12 interactive lessons in 3 units: pulse, tempo, reading rhythms, eighth notes, playing together, memory and question and answer. Tap the pads or play with the F and J keys. No sign-up — your progress is saved on this device only.
Play once on every beat, together with the metronome clicks.
BeginnerPulse●●●●●~4 minGrades 1–2
Learning goal: Listens to a steady pulse (the basic beat) and plays evenly spaced beats on the bass drum and the snare.
Time: ~4 min · Topic: Rhythm
Prior knowledge: Trying one of the Rhythm Echo activities first is recommended.
How to use it: First, tap along with the clicks on your knees as a class. The program counts four clicks, then the student plays. The timing tolerance is generous; every try is scored again and the best one is kept.
Play the same rhythm at tortoise speed and at hare speed.
BeginnerTempo●●●●●~5 minGrades 1–2–3
Learning goal: Plays the same rhythm pattern at different tempos (slow, medium, fast) and experiences the idea of tempo.
Time: ~5 min · Topic: Rhythm, Listening
Prior knowledge: Can keep a steady pulse. · Do first: Keeping a steady pulse
How to use it: Tempo means the speed of the music. Show students that the pattern stays the same when it gets faster; only the gaps get shorter. The ‘Slow’ speed setting makes every tempo another 25% slower.
After four clicks the metronome goes quiet. Keep the pulse inside you and keep playing.
IntermediatePulse●●●●●~5 minGrades 2–3–4
Learning goal: Keeps their inner pulse without an outside beat and plays at a steady tempo.
Time: ~5 min · Topic: Rhythm
Prior knowledge: Can keep a steady pulse with the metronome. · Do first: Keeping a steady pulse
How to use it: In this lesson there are only four clicks at the start. Suggest that students count in their heads (one-two-three-four). Slowing down or speeding up is marked as ‘early’ or ‘late’.
Learning goal: Reads quarter notes and quarter rests and plays and stops at the right time.
Time: ~6 min · Topic: Rhythm
Prior knowledge: Can keep a steady pulse. · Do first: Keeping a steady pulse
How to use it: On the cards, ‘ta’ means play and ‘rest’ means wait. Pressing a pad during a rest counts as an extra beat. Read the rhythm aloud first: ta ta ta shh.
Learning goal: Reads eighth notes (ti-ti) together with quarter notes (ta) and plays them in tempo.
Time: ~7 min · Topic: Rhythm
Prior knowledge: Can read quarter notes and rests. · Do first: Reading quarter notes and rests
How to use it: Say eighth notes as ‘ti-ti’: two sounds fit into one beat. The tempo is a little slow on purpose. You can suggest that students use two fingers and alternate them for eighth notes.
Some music is counted in threes. Bass drum at the start of the bar, then two snares.
IntermediateMeter●●●●●~6 minGrades 2–3–4
Learning goal: Feels and plays the strong–weak–weak pattern of three-four time.
Time: ~6 min · Topic: Rhythm
Prior knowledge: Can read quarter notes and rests. · Do first: Reading quarter notes and rests
How to use it: The count-in is three clicks. Sway together as a class saying ‘ONE-two-three’ to give the feeling of a waltz. The bass drum is always on the first beat of the bar.
Hit both pads at the same time! Play with two hands (or press F and J together).
IntermediateCoordination●●●●●~6 minGrades 2–3–4
Learning goal: Plays rhythm patterns using two different drum sounds at the same time and one after the other, and builds hand coordination.
Time: ~6 min · Topic: Rhythm
Prior knowledge: Can tell the bass drum and the snare apart by ear. · Do first: Reading quarter notes and rests
How to use it: Beats played together appear on the cards as ‘Bass drum + Snare’. On a touch screen, use two fingers; on a computer, press F and J together. Each sound is scored separately.
Hear a chain of bass drum and snare sounds; it gets one beat longer every round. Play it back in the same order.
IntermediateMemory●●●●●~6 minGrades 2–3–4
Learning goal: Keeps longer and longer bass drum and snare sequences in their listening memory and plays them back in the right order.
Time: ~6 min · Topic: Listening, Rhythm
Prior knowledge: Can tell the bass drum and the snare apart by ear. · Do first: Bass drum and snare together
How to use it: In this game the order matters, not the timing, so students can play without hurrying. In the first chain the pads light up; in the second there is only sound. After a mistake the chain is played again.
While the piano plays a melody, you play the same short rhythm again and again.
IntermediateEnsemble●●●●●~8 minGrades 2–3–4
Learning goal: Accompanies a piece of music with a short repeating rhythm pattern (ostinato) without losing the tempo.
Time: ~8 min · Topic: Rhythm, Listening
Prior knowledge: Can keep a steady pulse with and without the metronome. · Do first: Keeping the pulse when the metronome stops
How to use it: An ostinato is a short pattern that repeats over and over. The melody can be distracting, so ask students to focus on their own pattern. The piano accompaniment is an original composition.
The program asks a rhythm question; you answer with your own rhythm of the same length.
AdvancedImprovisation●●●●●~8 minGrades 3–4
Learning goal: Improvises an original rhythmic answer to a four-beat rhythm question while keeping the tempo.
Time: ~8 min · Topic: Rhythm, Creativity
Prior knowledge: Eighth notes and using two sounds together. · Do first: Eighth notes: ti-ti, Bass drum and snare together
How to use it: The answer doesn’t have to match the question. What is checked: at least three beats, beats that land on the clicks or halfway between them (eighth notes), both sounds used, and an answer that fits within four beats. Let students hear their answer with ‘Play my answer’.
Write your own 8-beat rhythm with the bass drum and the snare, then play it in tempo.
AdvancedCreativity●●●●●~8 minGrades 2–3–4
Learning goal: Designs an original eight-beat rhythm using the bass drum and snare sounds and performs it in tempo.
Time: ~8 min · Topic: Rhythm, Creativity
Prior knowledge: Can play the bass drum and the snare in turn and in tempo. · Do first: Bass drum and snare together
How to use it: Rule: 8 beats, and both sounds must be used. The rhythm is saved on this device. In the second step the student plays their own rhythm with the metronome; in class, students can play each other’s rhythms.
Small tasks from everything you’ve learned in the drum lessons: listening, pulse, reading, memory and improvising.
AdvancedCheck-up●●●●●~12 minGrades 3–4
Learning goal: Shows the skills of telling sounds apart, keeping a pulse, reading rhythms (rests and eighth notes), playing together, rhythm memory and improvising in a mixed task.
Time: ~12 min · Topic: Rhythm, Listening, Creativity
Prior knowledge: Has completed the drum units. · Do first: Keeping the pulse when the metronome stops, Eighth notes: ti-ti, Rhythm memory chain, Question and answer: replying with my own rhythm
How to use it: The result screen shows a skills summary, so you can see which topic needs practice. It is not an official assessment tool.
Every lesson has a suggested grade, a learning goal, an estimated time, the knowledge students need first and short notes for class use. On a lesson page, open “Notes for teachers” to make a student link that carries your settings (hints on or off, tempo). Results are never sent to a server. All 12 lessons are available in English and Turkish; switching the language keeps your progress.
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