Herrena is one of the parts performed by the traditional txalaparta

Txalaparta

The txalaparta is a specialized Basque music device of wood or stone, similar to Romanian toacă. In Basque, zalaparta means "racket", while in the nearby areas of Navarre "txalaparta" has been attested as meaning the trot of the horse, a sense closely related to the sound of the...

 players, the other one being the ttakuna

Ttakuna

Pronounced as well as txakuna . The ttakuna is a basic two beat pounding played by each player of the txalaparta with the sticks. It provides the grounds for the traditional txalaparta alongside the herrena within a binary pattern. In that instrument, played by two performers, each one takes on a...

; another lesser known traditional term for herrena is urguna. The herrena is opposed to the ttakuna in that it breaks the balance the latter intends to maintain (hence the name herrena, meaning lame). Their rhythmic choices consist of two beats (a regular ttakuna), a single beat (sometimes called herrena by extension) or a rest, as opposed to the ttakuna, who may always strike twice.

Yet the rigid boundaries between the herrena and the ttakuna

Ttakuna

Pronounced as well as txakuna . The ttakuna is a basic two beat pounding played by each player of the txalaparta with the sticks. It provides the grounds for the traditional txalaparta alongside the herrena within a binary pattern. In that instrument, played by two performers, each one takes on a...

have melted away in modern txalaparta, so much so that the ttakuna players may perform themselves combinations belonging to the herrena.

Explanation of the picture: binary beats are represented by sticks; a dotted stick means a rest (non-played beat).