Swing Garden is a free music learning app by Jason Zac and Nathaniel School of Music. Play eleven small, familiar tunes, compare straight and swing, read the written score and explore beat fractions. Start in the playroom; open the shed for meters, rhythm dice, MIDI, WAV and installation.
Straight paired subdivisions are evenly spaced. Swing delays the second note in a pair, and the amount can vary. Swing Garden lets you hear and compare the two timings.
Tempo is expressed as a quarter-note pulse. The selected meter and grouping determine the bar and its accents. In meters such as 6/8, groups of three eighth notes form a larger pulse; that is distinct from applying triplet swing over quarter-note beats.
The reading estimates pulse and recurring offbeat placement from the MIDI note attacks it receives. It reports confidence and can show when notes are still being gathered, the feel varies, or more than one pulse fits. Treat it as a guide to compare by ear, not a definitive judgment.
Live keyboard input requires a browser that supports Web MIDI. If your browser does not support it, open a saved MIDI file instead. Melody playback and the listening lessons do not require a MIDI keyboard.
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