Sequencer Tutorial
Learn how to program a 16-step drum pattern. We cover the grid, the parts of a kit, and the grooves you should know first.
How to Use the Sequencer
Each row is a different drum sound. Each column is one sixteenth-note slot in a single 4/4 measure. Click a cell to place a hit, click again to remove it, then press Play to hear the loop.
Pick a Tempo
Use the BPM slider. 90–110 is a comfortable range for learning a new groove.
Place Some Hits
Click cells in any row to toggle them on or off. The thicker dividers mark beats 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Press Play
Hit Play or press Spacebar. The pattern loops continuously and the playhead lights up the current step.
Mix and Save
Mute tracks to focus on one part. Adjust per-track volume. Logged in users can save and reload named patterns.
Reading the Grid
The grid represents one measure of 4/4 time, divided into sixteenth notes. Sixteen cells, four beats, four sixteenths per beat.
- Steps 1, 5, 9, 13 — the four downbeats. These are the strongest spots in the measure.
- Steps 3, 7, 11, 15 — the eighth-note "and" between each beat (the "1-and-2-and" counting most musicians grew up with).
- Steps 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 — the in-between sixteenths. Putting hats here adds energy.
Tip: The thicker dividers in the grid fall every four steps so you can always see where beat 1, 2, 3, and 4 are.
The Parts of a Drum Kit
Kick
The lowest drum, played with a foot pedal. Usually on beats 1 and 3.
Snare
The sharp, cracking drum. The classic backbeat sits on beats 2 and 4.
Hi-Hat (Closed)
The steady pulse. Plays straight eighth or sixteenth notes most of the time.
Hi-Hat (Open)
Looser, longer cymbal sound. One open hat between snare hits adds breath.
Toms
Three pitched drums (low, mid, high). Used for fills before section changes.
Crash
Loud, sustained cymbal. One crash on beat 1 marks the start of a section.
Build a Basic Backbeat
Almost every pop and rock song you have ever heard is built on this. Try it step by step.
- Closed Hi-Hat on every other step (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15) — eight equal hits.
- Kick on step 1 and step 9 — beat 1 and beat 3.
- Snare on step 5 and step 13 — beat 2 and beat 4.
- Press Play. You just programmed the most-used beat in popular music.
Now try variations: add a kick on step 11 (a "pickup" before beat 3), or turn step 15's closed hat off and step 15's open hat on. Listen to what each small change does.
Tip: Solo each row mentally by muting the others. The kick-and-snare skeleton tells you whether the groove works. The hats and toms are flavor.
Keyboard Shortcut
Press Spacebar to start or stop playback without leaving the grid.
Related Resources
- Metronome Tutorial — Lock in your sense of tempo before you program rhythms.
- Duration Reading — Learn to read the rhythmic values you are placing on the grid.
- Duration Hearing — Train your ear to identify rhythmic figures.
- Synthesizer Tutorial — Add melody once your beat is grooving.
- Practice Tips — Strategies for building consistent practice habits.
Ready to Make a Beat?
Open the sequencer and program your first groove.