Online Drums: Virtual Drum Kit
A full virtual drum kit on your screen: kick, snare, hi-hat (closed, open and pedal), two toms, floor tom, ride and crash. On a phone each finger plays a piece and you can hit two at once; on a computer, each piece has its own key.
How to use it
- Choose a kit and tap the pieces. On a PC use the keys shown on them: Q A Z for the hi-hat, S for the snare, X or Space for the kick, J K L for the toms.
- To play along, tap Open song and choose an MP3, M4A or WAV from your device, or switch on the Click at the song's BPM.
- Tap Record, play and tap Stop. With the click on, the recording starts after a one-bar count-in.
- Record again to add another layer on top: kick and snare first, hi-hat afterwards. Undo removes the last layer.
- Tap Download WAV to save what you recorded and take it into your audio editor.
Help and explanations
The three kits (acoustic, electronic and Brazilian, with surdos, repique, tamborim, pandeiro, shaker and agogô) are synthesised on your device, with no samples to download.
Parts of the drum kit and their keys
Kick (X or Space): the big drum played with the foot, marking the pulse. Snare (S): the crack on beats 2 and 4 in rock and pop. Hi-hat (A closed, Q open, Z pedal): closed gives the short tick, open lets it ring, and the closed one cuts off the open one, just like the real instrument.
Tom 1, tom 2 and floor tom (J, K and L): the drums for fills, from high to low. Ride (I): the cymbal that keeps the groove going. Crash (W or O): the cymbal for accents and entrances, almost always together with the kick.
Two grooves to start with
Rock and pop (4/4): closed hi-hat in eighth notes (1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and), kick on 1 and 3, snare on 2 and 4. Turn the click on at 70 or 80 BPM and only speed up once it flows without thinking. In the chorus, move the hi-hat pattern to the ride.
Samba (2/4), on the Brazilian kit: surdo 2 (L) on beat 1 and surdo 1 (X or Space) on beat 2, louder. On top, pandeiro (A) or snare (S) in sixteenth notes.
Recording in layers and downloading WAV
Every time you tap Record, a new layer goes on top of the previous ones, which play back while you record. With a song open, it jumps back to the point where the first layer started, so everything stays lined up.
The WAV comes out in stereo at 48 kHz, with the drums only (no song and no click), ready to mix in your editor.
Tips
- On a phone, rest the device on a table and use both hands: one on the hi-hat and snare, the other on the kick and cymbals.
- Wired headphones or the device speaker have less delay than Bluetooth.
- Don't know the song's BPM? Tap along to it in the BPM counter and use that number for the click.
- To practise timing on its own, use the online metronome.
- Start with the volume low: the kick and cymbals hit hard on headphones.
Frequently asked questions
How do I play drums on my computer keyboard?
Each piece shows its key: Q, A and Z for the hi-hat (open, closed and pedal), S for the snare, X or Space for the kick, W or O for the crash, J, K and L for the toms and I for the ride. Left hand on hi-hat and snare, thumb on Space and right hand on the toms.
Can I play drums on my phone?
Yes, with no app to install. The piece sounds the instant your finger touches it, and you can hit two at once (kick and crash, for example). Only the very first tap waits for your finger to lift, which is when the browser unlocks the audio.
What are the parts of a drum kit?
Kick (bass drum), snare, hi-hat, tom 1, tom 2, floor tom, ride cymbal and crash cymbal. The hi-hat has three sounds: closed, open and pedal.
How can I learn drums without a drum kit?
Start with coordination: the rock groove here, with the click on, and then tapping it on your legs. The virtual drums train timing and hand independence; stick and pedal technique can only be learned on the real instrument.
How do I record what I played?
Tap Record, play and tap Stop. Listen plays the result and Download WAV saves the file. Recording again adds a new layer on top; Undo removes the last one and also undoes an accidental Clear.
Why is the sound slightly delayed?
Every browser has a fixed audio output delay, larger on Android and much larger on Bluetooth headphones (0.2 s or more). To play along, use the device speaker or wired headphones.
Is the song I open uploaded to a server?
No. The file is opened and decoded on your device and never leaves it. That is why a YouTube link won't work: open an MP3, M4A, WAV or OGG file you already have.