Now with updated Audio Engine, enhanced Tuner, iOS 18 support, support for newer devices & AirPlay support
Got tanpura? Well guess what, we have two for you, PLUS a Swar Mandal AND a Sur-Peti / Shruti box! Come listen to the beautiful, meditative sound of real Hemraj tanpuras, and get lost in the mysteries of Indian Classical music.
◆◆◆ 5-STRING TANPURAS & AUTO-TUNER!
◆◆◆ Before buying also consider iTablaPro
◆◆◆ which has all iTanpura features + tabla
◆◆◆ Note: All updates are always free!
And the reviews are in:
***** "BEAUTIFUL SOUND"
***** "Excellent App, superb sound"
***** "Concert-quality tanpura in your pocket"
***** "This is what I've been waiting for"
◆ ABOUT THE TANPURA ◆
The Tanpura is a musical instrument used in Indian classical music to provide a background "drone" against which the rest of the music is performed. It is a 4-stringed instrument with a base made from cured pumpkin gourd and a stem made from wood.
◆ AND NOW PRESENTING - iTanpura ◆
iTanpura is an electronic Tanpura for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It uses stereo digital sound to simulate a set of two tanpuras each of which can be tuned with a different string combination. It uses sounds sampled from real Hemraj tanpuras to provide beautiful yet realistic sound in a pleasing and intuitive package. And now iTanpura also includes fantastic Swar Mandal sound (with presets for 75+ raags) for an instant concert atmosphere guaranteed to inspire! iTanpura is ideal for everyday music practice, concerts, or even as a serene background for meditation.
◆ KEY FEATURES ◆
√ FOUR fantastic instruments in one app: includes two 5-string tanpuras with independent pan and volume controls, a 15-string Swar Mandal, and a Sur-Peti/Shruti Box
√ Uses sounds sampled from actual male & female tanpuras for realistic tanpura sound throughout the pitch range
√ Wide range of pitch from lower A (A2) through upper E (E4) for one and a half octaves of tuning
√ INTEGRATED AUTO-TUNER: Auto-Tune iTanpura to your instrument such as harmonium, or use it to tune other instruments (microphone capability required such as iPhone built-in mic or 2nd/3rd generation iPod Touch with external microphone)
√ BACKGROUND PLAY: Start playing the tanpuras and switch to another app, or play along with iPod music
√ Integrated 15-string Swar Mandal - completely tunable & can be played manually OR set to auto-loop
√ Suitable for Hindustani or Carnatic, vocal or instrumental music
√ Fine-tune pitch in cents. The display shows the fine-tune value to allow exact recreation of any pitch
√ Play one or two simultaneous tanpuras both controlled by the master pitch controls
√ Each tanpura's first string can be tuned to Pa, Ma or Ni, or any custom note such as Re, Ga, Dha, etc
√ Or tune first string to any shruti in the octave using a slider
√ Each tanpura has its own pan and volume controls to allow precise placement within the stereo image. For example you can have a tanpura with Pa on your left and one with Ni on your right
√ PRESETS: Save your favorite settings as named presets. Includes presets for the 100+ most popular raags. And now you can also export/import presets via email or iTunes File Sharing.
√ Turn the Sur-Peti/Shruti Box on or off and adjust its volume from the settings page
√ Can be used with speakers, headset, or the internal speaker (a high-quality speaker dock is recommended for maximum effect)
Not yet convinced? Try iTanpura Lite for free! It has most of the features of the full version, except the sound stops playing after 30 seconds and it does not include the Swar Mandal or the Tuner.
iTanpura is widely praised for authentic tanpura sound, practical ragas presets, precise tuner, portability, and a robust feature set. However, recurring issues include stability/crashes on iOS devices and intermittent audio output problems, along with pricing/value concerns and expectations about platform support.
Pros
Authentic tanpura sound close to a real instrument with pure shruti.
Presets for ragas make practice easy and you can save your own presets.
Accurate tuner with cent-level tuning and tamboura/harmonium tuning.
Portable, convenient shruti box substitute with background multitasking.
Robust feature set used by professionals, including dual tanpuras and looping.
Cons
Stability issues: crashes and unexpected exits, especially on iOS 14 and after updates.
Audio output problems: occasional no-sound or dropouts when connected to external speakers or gear.
Pricing/value concerns: some users feel the app is expensive or not fully justified by platform support (e.g., iPad).
Recent reviews
I am not an Indian musician, but I love using this app as a drone to practice. I use it for improvisational exercises.
bySt*****, 2025-10-21
Not wide for IPad. Can’t see that this does anything iTablaPro does. $5 with bundle but still feel cheated.
byte*****, 2024-05-25
I’ve no experience with utilizing the tanpura to accompany me while chanting. In just minutes of experimentation with this app my vocalizing has been revolutionized.
I am finding that various keys are appropriate, depending upon the shloka. I never realized this.
I cannot thank you enough. By grace of Guru and Saraswati I found iTanpura.
Koti koti pranams.