Live tonight at the Lantern Room

Groove Machine

Use Worksheet to explain each performance and My work to copy or save a PDF. Worksheet work saves on this device.

You're the new drummer at the Lantern Room, and tonight the band plays three styles: a rock beat, a waltz, and a jig. For each one, tap note blocks into four measures so every measure adds up to the time signature, tap a placed note to change its drum sound, then press Play and watch whether your drums lock in with the band.

No sound? Turn up the iPad volume and check the mute switch. Every sound is also shown on screen, so you can play with the sound off.

Choose a level

Levels unlock in order. Lock in with the band to open the next one.

Completion code:

Type this code into the Google Classroom question.

How it works

Key words

Beat: The steady pulse you count. In this game, “beat” means one quarter note (♩).
Measure: A group of beats between two bar lines. Each level has 4 measures.
Bar line: The vertical line that ends one measure and starts the next.
Time signature: Top number: how many counts are in each measure. Bottom number: which note gets one count (4 = quarter note, 8 = eighth note).
Dot: A dot after a note adds half of that note's value.
Rest: A silence that lasts as long as the matching note.
Downbeat: Beat 1 of a measure — the strongest beat.
Drift: How far your drums are from where they should be, in beats. + means behind (late). − means ahead (early). 0 means locked in.

The rules this simulation uses

Note values in quarter-note beats: whole 4, dotted half 3, half 2, dotted quarter 1½, quarter 1, eighth ½. Rests last as long as the matching note.
4/4 = four quarter-note beats per measure; 3/4 = three; 6/8 = six eighth notes per measure, felt as two beats of a dotted quarter each.
The band plays four measures in the level's time signature at a set tempo, twice through (8 measures), after a one-measure count-in.
The drums play their notes back to back, each for its written length. Bar lines don't reset them, so a measure with the wrong total shifts every later note early or late.
Locked in = every drum note lands on the band's grid, which happens only when every measure adds up exactly.

Formulas

Measure total = add the values of every note and rest in the measure.

Drift after measure n = (your beats in measures 1 to n) − n × (beats per measure).
Example in 4/4: three measures of 5 beats → drift +1, then +2, then +3.

Seconds per beat = 60 ÷ tempo (bpm). At ♩ = 96, one beat lasts 0.625 s.

3/4 vs. 6/8: both hold six eighth notes. 3/4 groups them in 3 pairs (3 quarter-note beats). 6/8 groups them in 2 sets of 3 (2 dotted-quarter beats: counts 1-2-3 and 4-5-6).

The band

Level	Time	Tempo	Chords (each measure)
1 Rock beat	4/4	♩ = 96 bpm	G – C – D – G (key of G major)
2 Waltz	3/4	♩ = 120 bpm	C – F – G7 – C (key of C major)
3 Jig	6/8	♩. = 72 bpm (♪ = 216)	D – G – A7 – D (key of D major)

Pitches use A4 = 440 Hz, equal temperament. ½× speed halves the tempo; 2× doubles it. Speed never changes whether you lock in.

Stars (each level)

★ Locked in ★ Groove star (the level's special pattern) ★ First launch (lock in on your first Play of that level). Your best result is kept.

Reading the screen

K ● KickS ■ SnareH ▲ Hi-hatdashed box = rest

Striped drum notes landed off the band's grid. Each flag between the lanes shows where one of your measures really started: ✓ = on time, +1 = 1 beat late, −1 = 1 beat early. Faded notes past the end never got played because the band had stopped.

Note values

Rests last as long as the matching note: quarter rest = 1 beat, eighth rest = ½ beat.

A dot adds half of the note's value: dotted half = 2 + 1 = 3, dotted quarter = 1 + ½ = 1½.

Beats per measure: 4/4 → 4 3/4 → 3 6/8 → six eighths = 3 (felt as 2 dotted-quarter beats)