Rhythm and groove

A rhythm is a pattern of events and spaces. Volta makes both easy to see: words or notes make events, and ~ makes a rest. You can begin with an even pulse, then change its spacing, accents and repetition until it feels like a groove.

Feel the cycle#

At 120bpm, a beat lasts half a second. In the default four-beat meter, one cycle lasts one bar: two seconds. Items separated by spaces divide that cycle equally. Four items give quarter-note positions; eight give eighth-note positions. These examples write timingVersion = 2, which preserves timing as patterns are combined. It is the default, so the line is optional; see Timing versions before changing the setting in an existing song.

Listen for: the low kick marking all four beats and the snare marking beats two and four. bd is the supplied bass drum sample; sn is the snare.

tempo = 120bpm
timingVersion = 2
sound "bd bd bd bd" |> gain 0.65
sound "~ sn ~ sn" |> gain 0.4

Make it yours: replace the kick pattern with "bd ~ bd [~ bd]". The final hit lands halfway through the fourth beat: an offbeat that pulls into the repeat.

Subdivide a beat#

Square brackets put a smaller pattern inside one slot. In "bd [hh hh] sn hh", the two hats inside brackets share the second beat. They do not make the bar longer. hh*8 is a convenient way to play eight hats across a cycle.

Listen for: the quick pair of hats near the end of the bar.

tempo = 108bpm
timingVersion = 2
sound "bd ~ sn ~" |> gain 0.5
sound "hh hh hh [hh hh]" |> gain 0.25

Make it yours: change the last group to [hh hh hh] for three evenly spaced hits in the same amount of time. Nested groups can go deeper, but a small number of clear rhythmic ideas often makes a stronger groove.

Accents give repetition a shape#

Velocity is how strongly a note or hit is played. On a track, gain with a pattern gives each event a strength; it does not turn the mixer's volume fader. That difference matters when an instrument uses velocity to change its tone.

Listen for: strong hats alternating with soft ones.

tempo = 116bpm
timingVersion = 2
sound "bd*4" |> gain 0.6
sound "hh*8" |> gain "[0.4 0.12]*4"

Make it yours: reverse the strengths to "[0.12 0.4]*4". Now the offbeats stand out. The group repeats four times to give eight strengths at the same eight positions as the hats. Control patterns follow time through the bar: just "0.4 0.12" would hold each strength for half a bar. Use the mixer to balance whole parts; gainTrack scales their event strengths. See Velocity and accents and Control patterns.

A rhythm that takes several bars to repeat#

Angle brackets choose a different item on each cycle. The bracketed groups below alternate between an ordinary backbeat and a small fill.

Listen for: the extra snare hit at the end of every other bar.

tempo = 120bpm
timingVersion = 2
sound "bd*4" |> gain 0.6
sound "< [~ sn ~ sn] [~ sn ~ [sn sn]] >" |> gain 0.35
sound "hh*8" |> gain "[0.24 0.1]*4"

Make it yours: make a four-bar shape by placing three ordinary groups and one fill inside <…>. Preview clips are short; play the copied program in Studio to hear longer periods.

Distribute a rhythm evenly#

c5(3,8) distributes three notes over eight positions. This is called a Euclidean rhythm (the same Bjorklund spacing as Tidal: (3,8) hits steps 1, 4 and 7, starting on the first). It is a useful way to find a repeating pulse with an uneven grouping, without entering every rest.

Listen for: a three-hit melody circling over a steady four-beat kick.

tempo = 120bpm
timingVersion = 2
sound "bd*4" |> gain 0.5
play "pluck" "c5(3,8)" |> cutoff 1800Hz |> release 80ms

Make it yours: try (5,8) for a busier pattern, or (3,8,2) to rotate the existing one to the left. Changing the rotation can dramatically change its relationship to the kick, even when the number of hits stays the same.

A compact rhythm dictionary#

For exact rules and more transformations, continue to Patterns. To create the drum sounds themselves, explore Drum synthesis. To see timing as a roll or wheel, use Pattern views.