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Carnatic Thaalam Robot app for iPhone and iPad


4.0 ( 6000 ratings )
Utilities Music
Developer: Venkata Narasimha Prasad Mantraratnam
Free
Current version: 1.0.17, last update: 4 years ago
First release : 17 Oct 2018
App size: 8.79 Mb

Introducing Carnatic Thaalam Robot, a feature rich app for Carnatic musicians to display thaalam with natural hand gestures as done traditionally.

Designed & developed by a professional musician, this app is your thaalam assistant for practice at home, recordings, teaching classes and even play with in events/concerts if you have no one to put thaalam for you.

It does
- the common thaalas
- Aadi, Rupaka (3 beat), and
- Saptha (7) thaalas - (Eka, Rupaka, Thriputa, Matya, Jhampa, Dhruva & Ata) with pancha (5) jaathis (thrisra, chathurasra, khanda, mishra, sankeerna),
- with pancha (5) gathis (nadai)
- including double beat (chaukam) mode
- the Khanda, Mishra & even Sankeerna chaapu thaalas

It also features
- alternate styles of Mishra / Sankeerna chaapu
- slow/fast styles of khanda / mishra / sankeerna gathis (a god-send for pallavi rendition)
- a Metronome beats mode
- a wide speed range (10-140 bpm), with fine speed adjustment (+/- 0.1, 0.5, 1, 5 bpm) & precise laya
- speed sensing by tapping screen
- Saved Items List

Featuring an intuitive dual visual display of thaalam cycle with
- animated hand
- total beats/sub-beats
- current position in the thaalaangaas
- decipherable sounds
makes it easy to visualize laghu, dhrutha, anudhrutha ... beats, fingers & usi (flipped palm) & sub-beats for various gathis just like a human.

These features ensure you a perfect sense in thaalam cycle, living up to its name as a thaalam robot. It is a perfect "must have" companion for Carnatic musicians, teachers & students - instrumentalists, percussionists as well as vocalists; from beginners to seasoned musicians. Your practice, musical thoughts, joy & motivation will improve tremendously with it. This is a "must have" for improving swarakalpana, mukthayis, varnam/keerthana/pallavi rendition. It can even help you play a concert when you find no one to put thaalam. Percussionists can explore their math skills/patterns/ideas while practicing without depending on anyone for thaalam.

Its features, described below, come in 3 progressive level upgrades to suit various levels of musicians making it affordable & available for all levels. Most importantly, the apps basic level is free & well suited for early stage students to motivate them learn & play with focus.

NOTE: At any level, you can
- Try & see playable features of higher levels without purchasing (thaalam stops after 4 CYCLES each time - you can try as many times as you want),
- decide & upgrade progressively to higher levels.

Basic Level
Good for Beginners to Intermediate level students

Includes
- Adi thaalam, Saptha thaalaas in native Jaathis, i.e, Thrisra Triputa, Khanda Ata, Mishra Jhampe & the rest in Chathurasra Jaathi
- Chathurasra gathi in 1 or 2 beat modes
- Metronome beats in Chathurasra gathi
- Sensing speed by tapping screen
- Pair Mode - facilitates teacher/student use app for thaalam while in a music session on phone/video call
- Save an Items List with desired thaalam & speed, pick from List with single click

Limitations of Basic Level
- Stops after MAXIMUM of 20 CYCLES each time. [Level 1 Upgrade removes this limit]
- Pair Mode stops after MAXIMUM of 4 alternating cycles. [Level 2 Upgrade removes this limit]
- Saved Items List limited to 4 items. [Level 1 Upgrade removes this limit]

Level 1 Upgrade
Useful for Senior level students

- Removes "MAXIMUM 20 CYCLES" limit of Basic level
- Adds 3-beat Rupaka thaalam
- Removes Saved Items List limit of Basic Level

Level 2 Upgrade
Useful for Teachers & Performing level students

- Adds Khanda, Mishra & Sankeerna Chaapu thaalas
- Makes all 5 Jaathis available for all Saptha thaalaas
- Adds Chaukam (double beat) mode
- Adds Thrisra Gathi
- Enables continuous Pair Mode

Level 3 Upgrade
Useful for Teachers & Concert level musicians, instrumentalists, percussionists, pallavi experts/learners

- Adds alternate mode of chaapu thaalaas
- Adds Khanda, Mishra, Sankeerna Gathis in two modes