Odd meters
Build odd time signatures beat by beat
Pick 7/8 from a list and you get seven identical clicks, which is not how 7/8 actually feels. You want the accents on 1, 3 and 5, and you want them without opening three settings screens.
The problem
What normally goes wrong
The time-signature list does not have your meter.
There is no list. You add beats until the bar is the length you need, anything from 1 to 300.
You can accent beat one, but not the internal groupings.
Every beat is independently set to accent, normal, soft or muted. Accent beats 1, 4, 7 and 10 and the grouping is audible immediately.
Mixed bars mean rebuilding the pattern every time it changes.
Build the whole cycle as one pattern. 6-6-6-7 is twenty-five beats with four accents, and it loops as a single unit.
Groupings and subdivisions sit behind a subscription.
The full pattern builder, group accents and every pulse division are free. Need Pro for a short stretch? Subscribe weekly and cancel when you need a break. Practise regularly? Buy it once and keep it.
Try it
This is the editor. It works right here.
Tap blocks to change them, add beats, pick a preset, press play. The app is this, with your patterns saved and a lot more sound.
Common uses
What you can practise
- Balkan and Turkish folk repertoire built from 2+2+3 and 3+3+3+2 cells
- Progressive rock and metal with bar-by-bar meter changes
- Jazz fusion in 5/4, 7/4 and 15/8
- Contemporary classical with additive rhythmic cells
- Carnatic tala practice with long repeating cycles
Questions
Can it handle a time signature like 13/8?
Yes, and it can handle the grouping too. Build a thirteen-beat bar and accent whichever beats define the shape, 4+4+5 and 3+3+3+2+2 sound completely different and both are two taps away.
Can I loop a sequence of different bars?
Yes. Build the entire cycle as one pattern and mark the phrase breaks. A 6-6-6-7 cycle is a single 25-beat pattern rather than four separate bars.
What is the longest pattern it supports?
300 beats in a single pattern, which is long enough for extended Carnatic cycles and full progressive song sections.
Complex rhythms are finally fun to build.
Free to download. Pro weekly or forever. No ads.
Download AnyBeat freeRelated lessons
Odd meter: how to count 5/4, 7/8 and uneven groups
Learn what odd meter means, count 5/4, 7/8 and 11/8 in small groups, and hear playable examples with the pulse unit made clear.
TheoryAdditive meter: count the groups, hear the difference
What is additive meter? Count 7/8 as 2+2+3, compare groupings in a playable metronome, and build a 6-6-6-7 practice cycle.
TheoryPolymeter vs polyrhythm: hear what stays the same
What is polymeter? Hear 4 against 7 on one pulse, compare it with a 3:2 polyrhythm, and learn exactly when the patterns meet again.