RiyazStudio 1.51

India has a rich percussion tradition, being the tabla one of its most representative instruments. This program lets you produce electronically the sound of this instrument, as well as others such as the tanpura, which produces a droning sound that can serve as the background track for your tabla solos.

If you know about Western music notation and playing, you may have some initial difficulties, since Hindi music is very different from those that most Westerners know and listen to. It has its own tunings, rhythms, and terminology that don't necessarily coincide with those of Western music. On the other hand, you can use your music knowledge to adjust the notes, tempo, and intervals of the background track. Then, as you can imagine, it would be better if you have some music knowledge to take advantage of the program's features. If you are an absolute beginner, then the learning process will be harder.

A disadvantage of the shareware version is that you only can control the tanpura or background instrument, and not the actual tabla percussion. You need to purchase a license for being able to play these sounds. Also, a "nag screen" appears too frequently, urging you to register your copy. This is very annoying.

If you like Hindi music and want to experiment with its sounds, then you may enjoy this program.