Drum Pads

Drum Pads gives students a grid of sixteen labeled pads in 3D. Each one is a drum sound made from oscillators and noise, such as a kick, snare, hi-hat, tom or conga. Students play by clicking a pad or pressing keys in the rows 1-4, Q-R, A-F and Z-V. The last drum played and the tempo are displayed. Students can record a pattern, press Loop last 4 bars to hear it repeat at a chosen tempo from 60 to 180 BPM, then stop or clear it. It shows how rhythm, tempo and the sound of percussion work, and suits music and science lessons on sound.

• Click the Kick and Snare pads in turn to play a basic beat, then speed it up with the Tempo slider.
• Press the keys 1-4 and Q-R on your keyboard to play several pads quickly.
• Play a pattern for four bars, then press Loop last 4 bars and listen to it repeat.
• Change Tempo while the loop plays and notice how it speeds up and slows down.
• Compare the Closed hat and Open hat pads, then the Low tom and High tom, and describe the difference in pitch.

1. 1Create a repeating rhythm pattern using percussion sounds.
2. 2Describe how tempo in beats per minute changes the speed of music.
3. 3Explain that drum sounds are made of pitch sweeps and bursts of noise.
4. 4Compare drums with low and high pitch.

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