Shruti Laya vs MBIRA Streaming
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Shruti Laya
This app provides a drone sound and rhythm counter for practicing Indian Classical Music. It offers a traditional Tambura sound with adjustable tempo and rhythm counts, allowing musicians to practice anywhere.
- Shruti (Tuning) reference
- Laya (Rhythm) counter
- Tambura drone sound
- Adjustable tempo
- Practice anywhere
Read full descriptionHide full description
## Description Shruti-Laya is a practice companion for Carnatic music. It gives you a tanpura drone, a Mrudanga and a Manjira that play together, locked to one beat, in the tala you choose. Turn on any of them, set your shruti and tempo, and practise. TANPURA • Set the shruti (Sa) to any standard pitch, or to a custom pitch. • Choose the first string: Pa, Ma, Ni or upper Sa. • Slow, Normal or Fast plucking. • Keeps playing when the screen locks. MRUDANGA • Plays a theka in Adi tala, built from real recorded strokes and traditional nadai patterns. • Tuned to your shruti automatically, so it always sits with the tanpura. • Accents on sam and on each anga, with a natural, human feel. • Other talas are kept with the Manjira and the tanpura. • Optional variation: the pattern changes across cycles, with a cadence into sam, instead of repeating one fixed phrase. MANJIRA • Strikes on every beat, on claps only, or on sam only. TALA • All seven Suladi Sapta talas: Dhruva, Matya, Rupaka, Jhampa, Triputa (Adi), Ata and Eka. • Misra Chapu and Khanda Chapu. • Jaati: Tisra, Chatusra, Khanda, Misra, Sankeerna. • Gati (nadai): Tisra, Chatusra, Khanda, Misra, Sankeerna. • Kalai: 1x or 2x. • Tempo from 40 to 150 BPM. Set it with the slider, or tap the beat with Tap Tempo. • Each tala remembers its own tempo. • A four-click count-in before the rhythm starts, always at sam. ON STAGE A full-screen performance display shows the beat count, tala and tempo in large type, readable from across the room. It opens on its own a few seconds after the rhythm starts. MUKTHAYA • In Adi tala, tap Mukthaya on the performance display and the Mrudanga plays a mukthaya that fills the rest of the cycle and lands on sam, then goes back to the theka. • Tap End to finish the same way: the mukthaya lands on sam with Dhin and Thom, and the rhythm stops. • The mukthaya fits whatever is left of the cycle, from 2 to 8 beats, drawn from traditional lesson patterns. TUNER Check your voice or instrument against your shruti. The tuner shows the swara you're on and how many cents sharp or flat you are. ALSO • Five colour themes. • Play and pause from the Lock Screen and Control Center. • Works on iPhone and iPad, with a layout made for the larger iPad screen. PRIVATE The microphone is used only by the Tuner, and only while it's on. Sound is analysed on your device. Nothing is recorded, stored or sent anywhere. No accounts, no ads, no tracking.
MBIRA Streaming
Read full descriptionHide full description
MBIRA Streaming brings more than 28,000 minutes of traditional Zimbabwean music to your iPhone and iPad. Explore a collection built over more than 50 years, centered on mbira and Shona music and also featuring marimba, village singers and drummers, other mbira types, and ngano. Browse albums and featured recordings, search the catalog, create personal playlists, manage your listening queue, and keep the music playing in the background. Features: - Stream MBIRA's full music collection - Browse albums and featured recordings - Search songs, albums, tunings, and musicians - Create and organize personal playlists - Build, reorder, and clear your listening queue - Continue listening with background audio - Use on iPhone and iPad About MBIRA: MBIRA is an educational nonprofit organization devoted to the traditional music of Zimbabwe. Its work supports more than 300 traditional musicians in Zimbabwe whose recordings appear in the collection, as well as instrument makers. MBIRA helps preserve and share this music with listeners and learners around the world. An existing MBIRA Streaming account is required.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Shruti Laya at 15.0 against MBIRA Streaming's 17.0. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | Shruti Laya | MBIRA Streaming |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 16.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Weekly | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ramachandra Mallappa | MBIRA |
In-app purchases
Shruti Laya
No in-app purchases
MBIRA Streaming
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Shruti Laya free?
Is MBIRA Streaming free?
Do Shruti Laya or MBIRA Streaming have ads?
Other comparisons















