Audio / Music
Online Drum Machine: 16-Step Beat Maker
Make a beat in your browser: click steps in a 16-step grid for kick, snare, clap, hi-hats, tom, rimshot, and cowbell, set the tempo and swing, and share the pattern with a link that plays the same beat for anyone.
Online Drum Machine: 16-Step Beat Maker: Each row is a drum and each column a sixteenth note of one bar. The drums are synthesised by the browser's audio engine: a falling sine for the kick, filtered noise for the snare and hi-hats, and two square waves for the cowbell. Hits are scheduled ahead on the audio clock, so timing stays tight, and swing delays every second sixteenth. Runs 100% locally in your browser with zero server file uploads.
- Category
- Everyday tools
- Runs
- In your browser
- Cost
- Free · no sign-up
- Availability
- Ready to use
Runs entirely in your browser
Click the squares to place a hit on each sixteenth note; the shaded squares mark the four beats of the bar. Swing delays every second sixteenth for a shuffled feel. The drums are synthesised in your browser, and the link stores the whole pattern, so anyone who opens it hears the same beat.
Step sequencers
Programming one bar of sixteen steps is how classic drum machines such as the Roland TR-808 worked; the shaded squares mark the four beats, where the kick and snare usually land.
Tempo
Most pop is 90 to 130 BPM and house about 120 to 128. To time effects to the beat, the BPM to ms calculator gives the delay for each note length.
How to use it
- Click squares to place drum hits on the grid.
- Press play and adjust the tempo and swing.
- Copy the link to share the beat.
Privacy & limitations
Sound is generated in your browser; the link only holds the pattern.
Related tools
Frequently asked questions
How do I make a basic rock beat?
Kick on steps 1 and 9, snare on 5 and 13, and closed hi-hat on every odd step: the starting pattern is a variation of it.
What does swing do?
It delays the off-beat sixteenths, so straight rhythms start to shuffle; around 15 to 30% gives a hip-hop or house feel.
Can I export audio?
Not yet: share the link, or play it while recording with the voice recorder.
Free tool · runs in your browser · no account required