TablaFocusMCP

TablaFocusMCP is a MCP server focused on tabla learning workflows. It unifies glossary lookup, composition design and validation, certification preparation, practice planning, taal explanation, the Sadhana Path skill tree, daily practice missions, a bol phrase library, and the Year in Tabla calendar into one consistent interface for AI assistants and serious learners. Alongside tools, it also exposes MCP resources (readable datasets) and prompts (guided workflows).

How To Use

Once tablafocus is installed in your MCP client, chat naturally about what you want to practice or build. The assistant can explain taals, generate compositions, create quizzes/mocks, and plan practice weeks.

Try prompts like these:

1. Explain teental for a beginner, including vibhag structure, sam, and khali.
2. Generate a valid 1-cycle tihai in teental (chatusra) and show the beat-by-beat mapping.
3. Create a weekly tabla practice plan for 45 minutes/day, 5 days/week, focused on clarity and layakari.
4. Build a 15-question ABGMVM Madhyama Pratham mock test with answer key and short rationales.
5. I have a tihai idea for teental. Help me refine it so it resolves cleanly to sam in 1 cycle.
6. Transpose this teental tihai into rupak while preserving the structural feel as closely as possible.
7. I have F7 and F8 performance-ready and I'm practicing I1 on the Sadhana Path — what should I work on next?
8. Show me beginner Delhi-gharana bol phrases I can use in a teental kaida, with tempo targets.
9. Give me today's tabla daily mission.
10. What happened in the tabla world in January, and share a "did you know?" fact about the bayan.

Workflow prompt templates are also available:

| Prompt name | What it guides | Inputs | | ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | cert_prep_plan | Certification workflow (catalog -> mock -> plan) | board, certification_level, days_per_week, minutes_per_day | | weekly_practice_reset | Weekly reset workflow after missed sessions or fatigue | goals (semicolon-delimited), daily_minutes, days_per_week, optional missed_days, completed_minutes, fatigue | | exam_week_plan | Focused 7-day exam prep workflow | board, certification_level, daily_minutes, optional weak_areas, fatigue | | missed_week_recovery | Recovery workflow after a disrupted practice week | goals (semicolon-delimited), daily_minutes, days_per_week, optional missed_days, completed_minutes, fatigue | | composition_polish | Iterative composition draft -> validate -> refine flow | taal, form, jati, optional cycles, optional polish_rounds |

Core Tools

All tools return a common envelope with meta and data.

| Tool | What it does | Required inputs | Optional inputs | Output highlights | | ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | glossary_lookup | Finds glossary terms and definitions | None | term, category, limit (1-100) | Matching entries, categories list, total matches | | compose_builder | Builds mathematically valid compositions | taal, form, jati (tisra|chatusra|khanda|misra) | cycles (1-12) | Composition equation, parameters, timeline segments, alternatives | | composition_transposer | Transposes a valid composition into a new taal/jati context | source (taal, form, jati, cycles, composition_input), target (taal, jati) | target.cycles, preserve_mode=shape_ratio | Chosen transposed composition, scale factor, preservation report, alternatives, warnings | | certification_catalog | Lists certification tracks and level breakdowns | None | board, certification_level | Board/level catalog with papers, categories, objectives, references | | assessment_builder | Creates quizzes and certification mocks | mode (practice_quiz|cert_mock) | count (1-100, default 10), seed, board, certification_level, taal | Questions, answer key with rationale, rubric, optional certification reference | | practice_coach | Generates adaptive weekly practice plans | goals (array), availability (object) | profile_id, availability.daily_minutes (1-600), availability.weekly_minutes (1-4000), availability.days_per_week (1-7), week_context.missed_days (0-7), week_context.completed_minutes (0-4000), week_context.fatigue (low|medium|high) | Weekly target, daily targets, per-day sessions, adaptive adjustments | | taal_catalog | Returns full catalog or one taal detail | None | taal_id | Taal structure, vibhag, sam/khali, clap-wave, counting guidance, theka | | composition_validator | Validates composition equation and timeline checks | taal, form, jati, cycles (1-12), composition_input | composition_input.P, G, M, g, optional detailed segments | is_valid, failure reasons, equation/timeline/segment checks | | explain_taal | Compatibility alias for taal explanation | taal | None | Explanation payload sourced from canonical taal_catalog data | | phrase_library | Looks up tabla bol phrases (kaida/rela/laggi building blocks) | None | query, tala, gharana, usage_tag, difficulty (beginner|intermediate|advanced), limit (1-100) | Matching phrases with notation, tempo star ladder, teaching notes; facet lists | | skill_path | Returns the Sadhana Path skill tree and derives learner state | None | performance_ready (skill ids), practicing (skill ids), section, skill_id, recommend_limit (1-20) | Per-skill state (locked/available/practicing/performance-ready), next-step suggestions, milestone progress | | daily_mission | Generates a deterministic daily practice mission | None | sequence (default 1), date (YYYY-MM-DD), kind (creator|quiz_lightning|tabla_math|practice_tala) | Rotating mission with target, prompt, rotation metadata | | tabla_calendar | Browses the Year in Tabla calendar and lore | None | mode (events|festivals|did_you_know), month, day, category, topic, year, query, limit | Anniversary/festival events, recurring festivals, or "Did you know?" facts with sources |

How To Install

Run directly from npm:

npx -y tablafocus-mcp@latest

Codex CLI:

codex mcp add tablafocus -- npx -y tablafocus-mcp@latest

Claude Code:

claude mcp add -s user tablafocus -- npx -y tablafocus-mcp@latest

JSON-based clients (Claude Desktop, Cline, VS Code Copilot):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tablafocus": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "tablafocus-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

Cursor:

{
  "name": "tablafocus",
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "tablafocus-mcp@latest"]
}

Documentation

• Client setup
• MCP reference
• Changelog
• Contributing guide
• MIT License