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User guide: bass rhythm trainer

The tool shows an exercise on a bass clef staff and in tablature. You play the notes on your bass when the red cursor reaches them. The microphone (or the space bar) picks up each attack, and the tool compares it with the expected time, to the millisecond.

Get started in 4 steps

1. Choose a rhythm level and a scale. Start with level 1 and a slow tempo (60 to 70 bpm).
2. Turn on the audio input in the bottom panel, then play a note: the “Sound level” meter should move past the red line. No microphone? Skip this step and use the space bar or the “Tap here” button.
3. Press “Start”. The metronome counts in one bar, then the red cursor moves across the score.
4. Play each note when the cursor reaches it. At the end you get a score and a summary, and the session is added to your history.

To hear what to play first, click “Listen to the model”: the exercise is played back without being scored.

Reading the score and the tab

• The bass clef staff shows the rhythm and the pitch of each note. As is standard for bass, notes are written one octave above the actual sound.
• The tablature (T-A-B) shows the same notes: each line is a string (G at the top, E at the bottom) and the number is the fret. 0 = open string.
• The “Display” menu lets you keep only the score or only the tab. In tab only, the rhythm is still shown by stems and beams under the tab; a half note has its number circled.
• During the exercise, the current bar is highlighted, the note to play turns red and the page scrolls from line to line on its own.

Understanding the results

Each detected attack is matched with the nearest expected note. The offset in milliseconds appears under the note: + if you are late, − if you are early.

• Green: the note is played within the tolerance (90 ms by default).
• Orange: the note is recognised but off, early or late.
• Red ✗: the note was not played in time and counts as missed.
• Extra note: an attack that matches no expected note, for example during a rest.

The score is the percentage of notes on time, minus half a note for each extra note. Above 85 %, you are in time.

The mean offset tells you whether you tend to play early or late. An offset that stays the same from one session to the next often comes from your equipment rather than from you: see Calibrating the offset.

Pitch (“Check pitch” option): under the offset, the tool shows the note it heard, followed by ✓ if it is right, “(octave)” if it is the right note in another octave, and ✗ otherwise. Notes that are too close together (less than 0.14 s before the next one) are not checked for pitch: the sound has no time to settle. Pitch does not count in the rhythm score.

The levels

With “Next level at ≥ 80 %” on, the tool moves you up a level as soon as you score 80 % or more. Every exercise is generated at random: “New exercise” gives you another one at the same level.

The scale or style sets the notes: a single note (open A) to focus on rhythm, major and minor scales, blues-rock pentatonics, or typical patterns (disco octaves, rock root-fifth).

Settings

Tempo

From 40 to 160 beats per minute.

Tolerance

How far off a note can be and still count as on time. 90 ms suits beginners; go down to 40 ms to aim for a drummer’s precision.

Time signature and bars

2/4, 3/4, 4/4 or 5/4, from 1 to 32 bars.

Metronome click

A click on each beat, higher on the first one. The count-in is always audible.

Hear the notes

The tool plays the notes with you. By default they sound one octave higher, which is easier to hear on computer or phone speakers. “Real bass pitch” plays them at bass pitch.

Loop

The exercise starts again without stopping; each pass gets its own score.

Hide settings

Leaves more room for the score. Settings hide on their own during the exercise.

Your settings, level and calibration are remembered in this browser for next time.

Plugging in your bass or using a microphone

The tool detects the start of each sound (the attack). A clear attack, with a pick or fingers, is recognised better than a slurred or muted note.

With the computer’s or phone’s microphone

• Click “Turn on audio input” and allow the microphone.
• Wear headphones: otherwise the microphone hears the metronome and the tool’s notes and counts them as attacks.
• Set the sensitivity so that the red line on the meter sits above the room noise but below your notes.

Plugging in the bass

• Use a USB audio interface (or a 1/4" jack to USB cable). A computer’s headset jack is not suitable: a bass signal is too weak and poorly matched there.
• Turn on the audio input, then pick the interface in the “Audio input” list.
• If the meter barely moves, raise the input gain.
• Turn off the interface’s direct monitoring if you hear yourself twice.

Calibrating the offset

A few milliseconds pass between the moment you play and the moment the tool hears you (sound card, Bluetooth, processing). The tool already compensates for the latency reported by the browser, but that figure is not always accurate. To fix the rest:

1. Choose level 1, a tempo of 80 bpm and turn on the loop.
2. Play a few passes, locking in to the click as closely as you can.
3. If the summary says, for example, “on average 40 ms late” every time, set the input offset to +40 ms.

Avoid Bluetooth headphones and speakers: their latency, often above 150 ms and variable, skews the measurement.

No microphone: the space bar

During the exercise, press Space on the keyboard or the “Tap here” button for each note. On a phone, this button moves to the bottom of the screen during the exercise. It is handy for practising rhythm alone, without an instrument; pitch is not checked in that case.

Creating and sharing an exercise

• The rhythm editor lets you build your own exercise element by element: quarter notes, eighths, sixteenths, triplets, rests, half notes. It is kept in this browser.
• “Share” copies a link to the exercise (level, scale, time signature, tempo, or your own rhythm). A teacher can send the same exercise to students. The exact notes are generated at random when the link opens; the rhythm of an editor exercise is kept as is.

History and privacy

The history keeps your last 300 sessions with level, tempo, score and mean offset. The chart shows your last 30 scores.

Nothing is sent over the Internet. The microphone sound is analysed directly in your browser; it is neither recorded nor transmitted. History and settings stay in this browser; “Clear history” deletes them.

Frequently asked questions

All my notes are orange, always in the same direction

This is probably an equipment offset: see Calibrating the offset.

Extra notes show up even though I play correctly

The microphone is probably hearing the metronome or a ringing string: wear headphones, lower the sensitivity or mute the strings you are not playing.

The meter does not move

Check that the browser is allowed to use the microphone (padlock in the address bar), that the right input is selected and that no other app is using it. Raise the input gain.

Which browser should I use?

A recent version of Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari, on a computer, tablet or phone.

Start practising