At Beatmap Music, we like to think about music creation in two big categories: WHEN a sound happens and WHAT the sound is.
The “when” category is simple – it’s literally when a sound falls into a groove.
WHEN you make a sound is more important than WHAT sound you make!
the pegboardist, 2025
The “what” category is very complex, containing the pitch, volume, timbre, and envelope of a sound, as well as the key areas, scales, chords, clefs, accidentals, lyrics and the physical actions required to make that sound on a particular instrument.
Despite being simpler, “when” you make the sound is more important than “what” sound you make.
Unfortunately, because there is so much to learn about “what” the sound should be, there is little time left to become confident about “when” the sound should occur.
Animated notation uses rhythm game mechanics, stripping down the “what” to its simplest form, so that we can focus on “when”. This allows us to always play songs at tempo, getting a true sense of what different rhythms feel like.
This is not a replacement for traditional music education, but rather a powerful new tool for the educators.
Concentrating on how your brain recognizes and predicts musical patterns will help you gain skill on any instrument.
Locking into musical grooves with other humans is one of the best feelings. We are Better Together!