BeatsOrbit User Manual

BeatsOrbit is a beat maker that runs in your browser on tablets, phones and computers. Open the Studio, pick a style, then pick a starter beat or a blank project. The beat starts playing and you can change anything.

• Sign in to save every beat to your account automatically. Your beats show up on all your devices.
• Use headphones when recording vocals so the beat doesn't bleed into the microphone.
• Tap the BeatsOrbit name or the folder icon at the top left to get back to this page.

Every style has several full starter songs with their own tempo, key, sounds and arrangement. Blank project keeps the style's sounds but empties the patterns.

The Studio is split into six areas. Everything you change can be undone.

Left to right:

Each ring is one track and each box is a step. The numbers 1–16 around the edge show the steps; 1, 5, 9 and 13 are the beats. A white line sweeps around while it plays and hits light up as they're crossed.

• Tap a box to add or remove a hit. Slide your finger along a ring to paint a rhythm.
• Tap the green center button to play or stop.
• Edit hits lets you set a hit's strength, repeats (rolls), timing offset and chance of playing.
• Swing pushes every second step later for bounce. Human adds small random timing so it feels played.
• Bar 1 / Bar 2 picks which bar you're editing in longer patterns. Follow jumps to the bar that's playing. Loop bar repeats just that bar.

Tap Grid (or press C) for a classic row-per-track view. A box marks the step that's playing and hits flash as it passes.

Drum tracks are listed first, then melody tracks under the Melody divider. Pick a track to edit it on the right.

Patterns are versions of your beat — a verse, a hook, a fill. Each one has a letter badge (A, B, C…) and a name you can change by double-clicking or long-pressing it.

• Tap a pattern while playing and it switches at the end of the loop.
• Copy makes a numbered copy (e.g. Main 2) to change without losing the original.
• Each pattern can be 1, 2, 4 or 8 bars long.
• The small tag (e.g. B · 2/4) shows which pattern and bar is playing.

Each track gets a strip in its own color: volume, mute/solo, pan, filter, reverb, delay and drive. The Master strip sets the overall volume.

One-tap tools that write parts for you. Press again to try a different one each time.

Pick kits and instruments for every track. Sound changes can be made for one pattern only. Sound Forge designs a new drum sound from a description and saves it as an editable recipe. The Sampler lets you load your own audio and chop it.

Write bass, chords and melodies. Pick a melody track, then tap to add notes. Tapping a note plays it. Notes snap to your key and scale.

Play drums live on big pads, or play notes on the on-screen keyboard. Great for finger drumming on a tablet.

Plug in a MIDI keyboard or pad controller (Chrome or Edge on computers, Chrome on Android; iPad Safari doesn't support MIDI). Tap Learn next to a drum, then hit a pad to link it. Mixer controls can be linked to knobs and faders the same way.

Build the full song from sections (Intro, Verse, Hook…) that each play a pattern for a number of bars. Switch the top bar to Song to hear it all. Scratch Vocal sits at the top: record or import a vocal, set its level and nudge its timing.

• A new recording replaces the old take — use Undo to get it back.
• Loop Song repeats the whole arrangement.

Full song is selected by default. Full mixes go through the master limiter so they come out loud without clipping.

On a computer keyboard: