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Beatnik Language Tutorial

Example:

bpm:120

HC,K. HC.   HC,S. HC.
HC,K. HC,K. HC,S. HC.
HC,K. HC.   HC,S. HC.
HC,K. HC,K. HC,S. HC.

Let's break it down.

Tempo

bpm:120

The first part is the tempo. Syntax is simple: bpm:X for X BPM.

Varying tempo is currently unsupported.

Hits

HC,K.

A hit is a bunch of drums played at the same time.

A hit contains drums to play, their velocities (volumes) and a duration. Hits are separated by spaces.

Drums

K means kick, S means snare, HC means hi-hat closed. The full list depends on the drum kit that you are using (see kit list below).

Drums separated by commas are played at the same time. HC,K means hi-hat closed played with kick drum.

You can have any number of different drums on the same hit.

Hit Duration

. or ~

Duration means the interval between a hit and the next hit after it.

Use . and ~ signs to set a hit's duration. Hit duration follows its drums without spaces.

Available durations:

  • nothing 1/4 bar
  • ~~ 1 bar
  • ~ 1/2 bar
  • . 1/8 bar
  • .. 1/16 bar
  • ... 1/32 bar
  • .... 1/64 bar
  • ..... 1/128 bar

Example: HC,K. means hi-hat and kick, 1/8 bar.

Triplets

Adding > to the duration will make it a triplet, multiplying the duration by 2/3.

Velocity

+ or -

Velocity means the volume of a single drum hit.

Use + and - signs on each drum to set its velocity.

Available velocities:

  • nothing Forte (regular)
  • ++ Fortississimo
  • + Fortissimo
  • - Mezzo forte
  • -- Mezzo piano
  • --- Piano
  • ---- Pianissimo
  • ----- Pianississimo

Example: S+,HC means snare in fortissimo and hi-hat in forte played at the same time.

Spacing

Any amount and type of spaces is allowed between hits. That means spaces, new lines, tabs. A single hit (drums+duration) should not have spaces in it.

Take K K K for example (3 consecutive kicks with 1/4 bar between them). It is the same as:

K    K          K

Or:

K
K
K

Loops

loop:4
K S K S
loop:end

Use the loop directive to repeat a section. The number indicates how many repetitions. loop:end indicates the end of the repeated section.

Nested loops are allowed:

loop:4
  K S
  loop:2
    HC S HC S
  loop:end
  K S
loop:end

Comments

# Hello

You can write comments with the # sign. Meaning everything that follows # is ignored on that line.

Example:

# Verse
HC,K. HC.   HC,S. HC.
HC,K. HC,K. HC,S. HC.

# Chorus
HC,K. HC.   HC,S. HC.
HC,K. HC.   HC,S. HC.  # Check how this part sits with the bass

Drum Kits

A "kit" is a mapping from text to a MIDI note. Different synths work with different notes, so kits make it possible to use the same symbols (K, S, etc) to write to different synths.

Set the kit using kit:X where X is the desired kit.

If you want a kit added here, please open an issue or send a pull request.

Windows Drums (default)

kit:windows  # Not necessary, because that's the default kit.
Symbol Drum
K Kick
S Snare
SS Snare sidestick
HC Hi-hat closed
HO Hi-hat open
HP Hi-hat pedal
C1 Crash 1
C2 Crash 2
C3 Chinese cymbal
C4 Splash cymbal
R1 Ride 1
R2 Ride 2
RB Ride bell
T1 Tom 1
T2 Tom 2
T3 Tom 3
T4 Tom 4
T5 Tom 5
T6 Tom 6

EZDrummer 2

kit:ezdrummer2
Symbol Drum
K Kick
S Snare
SR Snare rimshot
SS Snare sidestick
HC Hi-hat closed (edge)
HCT Hi-hat closed (tip)
HT Hi-hat tight (edge)
HTT Hi-hat tight (tip)
HO1 Hi-hat open 1
HO2 Hi-hat open 2
HO3 Hi-hat open 3
HO4 Hi-hat open 4
HO5 Hi-hat open 5
HP Hi-hat pedal (closed)
HPO Hi-hat pedal (open)
HS Hi-hat seq hits
C1 Crash 1
C1M Crash 1 muted
C2 Crash 2
C2M Crash 2 muted
C3 Crash 3
C3M Crash 3 muted
C4 Crash 4
C4M Crash 4 muted
R Ride
RB Ride bell
RW Ride bow
RM Ride muted
T1 Tom 1
T1R Tom 1 rimshot
T2 Tom 2
T2R Tom 2 rimshot
T3 Tom 3
T3R Tom 3 rimshot
T4 Tom 4
T4R Tom 4 rimshot
T5 Tom 5
T5R Tom 5 rimshot