About Claptoscore

Claptoscore is a set of free rhythm tools that run in your browser. The main tool turns a rhythm you tap or clap into written notation. Around it are a metronome, a tap tempo counter, a guide to rhythm notation and a course of rhythm reading lessons with instant feedback.

What it is for

Writing down a rhythm you can hear in your head is slow when you are not fluent in notation. Checking whether you clapped a written rhythm correctly is hard without a teacher next to you. Claptoscore helps with both: it writes what you tap, and in the lessons it tells you, note by note, how close your clapping was to the page.

It is used for solfège and sight-reading practice, for rhythm dictation, and for getting a drum pattern or a melody's rhythm onto paper quickly.

How the notation is worked out

You set the tempo and the meter, then tap the rhythm on the space bar, the mouse, a touch screen or by clapping into your microphone. Nobody taps with machine precision, so Claptoscore does not write down every small inaccuracy. It measures the delay of your keyboard or microphone, snaps each beat to the simplest subdivision that fits your taps, follows you when you speed up or slow down, and ignores accidental double taps.

It can write quarter, eighth and sixteenth notes, dotted values, ties and rests, eighth-note triplets, compound meters such as 6/8, and two voices on a percussion staff. If the result is busier or simpler than what you meant, the clean-up settings let you adjust it.

All of this is calculated on your own device. Your taps and microphone audio are not uploaded anywhere. The privacy page has the details.

The lessons

The ten free lessons go from quarter notes to 6/8 time. Each one explains a rhythm figure, shows how to count it with numbers and with Kodály-style syllables, and gives you exercises to clap along with a click. After every attempt you see which notes were on time and by how many milliseconds the others were early or late. More advanced lessons, on triplet subdivisions, syncopated sixteenths and odd meters, are part of Claptoscore Pro.

Who makes it

Claptoscore is a personal project, built and maintained by Edwin de Jong in the Netherlands. The free tools are meant to stay free. The site is supported by tips, by advertising and by the optional Pro upgrade.

Contact

Questions, bug reports and ideas for new lessons are welcome at edejong@fastmail.fm.