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Getting Started

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Neil Evans edited this page Oct 8, 2026 · 3 revisions

Getting Started

BeatBake is built for writing short drum grooves quickly, hearing them back, and turning them into readable notation or teaching worksheets.

Basic Workflow

  1. Choose the number of bars from the Bars control.
  2. Choose a time signature from the Time menu.
  3. Choose a note value, such as 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, or a triplet value.
  4. Choose Straight or Triplet grid mode.
  5. Click in the grid to add drum hits.
  6. Press Play to hear the groove.
  7. Use Save, Save As, Print, or Save Preset when you want to keep the groove.

The notation at the top updates as you build.

To chart a whole song instead of a short groove, click Chart Builder above the notation. See Song Chart Builder.

Main Areas

Transport and Playback Controls

The top controls handle timing and playback:

  • Play/Pause starts playback from the current playhead position.
  • Stop returns to the beginning.
  • Back to start jumps the playhead to the start.
  • Step back / Step forward moves by the selected note value.
  • Tempo sets the playback tempo.
  • Tap sets the tempo by feel.
  • Time chooses the time signature.
  • MIDI Out sends the groove as MIDI.
  • Internal turns BeatBake's built-in sounds on or off.
  • Click turns the metronome on or off.
  • Count In sets a 1- or 2-bar count-in and count-in sound.

The top control bar can be collapsed if you need more screen space for note input.

BeatBake is usable at about 1100 x 720, but 1280 x 800 or larger is recommended for a more comfortable editing layout. On smaller screens, collapse the top controls when entering notes.

Groove Name

The Groove name is used when saving and printing, so clear names help later.

Examples:

  • Basic Rock Beat
  • Seven Days Verse Groove
  • 5/8 Cowbell Exercise
  • Quarter Triplet Snare Study

Notation View

The notation panel shows the groove as drum notation on a percussion staff. It includes noteheads, stems, beams, rests, triplet brackets, open and closed hi-hat marks, accents, grace notes, cowbell and cymbal notation, and a playback cursor.

For longer grooves or dense rhythms, the notation can scroll horizontally so notes are not squashed.

Practice Library

The Practice Library is where saved material lives:

  • Grooves: saved groove presets and built-in starter grooves.
  • Worksheets: worksheet templates and exercises.
  • Rudiments: starter rudiments and your own saved rudiment patterns.

Use the search field to find grooves, worksheets, exercises, or rudiments.

BeatBake

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