Random Rhythm Generator: One Bar to Clap, Beat by Beat

One press writes a bar of 4/4 and a bar of 6/8, one rhythm cell per beat, with a counting line for every cell.

Random Rhythm Generator: One Bar to Clap, Beat by Beat: 12 rhythms

4/4: two sixteenths, eighth rest | sixteenth rest, sixteenth, eighth | eighth-note triplet | sixteenth, eighth, sixteenth. 6/8: three eighths | four sixteenths and an eighth.

  • 4/4 beat 1two sixteenths, eighth rest
  • 4/4 beat 2sixteenth rest, sixteenth, eighth
  • 4/4 beat 3eighth-note triplet
  • 4/4 beat 4sixteenth, eighth, sixteenth
  • 6/8 beat 1three eighths
  • 6/8 beat 2four sixteenths and an eighth

0:30

Saved
History (0)

Every rhythm you make is kept here, newest first, up to the last 20. The list stays in this browser.

    Rhythm of the day

     

    1. 4/4: eighth rest, two sixteenths | eighth rest, eighth | dotted eighth and sixteenth | eighth rest, eighth. 6/8: four sixteenths and an eighth | four sixteenths and an eighth.
    2. 4/4: sixteenth and dotted eighth | eighth rest, two sixteenths | sixteenth, eighth, sixteenth | two sixteenths and an eighth. 6/8: quarter rest, eighth | dotted quarter note.
    3. 4/4: eighth, eighth rest | quarter rest | eighth rest, eighth | two eighths. 6/8: eighth and four sixteenths | dotted quarter rest.
    4. 4/4: eighth, sixteenth rest, sixteenth | eighth, sixteenth rest, sixteenth | eighth, sixteenth rest, sixteenth | eighth and two sixteenths. 6/8: quarter and eighth | two eighths, eighth rest.
    5. 4/4: eighth, sixteenth rest, sixteenth | two sixteenths and an eighth | eighth rest, eighth | sixteenth rest, sixteenth, eighth. 6/8: two eighths, eighth rest | eighth and four sixteenths.
    6. 4/4: quarter rest | eighth and two sixteenths | eighth, eighth rest | two sixteenths, eighth rest. 6/8: eighth rest, two eighths | quarter rest, eighth.
    7. 4/4: eighth rest, two sixteenths | quarter note | sixteenth rest, sixteenth, eighth | eighth rest, two sixteenths. 6/8: eighth and quarter | quarter rest, eighth.
    8. 4/4: four sixteenths | eighth, eighth rest | quarter rest | eighth and two sixteenths. 6/8: dotted quarter rest | quarter rest, eighth.
    9. 4/4: two sixteenths, eighth rest | sixteenth rest, sixteenth, eighth | dotted eighth and sixteenth | two eighths. 6/8: three eighths | quarter rest, eighth.
    10. 4/4: two sixteenths and an eighth | sixteenth, eighth, sixteenth | eighth rest, eighth | eighth-note triplet. 6/8: quarter and eighth | dotted quarter rest.
    11. 4/4: quarter rest | four sixteenths | sixteenth, eighth, sixteenth | sixteenth and dotted eighth. 6/8: eighth and four sixteenths | eighth rest, two eighths.
    12. 4/4: two sixteenths and an eighth | eighth, sixteenth rest, sixteenth | eighth rest, eighth | four sixteenths. 6/8: eighth and four sixteenths | three eighths.

    Next step Get chords to play it onPick a note to play it on

    Random Rhythm Generator: One Bar to Clap, Beat by Beat: how it works

    This random rhythm generator writes two bars at once: a bar of 4/4 built from four beats, and a bar of 6/8 built from two. Each beat is one rhythm cell, drawn from 17 cells for simple time and 12 for compound time, and every cell comes with a line on how to count it. Lock beats, re-roll the rest, or print 12 rhythms.

    Read the bar one beat at a time

    Two bars are on the page when it opens, and New rhythm or the space bar writes two more. The upright lines separate the beats, so "two eighths | quarter note | quarter rest | four sixteenths" is one bar of 4/4 with a different cell on each beat. The rows under the result show which cell fills which beat. The padlock on a row keeps that beat while the others change. Ignore whichever bar you do not need today.

    Count it before you clap it

    In 4/4 the beat is a quarter note that splits in two, then in four. Count every sixteenth as "1 e & a, 2 e & a" and clap only where the cell has a note. Two eighths land on 1 and &. A dotted eighth and sixteenth lands on 1 and a. In 6/8 the beat is a dotted quarter that splits in three, counted "1 & a, 2 & a". The full lists below the tool give the counting line for all 29 cells, sorted into three levels.

    Practise with a steady pulse

    Set your own metronome to about 60 beats a minute, count the bar aloud once, then clap it four times in a row without stopping. The 30-second timer is for sight-reading drills: a new bar, half a minute, move on. For 3/4 read only the first three beats of the 4/4 bar, and for 2/4 the first two. Guitarists can strum the bar on muted strings, and drummers can play it on the snare.

    Tips

    • Lock beat 1 as a quarter note while you learn. A bar that starts with a plain, solid beat is much easier to place against the click.
    • If a bar beats you, halve the tempo before you change the bar. Counting the sixteenths out loud stops you rushing.
    • Turn a bar into a riff: lock all four beats, then play the rhythm on one note, then on two, then across a whole scale.
    • Teachers can print 12 rhythms and have each pair of students clap one bar while the class listens for the beat with the rest in it.
    • Keep the bars with a rest on beat 1 or an off-beat start. They feel awkward at first, and that is the reading practice that pays off.

    Questions and answers

    How many different rhythms can it make?

    The 4/4 bar has four beats with 17 cells to choose from on each, which is 17 x 17 x 17 x 17, or 83,521 bars. The 6/8 bar has two beats and 12 cells, which is 144 bars. One press picks one of each, so there are 12,027,024 pairs. One of those 4/4 bars is four quarter rests: a bar of silence, which still has to be counted.

    Does it play the rhythm out loud?

    No. The page names the rhythm and you make the sound. For reading practice that is the useful way round, because hearing a rhythm first lets you copy it by ear without reading anything. Use any metronome for the pulse, and check yourself against the counting line for each cell in the lists below the tool.

    What do "1 e & a" and "1 & a" mean?

    They are counting syllables. In 4/4, the number falls on the beat, "&" falls halfway through it, and "e" and "a" mark the two sixteenths in between, so a full beat of sixteenths is "1 e & a". In 6/8 each beat holds three eighths, counted "1 & a". A triplet squeezes three even notes into a beat that normally splits in two, and is counted "1-trip-let".

    What are the three levels in the lists?

    Level 1 in simple time is the quarter note, two eighths and the quarter rest, enough for a first lesson. Level 2 adds sixteenth notes and eighth rests, including the off-beat eighth of ska and reggae. Level 3 has dotted notes, the syncopated sixteenth, eighth, sixteenth figure, the eighth-note triplet and cells that start with a sixteenth rest. The 6/8 list is graded the same way, ending with the dotted siciliana figure.

    Why are 4/4 and 6/8 kept in separate lists?

    Because the beat divides differently. 4/4 is simple time: each beat is a quarter note that splits into two eighths. 6/8 is compound time: each beat is a dotted quarter that splits into three eighths. A cell written for one kind of beat does not fit the other, so each bar draws from its own list.

    More like this

    Random tool Browse Entertainment

    4/4 beat 1: all 17 rhythm cells

    Level 1: the beat and its halves 3

    • quarter note One clap that lasts the whole beat. Called "ta" in Kodály classes and a crotchet in Britain.
    • quarter rest A whole beat of silence. Keep counting the number in your head and do not clap.
    • two eighths Count "1 &" and clap on both. Kodály classes say "ti-ti"; in Britain these are quavers.

    Level 2: sixteenths and off-beats 5

    • eighth and two sixteenths Count "1 e & a" and clap on 1, & and a: long, short, short.
    • eighth rest, eighth Count "1 &" and clap only on the &. This is the off-beat that drives ska and reggae.
    • eighth, eighth rest Count "1 &" and clap only on the number, then stop the sound at once.
    • four sixteenths Count "1 e & a" and clap on all four. Kodály classes say "ti-ka-ti-ka"; in Britain, semiquavers.
    • two sixteenths and an eighth Count "1 e & a" and clap on 1, e and &: short, short, long.

    Level 3: dotted notes, syncopation and triplets 9

    • dotted eighth and sixteenth Count "1 e & a" and clap on 1 and a. The dot adds half again, so the first note lasts three sixteenths.
    • eighth rest, two sixteenths Count "1 e & a" and clap on & and a: a two-note pickup into the next beat.
    • eighth, sixteenth rest, sixteenth Count "1 e & a" and clap on 1 and a, with silence on the &. A dotted rhythm with a gap in it.
    • eighth-note triplet Three even claps in one beat. Count "1-trip-let"; the small 3 marks the triplet.
    • sixteenth and dotted eighth Count "1 e & a" and clap on 1 and e. Short then long: the Scotch snap of strathspeys.
    • sixteenth rest, sixteenth, eighth Count "1 e & a", stay silent on the number and clap on e and &.
    • sixteenth rest, three sixteenths Count "1 e & a", stay silent on the number and clap on e, & and a.
    • sixteenth, eighth, sixteenth Count "1 e & a" and clap on 1, e and a. Nothing lands on the &, which makes it syncopated.
    • two sixteenths, eighth rest Count "1 e & a" and clap on 1 and e, then rest through & and a.

    How this list was compiled: Note values, dots, beaming by the beat and the difference between simple and compound time follow Open Music Theory (https://viva.pressbooks.pub/openmusictheory/). Counting syllables ("1 e & a", "1 & a", "1-trip-let") and the Kodály syllables ta, ti-ti and ti-ka-ti-ka were checked against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counting_(music) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kod%C3%A1ly_method on 2026-09-18. The drawings are original SVG made for this page; x.events gives each cell as [note or rest, length] with 12 ticks to the quarter-note beat, and x.onsets lists the ticks where a clap falls. Licence: own work

    ,

    6/8 beat 1: all 12 compound rhythm cells

    Level 1: the beat and its three eighths 4

    • dotted quarter note One clap for the whole beat. In 6/8 the beat is a dotted quarter, worth three eighths.
    • dotted quarter rest A whole beat of silence. Count "1 & a" in your head.
    • quarter and eighth Count "1 & a" and clap on 1 and a: long, short. The skipping lilt of a jig.
    • three eighths Count "1 & a" and clap on all three, leaning on the number.

    Level 2: short-long and off-beat starts 4

    • eighth and quarter Count "1 & a" and clap on 1 and &: short, long.
    • eighth rest, two eighths Count "1 & a", stay silent on the number and clap on & and a.
    • quarter rest, eighth Count "1 & a" and clap only on the a, a pickup into the next beat.
    • two eighths, eighth rest Count "1 & a" and clap on 1 and &, then rest on the a.

    Level 3: sixteenths and the siciliana 4

    • dotted eighth, sixteenth, eighth Long, short, medium: the siciliana rhythm of slow baroque dances in 6/8.
    • eighth and four sixteenths Clap on 1, then two quick claps on each of & and a.
    • four sixteenths and an eighth Two quick claps on each of 1 and &, then one clap on a.
    • six sixteenths Six even claps in one beat, two for each eighth of the count.

    How this list was compiled: Note values, dots, beaming by the beat and the difference between simple and compound time follow Open Music Theory (https://viva.pressbooks.pub/openmusictheory/). Counting syllables ("1 e & a", "1 & a", "1-trip-let") and the Kodály syllables ta, ti-ti and ti-ka-ti-ka were checked against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counting_(music) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kod%C3%A1ly_method on 2026-09-18. The drawings are original SVG made for this page; x.events gives each cell as [note or rest, length] with 18 ticks to the dotted-quarter beat (6 to the eighth), and x.onsets lists the ticks where a clap falls. Licence: own work