This Indian Rhythm Will Help Your Odd Time Drumming (Sarah Thawer Lesson)

Download the loop Sarah is using in this video here: www.drumeo.com...
When it comes to translating Indian percussive traditions onto the drum kit, Sarah Thawer is the guru! In this video, Sarah uses an odd time rhythm called the rupak to demonstrate the beauty of not accenting the one.
You’ll learn how you can integrate this type of rhythmic thinking into your drumming and how to feel odd time signatures differently (and possibly even more comfortably, depending on how your mind works).
Follow along with the lesson:
- Tala (or ‘taal’) is a rhythmic cycle.
- The rupak is Sarah’s favorite tala, and it’s broken down into 3-2-2 (or 3 then 4).
- Rather than always putting the emphasis on the 1 (common in western music) you accent it like so: one two three ONE two THREE four.
- You can vocalize this pattern with syllables: tin tin na DHIN na DHIN na (where the ‘dhin’ represents the lower-sounding drum of the tabla, a classical percussion instrument from the north of India). This can help you feel the music better.
- The first (unaccented) half of the cycle is ’empty’ (known as khali) and the second (accented) half of the cycle is ‘heavy’ (bhari). So the rupak rotates between khali and bhari.
- To translate tabla-based music onto the drum kit, you could assign the lower sound (DHIN) to the bass drum and the higher sounds to the snare and hi-hat. But there are no rules!
If this lesson got you thinking differently about rhythm, you’ll love Sarah’s course ‘Exploring Indian Grooves’, available for Drumeo members. Sign up for a 7-day trial here (drumeo.com/7-d...) and get access to Sarah’s lessons on Bhangra and Garba, plus hundreds of other courses, thousands of play-along songs and more!
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#indianrhythms #sarahthawer #drumeo

[@DrumeoOfficial]

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[@stephenbarradell4043]

Wow

[@dikbeats2720]

Great stuff.. Ever tried to get Trilok Gurtu on here?

[@whatilearnttoday5295]

The inserted adverts really reduced the quality of this clip.

[@andytay5507]

@@whatilearnttoday5295 well, clip has to be paid for somehow

[@godbelow]

Don't tell me what to do!

[@Cloyd1]

She's a great teacher! She definitely has a natural talent for teaching along with her very obvious talent/passion for drumming. Absolutely great to witness!

[@DrumeoOfficial]

Glad you like it, Justin!

[@Morfarhagen]

Agree!

[@Spiewick]

100 percent

[@Chris_Stanley007]

Couldn't agree more 💯

[@meridethtohayes]

Beyond Wonderful! (Now I am wondering about The Beatles', [Harrison's] song "Within You/Without You" on Sgt. Pepper!)

[@akshhat]

As someone who's been learning Hindustani Classical Music for more than 10 years, I am glad to see Indian rhythmic ideas getting the recognition they deserve. A lot of Indian folk music is written in 7/4, but somehow the Rupak taal *feels* very evenly divided, and so those folk songs don't seem like they've been written in odd signatures. One other concept from Hindustani music I'd like to see expanded upon is the practice of 'thah', and 'dugun', which basically means double-time, however it is tackled differently (with the help of math) in Hindustani music.

[@ytusersumone]

I'm an European who's for long been playing advanced bhajan in odd signatures on European instruments, except for the tablas, so I'm delighted to see the interest to approach music in the Indian way to be increasing. It puts the mind into a different gear and state.

[@AbhigyanBorah]

Classic Teri Bindiya Re song based on the same😊 and many more..Remind a lot of such semi calssics

[@hagnuj1070]

Most of this is funk jazz fills.😂😂😂😂

[@OmarSierraltaV11]

No wonder why Danny Carey hypnotizes us with his drumming, he uses this Indian ryhtm all over the place and it's beautiful

[@LudwigSC93]

My favorite food by far is Indian and I play the drums so hmm...I should work on this stuff :)

[@chaosoul-seanleeriggs369]

Absolutely and one of his Tabla teachers (and Indian music vocabulary instructor as a whole) was none other than the great Aloke Dutta! He was featured as a special guest on several shows throughout the 1998 "Third Leg" mini-tours, and you can hear all his wonderful Tabla playing in the "Salival" version of Pushit Live, it's all him handdrumming with Danny just doing cymbal work until he comes in with his kit and pads while Aloke is doing the crazy ten-finger solo Extravaganza!! 😊 Some of Danny's own Tabla playing is sampled into his Mandala pads as well!

[@whitesandandreef4919]

@@LudwigSC93 - so, does the diarrhea come out while ur on the kit playing or after ur done?

[@Kartagoooo]

Danny Carey was also inspired by african rythms he once said in an interview referring to the album Discipline by King Crimson.

[@Vahagnll]

@@Kartagoooo Danny Carey is influenced by everything because he is God.

[@kaingates]

Holy crap she’s so good! Hype but instructive, incredible rhythm and sharp as a knife. Also like that she doesn’t go too overboard on the basics but like “you’re doing odd signatures; here’s some easier ways to conceptualize it, but don’t expect a way for a beginner to hop in on”.

[@itsfonk]

I gotta say, I stopped everything to watch this. An absolutely captivating instruction and performance. I’ve recently had an itch to get a small kit together again for fun. This will be the first exercise I dive into! Thanks for introducing me to this, Sarah! 🙏

[@DrumeoOfficial]

Yesss!

[@colinquinn2166]

That jagged swung beat at 8:30 ish is amazing. Such a wonderful instructor!!!!

[@chuckkunsman9467]

This is amazing she is seriously bad ass!! And one thing I have found lately is if you want to learn how to do odd times or even poly rhythms get with Indian style or even samba style drumming. Her kit sounds so awesome and love her playing and thought process

[@jonathandorr2234]

I heard the jazz drummers, from my dad’s vinyl, from 1957, when I awoke, and absorb. My family, musical, seeming natchal, I played drums on everything. I became a string inst./ guitarist, at 10, yet, because I 💜loved, listening. I adore great drummers, with my mind. This video couldn’t be better. I ‘ve never heard or seen a musician exemplify, this, though I believed, that I knew it did exist. No-one, has ever shown me that master class. 💨..and here it is👈🏽💋

[@eltoro6064]

Her muscle memories for all those rhythm patterns, beats, and nuances are awesome. Her sense of style, beats, and everything is soaked into her very core. She is it.

[@0anant0]

Hypnotic performance! Anytime I think of Rupak taal, I automatically think of 'Teri bindiya re' song from the film 'Abhimaan'. Another popular song from the same film in the same taal is 'Tere mere milan ki'.

[@nitinparekh2633]

Sarah, I salute you for your respect towards the Hindustani Music, and the Tabla, which you complimented with your Drum very well.

[@OTOss8]

I don't even drum. How did I end up here? Why am I learning about Rupak? Why is it so interesting? 25 years from now, someone will mention Rupak and I'll say "onetwothree ONE two ONE two" and they'll ask how I know, and I'll simply say, Sarah.

[@n34z3r]

I play guitar and I love rhythms (percussion not rhythm guitar). Rhythm plays a big part for me in creating riffs. Sometimes playing exactly what the drums play (i.e.Van Halen/Pantera/Fear Factory) is pretty cool. Sometimes its different. World rhythms, if such a term exists, helps a great deal instead of just rhythms really familiar in the U.S. Opens up the pallets and creativity. Blessings all watching

[@jaspreetbansal726]

This actually cracked me up 😂

[@bidossessi]

This 😂😂

[@diliupg]

The tabla skin maybe from your past life? 😅😅😂😂

[@dunehaggar7495]

Guitarist here (drools in guitarist)

[@IronJohn755]

That was bad ass. There's a Ravi Shankar album where he demonstrates different Indian time signatures and it's enough to make you go cross-eyed. This was a really clear instruction and such a cool performance.

[@Bonnzillaa]

Can you pls tell me what the album is called

[@IronJohn755]

@@Bonnzillaa I think it was the first track on "The Spirit of India"

[@Bonnzillaa]

@@IronJohn755 thx I'll check it out, cheers

[@sirbattlecat]

Sarah has the enthusiasm that'd make even people who hate drums follow along and love it. I happen to love drums and this is amazing.

[@alexandregubio]

How not to love Sarah Thawer ?! amazing teacher and outstanding drummer, keep up, Sarah!

[@suvetar]

Gotta say it, and with all respect, your talent is only surpassed by your beauty, thank you!

[@jonathanwingmusic]

I could listen to Sarah Thawer play all day long. Her creativity and musicality is boundless.

[@matttekverk2520]

This is very useful to anyone really wanting to learn any type of rhythmic 7/8 stuff. plus she is really fun to watch.

[@PickinPal]

I'm a guitar player who always looks to other instruments for inspiration..thank you Sarah for such a fascinating video, I was totally enthralled, you are awesome!!!!!

[@James1Hiscox]

Man she is awesome. Great drummer and teacher.

[@ltgreatsocks1]

Unbelievable. Relating to 7/8 in a new way while also basically having built in melodic phrasing? Man I need a drumset.

[@U2WB]

Fascinating. Thank you ! I’ve always had a natural affinity for “feeling” odd-time rhythms. When you stop thinking “1 2 3 4 5 6 SEVEN…” and start feeling the natural pulse, you become able to navigate through it comfortably. LOVE IT. By the way, that fast “tigatigatigatigatiga-BOP” you do with your mouth is pretty awesome. I can’t do that LOL Thanks again.

[@claytonmoore754]

So much confidence in her style, wow! Great lesson.

[@CaterinaDomenech1]

Confidence? She's a beast! 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@watersprite333]

OMG! This lady is amazing, I love her passion for what she does; very talented indeed. Namaste, love & light!

[@TumpskyandMrsSmall]

She is so excited, such energy, love it! I could never be a drummer, but I love listening.

[@ggproductions7078]

WHAT A TEACHER. I am a tutor (not a drum tutor) and I need to step up my game massively or just find tutors like this to point them to. Brilliant.

[@CommonSenseRevolution]

Sarah is both talented and knowledgeable. You can tell in her teaching that she is also passionate about her craft and can break down difficult concepts making them easily digestable by her learning audience. It only took me watching a couple of her videos on her own channel before I subscribed and now I've seen some of her jazz performances and always watch for more. I'm pretty certain if she lays down tracks for any jazz album to be released, once I hear about it I'll buy it.

[@drstrangelove296]

Wow! Just wow... Long time devotee to John McLaughlin's explorations of Indian rhythm. It was a way into a whole new canon of music and rhythm. I find it hypnotic, beautiful, and cerebrally challenging, yet inherently "right"..... natural... like Fibonacci and other mathematical sequences, ratios, that somehow seem correct.... perfect. Its a joy to watch streams like this and marvel at the complexity and skill, yet just also dig the groove.. Bravo and thx

[@jeffreyhyder2429]

I love those pneumonic devices! What a great lesson.

[@inconnector]

mnemonic*

[@llll-lk2mm]

they are called bol.

[@timothysmallaxe]

Such a wonderful player wow incredible and si knowledgeable yet easy to understand 👏🏼 Bravo beautiful

[@sparkeyjones6261]

Wow, that rhythm had the effect of shooting me right back to some very specific memories I have of buying stacks of classical audio cassettes in Indian markets in Chicago in the mid 1980's as a kid. I've always loved this kind of sound.

[@John-rw2zf]

Thank you Sarah and DRUMEO. Girls are some of the best drummers in the world. Their brains seem to be wired for it sometimes. It would definitely be helpful to have a cultural background of exposure to that style of music. Western musicians can have a hard time grasping these rhythms because they have had very little exposure to music from Eastern culture in their lifetime.

[@davidnelson5381]

Such a great groove to guide a band's singer in telling the song's story.

[@dimitrioskarastamatis4919]

Great stuff and Indian Music is wonderful and full of hidden treasures that western music can`t do, Thank You.

[@marcosmagana6641]

Thank you. You are an intelligent beautiful angel that speaks to our souls. Bless you. Such a creative mind.

[@JackofAllMinistries]

Dude, that's awesome! Love the sticking and the cymbal choices. I've been considering the Xist stuff myself...

[@BrandonToews]

You won’t be disappointed!

[@magiccarpetmusic2449]

Sarah's a beautifully musical drummer, for sure. I love Indian music, and this is a great way to incorporate its deep musical traditions into a contemporary context.

[@overcaffeinatedengineering]

Absolutely love everything about this video. Such a good technical explanation. Such passion. Such excitement. Such knowledge!

[@kermitefrog64]

This is a fascinating beat. I have heard this beat commonly in jazz music.

[@jonathankey6444]

Definitely the best drum presenter I've seen

[@truthiz7873]

Her set at the Holiday Inn on Thursday during happy hour is good too. Seems down to earth and drinks are half price

[@mustafayusuf3684]

That is a sick Taal! I love the freshness of this rhythm and Sarah's creative drumming. Rupak! Yeah!

[@lteejayfilms]

Sarah is such a sick teacher, wow!!! Well done girl!!!

[@sae3416]

What a Gal! I just love her energy and musicianship...

[@RichoMaya]

Algún día voy a tomar clases contigo, eres un excelente baterista!!!!!!!!!!!

[@JimmySting]

I do not play drums and yet here I am watching this entire video.

[@kim54688]

As an Person who's been learning Hindustani Classical Vocal for 6 years now Im so happy Indian classical is getting the recognition it deserves! Its so underrated and its saddening is that most indian ppl too don't know it

[@manojsjoshi]

This is the most favourite Taals of semiclassical Indian Music. Well explained and improvised.

[@alexmook6786]

She is phenomenal!

[@awenindoe]

I understood nothing of this but still watched the entire video, just to see a master at work.

[@Trinsid]

Goosebumps on the drunk beat sounds so sick 8:26

[@DrumeoOfficial]

Right??

[@johnsorensen4264]

This is excellent! Thank you for the great lesson.

[@johnwade7430]

When I teach North Indian Classical music, (i like to teach improvisation via Rag and Tal) I use Tupac Tal as my example tal for the class to perform. Using the drum set is a great way to show the groove - I also love your beat-boxing over the 7 beat cycle. So cool. Thanks for this. I suppose you must use Tintal….

[@johnwade7430]

The solo that you peform at the end is a real tribute to the way the Tabla player performs in an Indian performance as they play off of the melodic soloist (be it sitar, Sarangi…) Well done Sarah - given me some fresh ideas here.

[@LindskogTed]

So I do precussion but can we please talk about how FUN she is as a teacher! So much energy, expressions, just FUN! I want to jam with her SO BAD!!!!!

[@AtanoKSi]

I definitelly gonna go dive into more indian percussion, this is awesome

[@mandeepsingh-fd7mh]

She is full of energy 💐💐

[@psterud]

Very impressive. It's so fascinating to learn about how different cultures approach rhythm.

[@emmamccanntravel]

I'm entranced! Amazing teacher and interesting lesson

[@amitavabanerjea1]

“bhari” means “full” which is the opposite of empty. “bhāri” means “heavy”. The “bhari” is also called “tāli”. This is because one way we keep track of the cycle is with our hands. A clap (the Hindi word for clap is tāli) indicates the bhari. A wave of a hand indicates a khali. So rupak will be shown as “wave-2-3|clap-2|clap-2”.

[@vivanecrosis]

Amazing stuff. I don’t play drums but love making music in the computer. This gives me so much inspiration for experimenting with different rhythms.

[@virusehwag293]

Not just a Northern Indian tala - it's also Misra Chapu tala from Carnatic music. That said, great to see Indian classical music transcending the cultural divide and being incorporated into Western drums, just like the violin made its place in Carnatic music!

[@johnstahrstartcleanfitwell1051]

THANK YOU 🙏🏻 SO MUCH!!!! I've been (what I thought) was a pretty good drummer lol 😝 BUT the ONE THING I REALLY felt I NEEDED to work, understand & have a good FEEL for odd time... as well as Indian & African rhythms... Danny Carry being my favorite drummer right now... SO while I watching YOUR video I'm actually starting to innerstand these rhymes & drum beats applied to the full kit!! Again... thank you 🙏🏻 SO MUCH Sarah for helping me FINALLY start to get the feel for these rhythms!!!!! 🤘🏼

[@gracie99999]

for odd times I use hand like conductor but more conceded to dance as far as movement of body wit hand..really picks up on odd timing well but won’t be help since you’ll need hands🤓🍑

[@MichaelPaulik]

This is what’s stuck in my head getting ready to eat dinner. All jokes aside, she’s an amazing drummer!!

[@Jack-wd9go]

She's absolutely amazing!

[@teresadalessio1809]

I enjoyed every minute of this, thank you

[@MemoAkten]

That was incredible!

[@3ngi_n33r]

You just blew my 4 count mind! Inspired!

[@changchen09]

Mere Humsafar, Ye Honsla are on this groove and i just love playing them on my guitar 🎸🥲👌🏻

[@sereinaglaser649]

She is incredible❤

[@SeanofAllTrades]

My fav drummer. Absolute monster.

[@push_palo]

Everytime I see her I play. Her energy mannnnnnnn

[@Amuzic]

I just noticed something while you mentioned the "Bol", Tin tin na, Dhin na, dhina na, in liguistics, D(in this case soft D) is the voiced version of the T(Soft T) sound, voiced means, same sounds, but with an added base or resonance from your lungs...complete equivalence to the Tabla's sound to the Baya's(Base) sound.

[@kdewitt41]

This is my first time watching this video (your video) and I'm lovin' what you're doing!!!! I feel it like you're playing i just flowing togethert!! I"m not a professional drummer but sho nuff feellin it!!

[@sophglawrence]

Love this! Have never drummed to Indian rhythms before

[@baconfister]

🤯 Holy crap that was rad! Thank you Sarah!

[@Gwilfawe]

Shes amazing. Such life

[@matthewcurtiss7557]

What a great teacher

[@deadnoteguitar]

Wow wow!!!! Amazing drummer!!

[@AlphaCentauri24]

This was amazing!

[@vijaykrishna3247]

I am a indian and i know all taal and khali bhari and she teach very well

[@AbhayRajKapoor]

Loved this!!!! Super use of the Tabla base … wow!!!

[@davidian3412]

Wow! What a drummer!

[@sohailmalik3649]

Great way of explaining.

[@bobbydhal2199]

You are Unreal , I have no idea how I have discovered you .

[@MicheleAncis]

You're clearly amazing and thank you so much for this survey of those fantastic rhythms of yours... I long for more to come. I think though, just by counting, you shifted the "one" beat through your soloing, in the last jam :-)

[@aryana-jces]

Oh this is too good. I m loving it

[@rainbowmachine25]

I find myself feeling a 4/4 pulse in my head during this. Almost like a polymeter thing. strange. It's interesting how different cultures groove differently. I'm getting used to it but it really grooves in such a different way! Love it

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

I'm learning Piano with Pianote and they had one of your drummers show rhythm patterns. It was so cool I had to look at this.

[@spotteddogmemphis]

Sarah is such a good teacher. I love how she sings the beat.

[@JPlaceCrooner]

*gives musician ugly face of approval*... fantastic teacher, fantastic lesson. One of the best I've seen.

[@tylergates4075]

That's such a beautiful sounding kit

[@nicoandruzzi7555]

Awesome!

[@ultrafloss492]

Sorry, but Gddmn this is so cool!!! I'm going to 'borrow' this for my guitar playing. Thanks very much for the amazing lesson and introduction!

[@jamesramirez523]

I don’t know a damn thing about drumming but these videos are so interesting.

[@bover-5]

I’m loving the hell out of this tutorial and the beat… and I’m probably going to spend the rest of the day counting, “Tin tin na, dhin na dhin na”..! 😂

[@michaelsotomayor5001]

This is a great video :) thank you sensei!

[@colleenpost4660]

Awesome, love this!

[@De2trimmonset]

The BEST Women to do it. Big fan

[@Andy251153]

At 3:44 her face gets so intense when she says dhin because it really shows you how much passion she has just in that moment. It's funny cuz she does a funny quick face but she's really into at the same time.