PlayAlong Creator

Woodblock on strums

♪

Enter a YouTube ID to load a song

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0:00.0

No section selected

no bars selected

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FEEL

SWING straight

BOOMS

12s

Tap the beat to generate the grid

Chords

STEP 2 OF 4

Create the beat map

— BPM · 0 taps

Press Spacebar to start the song, then tap Spacebar on every beat all the way through. Don't worry about catching the very first beat — there is no count-in, and you place beat 1 exactly in the next step. If the time goes free, just stop tapping and start again when it comes back: a pause of a bar or more is marked as free time automatically. (S still marks one exactly if you prefer.)

Mark a mid-song stop — resume with Space

speed

time sig from here: feel:

Shift-drag across the canvas to mark free time (rubato) — the beats inside are removed and the bar count restarts after it. Right-click a free-time band to clear it.
Three things can be named, one per section: ⌖ Set Beat 1 (the song's own), ⌖ Resume Beat 1 (where the music comes back after a stop), and ⌖ Measure Beat 1 (a bar reset for a time-signature change with no pause). Pause on the beat, click it, then press the one you want — only the applicable button is enabled. Each locks the value in where you are; nothing jumps to another screen.

Opening section is in feel

GAP click to add beat · drag to move

⚠ Skipping tap produces a mathematically regular grid. Songs with any human feel or tempo variation will drift out of sync.

STEP 3 OF 4

Set Beat 1

Use the arrows (◀ / ▶ or the ← / → keys) to move the cyan marker until it lands on beat 1. Press Play to check, then click Confirm Beat 1.

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Song time signature feel — the click accents beat 1 of each bar

This song has a pickup measure — notes/chords lead in before beat 1

Measure starts

Set the time signature and feel for each section here; Check opens one to fine-tune where it lands.

STEP 4 OF 4

Mark your sections

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Play the song and click Add Section (or press A) whenever a new part begins — verse, chorus, bridge, etc.

4 measures

QUICK:

Sections

No sections yet.
Press A or click Add Section.

Time signatures

Whole song in 4/4.
Right-click a measure to change it.

DRUM STAFF EDITOR

Click a line or space to place that drum at the selected note value · pick Side stick or HH open first to place those · click a note to select it · Shift-click moves the cursor without placing a note · a different notehead re-voices the selected note · Delete removes · drag a box to multi-select · Cmd-C / double-click a bar (or Shift-click a beat) / Cmd-V to repeat · Shift-Cmd-V replaces the whole bar · Ghost makes a selected note quiet, in parentheses · R adds a rest of the selected value · Cmd-Z undoes · Esc clears the selection, then leaves

DRUM SEQUENCER build a groove, stamp it over a range, then refine on the staff

PATTERN GRID APPLY TO — BPM —

Click cells to build a groove.

TAB EDITOR

Click a string to place a note · type frets to keep going, each one the next note (after a 1 or 2 it waits for a second digit) · R adds a rest of the selected value · click a note to select · drag a box around notes and press Tie to join same-fret notes · Delete removes · toggle Rest to place rests · ✕ Mute a selected note (or arm it) for a dead note · Slide in / Slide → / Slide out mark a slide on a selected note · Cmd-V pastes over what is there · Shift-Cmd-V clears the whole bar first · Cmd-Z undo · Shift-Cmd-Z redo · Esc clears the selection, then leaves

From

Chords Strums Riffs

Chords Strums

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Chords Strums Riffs

Song Setup ▼

TITLE

—

INSTRUMENT

METER

KEY

ARTIST

YOUTUBE ID

CONTENT Explicit lyrics Your call, not a scan. A single word you can cover with Mute Profanity does not need this — rate a song only when the language is pervasive enough that muting cannot reasonably handle it.

Beat 1 & BPM ▼

Tempo & beat map are set in the setup wizard. Use ↺ Re-tap to redo them. Song end is set automatically.

BPM

BEAT 1

▶ BEAT 1 MODE

Drag the cyan marker to beat 1. Press Play to verify.

0:00.0

Sections

Load a song to begin.

Chord Editor

Chord Name

Start Fret

Category

Instrument

Click a fret to place/cycle fingers (1→2→3→4→T→empty; T = thumb over the neck). Click a row's ▬ to toggle barre.

Playalong Creator

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Guitar and bass sounds: Fluid R3 GM by Frank Wen, converted by midi-js-soundfonts, CC BY 3.0

PLAYALONG CREATOR

We don't have that song yet.

Would you like to add it? We'll walk you through setting it up step by step.

STEP 1 OF 4

Set up the song

Song Title

Artist

Content Explicit lyrics A single instance you can cover with Mute Profanity does not need this — rate the song only when the language is pervasive enough that muting cannot reasonably handle it.

Key

YouTube URL e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0ds4170dw

Time Signature

/ 4 beats per measure

Capo

CAPO

PLAYALONG CREATOR

Review Queue

♩ Set Strum Pattern

FEEL

SWING

TIMING

On beat

← BehindAhead →

PATTERN GRID — click cell to cycle: empty → ↓ down → ↑ up → empty

LOAD PRESET

APPLY TO SECTIONS

Select all

PATTERN NAME

SET PRIORITY

Right-click arrows to cycle ①②③.
Then apply to all matching measures.

Section:

Length:

Source measure:

Some target measures already have strum events.