Rhythm Builder
Listen to the beat and build the rhythm by placing notes and rests measure by measure.
Write what you hear, one measure at a time
Rhythm Builder plays a rhythm and you rebuild it by placing notes and rests in each measure. This is rhythmic dictation: turning sound into notation. You use it when you learn a passage by ear, write down a groove, or work out a rhythm your section keeps rushing.
Building is harder than choosing from a list because nothing is there to guide you. That's why it works. Every note you place is a decision about where a sound starts and how long it lasts, so the skill carries straight into reading and playing.
How to practice
- 01Listen once without touching anything. Count the beats out loud.
- 02Use Play Slow to find where each note starts, and mark those beats first.
- 03Fill in durations and rests so every measure adds up to the right number of beats.
- 04Build one measure completely before moving on to the next.
- 05Aim for 80% accuracy at Beginner before trying 3/4 or 6/8.
Every measure has to add up
The time signature tells you how many beats fill each measure. In 4/4, a half note (2 beats), a quarter (1) and two eighths (½ each) fill exactly four beats. If your measure comes up short or long, a duration is wrong somewhere.
A dot adds half the note's value: a dotted quarter lasts 1½ beats. A tie joins two notes into one longer sound, which is how rhythms cross the bar line or the middle of a 4/4 measure.
Who it's for
Students who are comfortable reading basic rhythms and ready to write them. It is also good for directors preparing students for sight-reading, theory classes or all-state auditions that include dictation.