# iShala — Indian music practice (riyaaz) > Indian classical music practice accompaniment with customizable instruments and extensive musical content. (iPhone/iPad app by Swar Systems.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ishala/id366107163 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Swar Systems](https://appshunter.io/developer/366107166) - Category: Music, Education - Price: $12.99 with in-app purchases - Rating: 4.60/5 from 156 App Store ratings · 54 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 12.0 · 111 MB - Released: 2010-04-17 - Data updated: 2026-08-26 - Monetization: free with in-app purchases - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ishala/id366107163/reviews.md ## What is iShala? iShala is an Indian music mobile app that provides flawless accompaniment for classical music practice, be it vocal, instrumental or rhythmic. It comes in 2 Editions: Standard and Pro (previously known as Premium). It features: • 6 Tanpuras (10 on Pro Edition) • 2 Tablas (3 on Pro Edition) • a Swarmandal • a Vibraphone (Pro Edition only) • a Harmonium • 3 Manjeeras (6 on Pro Edition) all fully customisable in practice sessions that can then be loaded on demand. It effectively replaces a tabla machine, a lehra player and an electronic tanpura. It is therefore an ideal tool for anyone practicing Indian classical music, or just wishing to jam along virtual Indian musicians on any other musical style. iShala includes over 60 rhythmic cycles, melodies in more than 110 ragas and 7 different tempos. You can also create your own ragas and fine-tune each of their notes at micro-tones (or shrutis) level. Possible combinations are thus nothing short of endless! iShala initially comes in Standard Edition, but you can upgrade it to Pro Edition through an In-App purchase option. These are one-time payments; whatever the edition you choose, you can use the app forever. Standard Edition has all the features you need for your riyaaz, and more. But Pro Edition adds some really exciting functionality like: • pitch correction: iShala detects the note you are currently singing, along with a coloured meter highlighting whether you are right on pitch or not. This is a precious tool to improve your accuracy. • additional instruments: 4 tanpuras, a low pitch tabla, a vibraphone and 3 manjeeras • manual playing of all instruments: tabla, harmonium, tanpura, swarmandal, vibraphone and manjeera • NEW: plug a MIDI keyboard (USB/Bluetooth) and play any of these instruments through it! • record your own loops • record your practice session: adjust mic/music level, then press REC, sing, press STOP and the audio recording file will be generated for you to listen and share • pull items from the Cloud: download rhythmic and/or melodic cycles posted from SwarShala users directly on your device For more detailed info on features per edition, check the following topic: https://www.swarclassical.com/guides/ishala/topic.php?product=is&id=18 ---- Some sweet words from our users: "Best tanpura app. Concert like. Fully satisfied. I think incomparable with others. Price also reasonable compared to others. Anyone can perform even on stage with this app." "Amazing tool for your daily solo practice. Thanks for this help for music students. Love it, God bless" "This app is best investment for Indian classical musicians. I own this app for almost 4 years and I would say it's value for money. It is best app for riyaz with amazing tabla and tanpura." "After using this app for more than 1 year I am writing genuine review about this app. Wonderful service from the team. Even when I had queries and when I was in need of assistance, they replied through Email and helped me within 10 minutes. App is wonderful which I am using for my music practice, it's helping me a lot. If u are a true music learner, I would recommend this. Thanks a lot to the team members and developers of this IShala app." "Excellent app. Best for riyaz. Fine sounds. Perfectly tuned instruments." "Just one word... Perfect !!" "Excellent App. Wonderful to do Riyaz with this App. Best on the market. Well worth the price. Well done to the developers." FOLLOW US! • facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swarclassical • instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swarclassical • youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SwarClassical ## Key features - Customizable tanpuras and tablas - Vast library of ragas and rhythmic cycles - Pitch correction for vocal accuracy - Manual instrument playing via MIDI keyboard - Session recording and loop creation - Cloud access to user-created content ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: $12.99. **One-time purchases** | Purchase | Price | Type | | --- | --- | --- | | iShala 5 Pro Edition | $9.99 | one-time | ## Recent user reviews (10 of 54) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ishala/id366107163/reviews.md ### 2/5 — Speed adjustment *2026-04-08* While using tabla, there is no option to automatically adjust the speed mid way. All I have to do is close the app, restart it which is only when you get the speed option. Once set, it cannot be changed mid way. That is very irritating and illogical! **Developer response:** Hi Ashwini, You can easily adjust the speed by going to Global tab (click on the image of instruments before play button), and there use the various options. Speed slider would be a good way of increasing to your like. Let us know in case you need more assistance with this by emailing support@swarsystems.com ### 2/5 — Big problem in app *2026-01-16* “Every time a call comes in or any video reel plays, after that the volume goes down. Then I have to remove the app from recent apps and restart it for the sound to come back. I am facing this problem even though this is a paid app. It needs to be fixed.” ### 4/5 — Manjira speed x *2026-01-10* Why is the speed multiplier not working? ### 5/5 — Restarting Swarplug on iPhone *2025-10-30* Namaste sir🙏🏻kindly please restart swarplug app for ios iPhone as it’s very much required for us in the production of our Indian music sir which is only available in the Swar System community sir, so my humble request is to kindly restart these DAW applications like Swarplug & many others in the iOS iPhone version sir as many of us couldn’t afford for PC or Mac Book sir, this is my heartfelt gentle request for the Swar Systems’ authority sir, hope you will surely consider this request sir🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 ### 3/5 — I really like this app — However, there are a few issues and suggestions. *2025-10-23* It’s super useful and sounds great! However, there are a few issues and suggestions that could make it even better: Please bring back the fixed tempo speed options like in older versions, and add +5 / –5 buttons for quick adjustments. The tabla lags twice if I change the tempo while it’s playing — would be great if that could be smoother. When I pause an individual instrument, it should stay paused even when I press the global play/pause button. Right now, everything starts playing again. The manjira (bell) sound on Sam is too low — please make it louder or give us a volume control for it. Thanks for keeping this app updated — a few tweaks and it’ll be perfect! ### 5/5 — Alankar *2025-10-04, version 5.3.1* Please add aption to manually make alankar in harmonium ### 1/5 — Some problems in this aap *2025-09-20* There is major problem in this application. I open this app and close after use but when I start my Kia seltos car the app automatically starts in car player with Bluetooth and I can’t control my player and can’t picking up and talking via car player. I talked with Kia company they asked me its app’s problem or iPhone problem. Also I talked with iPhone service manager they asked me it’s third party app and it’s their problem. Please resolve this problem immediately. ### 3/5 — The interface is not great *2025-06-11, version 5.0.4* The beat count where it says “Dha dhin na” is split into multiple lines .. there is literally no explanation of anything.. on aesthetics the less said the better .. look at other iPhone or iPad apps out there .. you’re way behind in the UI … kind of expected - I regret to say this . ### 2/5 — Feeling Cheated! *2025-06-10* On the screenshots of the app, you can see it’s Pro, that’s what I expected after purchasing, but turns out it’s the Standard version with very less features, they want you to pay almost the same amount again to get all the features, if you’re not selling the Pro version on the app store, why put the false screenshot with Pro on it when it’s actually the Standard version with very less features 1. The sessions feature doesn’t save the instruments you want to play, it plays everything all at once 2. The sound quality is not good, improper sampled instruments that result in sound that isn’t clean as you would hope 3. The manual harmonium option and all other instruments are locked behind the pro version This has honestly been a very bad experience, 2 minutes into using the app and I knew I’ve wasted my money, this isn’t what the company promised on the app store, why not directly sell the Pro version if you’re advertising it on the screenshots, FALSE ADVERTISING! DO NOT BUY iTablaPro is way better than this ### 4/5 — Kindy Fixed this two things. *2025-05-10* Tanpura sound is not that great like itablapro app & the tabla sound is not clear. Detail is missing on tabla’s sound. **Developer response:** It looks like it's a known iOS 17 issue. Please check this link for a fix: https://www.getdroidtips.com/fix-ios-17-bluetooth-issue/ ## Frequently asked questions about iShala ### What is iShala? iShala is a mobile application designed to provide accompaniment for Indian classical music practice. It offers customizable virtual instruments like tanpuras, tablas, and swarmandals, along with a comprehensive collection of rhythmic cycles and ragas to aid in vocal, instrumental, and rhythmic practice. ### What are the key features of iShala? Key features include a variety of customizable instruments such as tanpuras, tablas, and a harmonium. The app offers over 60 rhythmic cycles, melodies in more than 110 ragas, and various tempos. Advanced features in the Pro edition include pitch correction, manual instrument playing via MIDI, session recording, and cloud access to user-created content. ### How much does iShala cost? iShala is initially available in a Standard Edition. Users can upgrade to the Pro Edition through a one-time in-app purchase. Both editions can be used permanently after purchase, with the Pro Edition offering additional advanced functionalities. ### What devices is iShala compatible with? The provided description does not specify exact compatibility details such as operating systems (iOS/Android) or minimum version requirements. However, it is described as a 'mobile app,' implying compatibility with smartphones and tablets. ### Who would benefit from using iShala? iShala is ideal for anyone practicing Indian classical music, including students and professionals. It serves as a virtual tabla machine, lehra player, and electronic tanpura, making it suitable for daily solo practice, jamming along with virtual musicians, and even for stage performances. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 5.3.5 — 2026-01-18 - supports Expression in imported melodies - Inter-App Audio (IAA) compatible. Can now be loaded in IAA hosts - in-app registration ### 5.3.1 — 2025-09-25 • added Sunanda (9.5 beats), Kalavati (9.5 beats) and Jai Taal (13 beats) rhythmic cycles • some bug fixing ### 5.3.0 — 2025-09-22 PRO EDITION: • you can now connect an external (Bluetooth/USB) MIDI keyboard and play any of the featured instruments • new switch button in manual Tanpura screen to change the order of the strings • new Monitor button in global volume pane lets you include your mic input in the app audio output • new Adjust to Sa option lets you optionally scale change the Harmonium to Sa or not • new Hold Note option lets you keep notes playing until you click on them again ### 5.2.3 — 2025-07-23 PRO ONLY: • full session recording: you can now record your practice session or performance. Just click on the record button on the top bar, start the required instruments and then sing along. Stopping the playback will save the audio file in your device's Music folder, ready to be listened to and/or shared with your friends • mic gain slider: to make the most of the new recording feature, you can now adjust the incoming audio. A mic is recommended for the best results • vibraphone loudness normalized across all keys STANDARD & PRO: • Tanpura strings customization: you can now specifically adjust the gain and fading of each string in each tanpura. This way you can customize them exactly the way you want, then possibly apply some additional FX. • new Backup/Restore Data options let you save your data files to the cloud and retrieve them later on. This can be very useful when you create various ragas/sessions and want to port them to a different device. • proper Login process: in order to use the different cloud-based features, a proper login is now required. If you have already purchased a software at swarclassical.com, you can use those same credentials. If not, click on REGISTER button and you should be able to create a new registration there. • toggle manual tanpura/vibraphone orientation: when the device is set to landscape mode, the swarmandal strings are layed out horizontally by default to spread them as much as possible. But you can now switch them to a vertical layout through a rotate button. • better handling of indents in the different phone models • additional finetuning of some tanpura samples More info on these enhancements at https://www.swarclassical.com/guides/ishala/whatsnew.php ### 5.0.4 — 2025-01-19 MAJOR UPDATE! includes the following main enhancements: - refreshed UI - new Harmonium with chords & pumping effect - flag your favorite lehras - choose Tempered or Natural scale - Pro Edition*: play all instruments live - Pro Edition: record your loops/fills - Pro Edition: new Vibraphone added * Premium was renamed as Pro Edition ## Apps similar to iShala | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [LoopDeLoop](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/loopdeloop/id982766020) | 1.0 (2) | Free | Music | | [B-System CBA Accordion Tutor](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/b-system-cba-accordion-tutor/id1037609940) | 3.5 (2) | $1.99 | Music | | [ChordsVault](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chordsvault/id1024176980) | 5.0 (1) | Free | Music | | [Music Wrench](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/music-wrench/id965939820) | 4.5 (21) | Free | Music | | [Chord Tone Soloing For Guitar](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chord-tone-soloing-for-guitar/id1031680220) | 3.5 (2) | $9.99 | Music | | [Raag Sadhana - Lehra App](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/raag-sadhana-lehra-app/id1262872518) | 4.2 (46) | Free | Music | ## More apps by Swar Systems - [SwarPlug](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/swarplug/id1137879159) All apps by Swar Systems: https://appshunter.io/developer/366107166 ## Related topics [ishala](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/ishala) · [itablapro](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/itablapro) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-26.*