibhag 32 · Tali · Clap
    Vibhag 4
    Vibhag 43 · Tali · Clap

    Shikhar structure

    Shikhar (also written Shikhar Taal) has 17 matras grouped into vibhags of 6, 6, 2, 3. A seventeen-matra taal in 6+6+2+3, with a wave on matra 7. A theka is the bol pattern played over the cycle.

    Bol patterns vary by teacher and tradition. Follow your teacher’s version for class.

    Sam, tali, and khali

    Sam · matra 1
    The first matra and the cycle’s return point. Mark it with a clap.
    Khali · matra 7
    Wave at the start of the vibhag; keep counting every matra.
    Tali · matras 13 and 15
    Clap on the first matra of each of these vibhags.

    Shikhar theka

    Priyanka’s recorded theka, with each bol placed on a matra:

    1. Matras 1–6Dha · Trak · Dhin · Nag · Dhum · Ka
    2. Matras 7–12Dhin · Nag · Dhum · Kita · Trak · Dhit
    3. Matras 13–14Ta · Titi
    4. Matras 15–17Kata · Gadi · Gana

    Trak, Nag, Kita and Titi each stay within one matra.

    Practice another taal

    Compare all taals

    Tabla audio: Subodh Deolekar, Tabla strokes dataset (2020), used under CC BY 4.0.

    Hindi voice: Priyanka Bhadgaonkar. Some additional bols use an AI voice.

    Priyanka’s recordings are for personal practice, not reuse or redistribution. Recording terms. WAV downloads contain tabla and cues only.

    Audio software credits