About RITHM
An independent music theory school you can play in your browser.
What RITHM Is
RITHM is a free, browser-based music theory platform that turns the fundamentals — reading notation, hearing intervals, recognizing chords, feeling rhythm — into short interactive games. Every concept has a tutorial that teaches it, a game that drills it, and a place in a 24-week curriculum that ties everything together.
The goal is simple: take the parts of music theory most learners find dry, and make them something you reach for the way you reach for a daily puzzle. Five minutes of focused practice each day beats an hour of trying to read a textbook, and the games are designed to make those five minutes easy to start and hard to stop.
Who Built It
RITHM is built and maintained by Ryan Keys, a musician and software engineer based in the United States. The site is not backed by a company, a publisher, or a venture-funded ed-tech outfit. It is an independent project, written in Django and vanilla JavaScript, and every page on the site was hand-written.
That independence is intentional. RITHM does not sell student data, does not chase engagement metrics, and does not gate basic music theory behind a paywall. The free plan is genuinely usable on its own, and the optional Pro plan exists to fund development, not to coerce upgrades.
Teaching Philosophy
RITHM is built around three ideas drawn from how musicians actually learn:
- Active recall over passive reading. You learn note names by naming notes — fast, repeatedly, with immediate feedback. Every game is structured as a recall drill, not a slideshow.
- Short sessions, daily. Music skill is built by the calendar, not by the clock. The free plan grants three practice sessions per day for a reason: it nudges you toward steady habits instead of binge sessions that fade by Friday.
- Concepts before vocabulary. You can hear a minor third long before you know what to call it. Tutorials introduce the sound and the staff position first, and reserve the theory jargon for once the pattern is already familiar.
What You Can Do Here
- Read the guide — a written reference covering notes, intervals, chords, and scales.
- Practice tips — concrete strategies for getting more out of every session.
- Follow the 24-week curriculum — a structured path from the musical alphabet through jazz harmony and ear training mastery.
- Play any of 13 games — from note reading and chord identification to a web synthesizer and metronome.
- Compete on the leaderboard — submit scores after 10+ attempts and see where you stand weekly and all-time.
Who It's For
RITHM works for self-taught musicians shoring up theory they skipped, students preparing for a music exam or audition, classroom teachers looking for drill activities for their students, and adults coming back to music after years away. No prior background is required — every game starts at a Beginner level that assumes nothing.
Contact
Feedback, bug reports, and partnership inquiries are all welcome.
Email support@rithm.games.
For questions about how your data is handled, see the Privacy Policy. For the rules of using the site, see the Terms of Service.