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Field notes

How music works, one playground at a time.

Each chapter is one idea and a small instrument built to show it. Move the slider, light the pads, watch the picture change, and hear why. Five minutes each, no sign-up.

Rhythm Where the hits fall, and how hard.

  1. 01 A beat is a pattern in timeSixteen pads make a bar. Light some up and you have a drum beat.
  2. 02 Quiet notes make loud ones louderSoften every other hat and a machine starts to sound like a drummer.
  3. 03 Swing makes room to movePlay every second pad a little late and a stiff rhythm starts to walk.
  4. 04 Rules can leave room for chanceLet some hits sit out at random and a loop never repeats quite the same way.

Notes Which notes belong together, and why.

  1. 05 A key is a family of notesSeven notes out of twelve that sound at home together.
  2. 06 A chord is notes played togetherThe first, third and fifth notes of the key, at the same time.

Sound What a note is made of.

  1. 07 A sound has a shapeAttack, decay, sustain and release: the difference between a pluck and a pad.
  2. 08 Less brightness, more warmthA filter turns down the high frequencies and a buzzy sound goes soft.
  3. 09 One voice or manyThree slightly detuned copies of a wave make a sound wide and alive.

Songs From a loop to something with a shape.

  1. 10 Songs are made of sectionsA verse and a chorus are just two patterns taking turns.
  2. 11 Repeat, then break the patternEars love repetition and they love surprise. The trick is the ratio.
Do these inside your own project