Beat maker — a 16-step drum machine in the browser

What is this beat maker?

A beat maker here is a step sequencer for drums. Sixteen columns are one bar of 4/4, and each column is a 16th note. Four rows trigger a synthesized kick, snare, closed hat, and open hat. You click the cells, set a tempo, and press Play. There is nothing to install. The page also writes a General MIDI file of the same grid. It is one looping bar, not a multitrack studio, a sample library, or a song arrangement.

What the drum machine includes

A one-bar grid, synthesized drums, a pattern randomizer, and a MIDI download.

1. 16 steps, four drum rows: Kick, snare, closed hat, and open hat. Steps 1, 5, 9, and 13 are the downbeats of the bar. Click a cell to toggle that hit.
2. Synthesized drums, not a sample pack: The kick is a falling sine tone. The snare and hats are filtered noise. They are generated when you press Play, so the page does not ship recorded drum hits.
3. Randomize keeps a 4/4 pocket: Randomize rewrites the grid. The kick stays near the downbeats and the snare stays near the backbeat. It is a beat randomizer for this one bar, not a generator of a full track.
4. Tempo from 70 to 160 BPM: The slider sets the speed of the 16th notes. Changing it while the loop plays takes effect on the next steps.
5. MIDI on channel 10: Download MIDI writes kick as note 36, snare as 38, closed hat as 42, and open hat as 46, on General MIDI channel 10. Another program plays the sounds. This page does not export audio.

How to make a beat on this page

One bar is enough to hear a groove. Add more bars in a DAW if you take the MIDI file further.

1. 1. Start from the pattern already on the grid: The opening pattern puts the kick on every quarter note, the snare on beats 2 and 4, and hats on the 8ths, with an open hat before the snare. Press Play to hear it.
2. 2. Click cells, or randomize: Turn hits on or off while the loop runs. Randomize builds another 4/4 pattern. Reset returns to the opening groove.
3. 3. Set the tempo, then take the MIDI if you want it: Move the BPM slider until the loop sits where you want it. Download MIDI saves beat.mid. Open that file in a sequencer if you need more than one bar or different drum sounds.

Keep the bar readable

Sixteen steps fill up quickly. A sparse grid is easier to follow than a hit on every cell.

1. Leave space around the snare: A snare on steps 5 and 13 (beats 2 and 4) is the usual backbeat. Extra snares on the offbeats change the feel. Add them one at a time.
2. Do not stack both hats on the same step: Closed and open hat at the same moment fight each other. Randomize already clears the closed hat when it places an open hat. If you edit by hand, pick one.
3. Use the browser speakers or headphones: Playback uses the Web Audio output of this device. If you hear nothing, check the system volume and that the tab is allowed to play sound. The Sound Test page checks left and right speakers.
4. Treat the MIDI file as note data: beat.mid does not contain the synthesized audio from this page. A player that understands General MIDI will pick its own drum kit for channel 10.

Sources & References

References for step sequencers and for the drum notes in the MIDI file.

• Step sequencer

  “Drum machines and some older synthesizers have their own step sequencer built in.”

  This page is that kind of grid: equal steps, and a button for each drum hit. The same article describes step sequencers as rounding notes into equal time intervals. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_sequencer

• General MIDI percussion

  “In GM standard MIDI files, channel 10 is reserved for percussion instruments only.”

  The download uses that channel. Note 36 is the bass drum, 38 is the acoustic snare, 42 is the closed hi-hat, and 46 is the open hi-hat on the GM percussion map. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_MIDI

Frequently Asked Questions

Have questions? We have answers.

Related tools

Explore other diagnostic tools that pair well with this page.

• Piano Roll→Piano roll online—draw a one-octave melody on a 16-step grid and play it in the browser.
• Tone Generator→Tone generator online—play pure sine, square, triangle, or sawtooth tones from 20 Hz to 20 kHz for speaker and audio testing.
• Sound Test→Sound test online—check your speakers, test left/right channels, and verify stereo balance.
• Pitch Detector→Pitch detector online—detect the pitch of any sound with your microphone. See note, frequency, and tuning accuracy.
• Frequency Detector→Frequency detector online—measure a sound in hertz. Read Hz, the nearest note, and cents.
• Mic Test→Mic test online—check your microphone with live waveform and volume level.