rudiments

rudiments is a step-sequencing drum machine that plays rhythm patterns using audio samples.

Features

• 16-step programmable measures.
• Configurable per-track amplitude.
• Adjustable tempo.
• Playback once or on repeat.
• Supports several audio file formats:
  • MP3
  • WAV
  • Vorbis
  • Flac

Playback and audio file decoding are handled by rodio.

Usage

rudiments 0.1.1
A step-sequencing drum machine

USAGE:
    rudiments [FLAGS] [OPTIONS] --pattern <FILE> --instrumentation <FILE> --samples <DIRECTORY>

FLAGS:
    -h, --help       Prints help information
    -r, --repeat     Repeat the pattern until stopped
    -V, --version    Prints version information

OPTIONS:
    -i, --instrumentation <FILE>    Path to instrumentation file
    -p, --pattern <FILE>            Path to pattern file
    -s, --samples <DIRECTORY>       Search path for sample files
    -t, --tempo <NUMBER>            Playback tempo [default: 120]

Inputs

rudiments loads a pattern file and binds the pattern's tracks to audio files in a samples directory per an instrumentation file.

Pattern file (--pattern)

Each line of a pattern file represents a track. There is no limit to the number of tracks in a pattern. A track contains an instrument name, a 16-step sequence, and an optional amplitude. The instrument name is an identifier and can only appear once per pattern. Each sequence represents a single measure in 4/4 time divided into 16th note steps (x for play and - for silent). A track may optionally include an amplitude in the range of [0,1] inclusive. By default, a track plays at full volume.

This is an example of a pattern file's contents for a standard 8th note groove with the hi-hat track played at half volume.

hi-hat |x-x-|x-x-|x-x-|x-x-| 0.5
snare  |----|x---|----|x---|
kick   |x---|----|x---|----|

Instrumentation file (--instrumentation)

An instrumentation file binds the instruments from a pattern file to audio sample files. Each line of an instrumentation file contains an instrument name and an audio file name. Each instrument may only appear once, but a single audio file may be bound to multiple instruments.

This is an example of an instrumentation file's contents that binds five instruments to four audio sample files.

Note that tom.wav is used for both tom-1 and tom-2.

hi-hat hh.wav
tom-1  tom.wav
tom-2  tom.wav
snare  snare.wav
kick   kick.wav

Samples directory (--samples)

rudiments will look in the samples directory for the audio files listed in the instrumentation file.

Tempo (--tempo)

This adjusts the playback tempo (aka beats per minute). The default playback tempo is 120.

Installation

rudiments can be installed with cargo.

$ cargo install rudiments

Upcoming features

• Swing
• Reverb
• Record to output audio file
• Pattern composition
• Prevent clipping
• Trigger inputs
• Different time signatures
• Terminal-based UI
  • Playback tracking
  • Live pattern editing

Missing a fun or useful feature? Feel free to submit feature requests and PRs!

Demos 🥁

The assets directory contains several example patterns as well as audio samples from the LinnDrum drum machine.

Standard 8th note groove

$ rudiments \
    --pattern ./assets/patterns/standard \
    --instrumentation ./assets/instrumentations/linndrum \
    --samples ./assets/samples/linndrum \
    --repeat

Burning Up (Madonna)

$ rudiments \
    --pattern ./assets/patterns/burning-up \
    --instrumentation ./assets/instrumentations/linndrum \
    --samples ./assets/samples/linndrum \
    --tempo 140 \
    --repeat

Thriller (Michael Jackson)

$ rudiments \
    --pattern ./assets/patterns/thriller \
    --instrumentation ./assets/instrumentations/linndrum \
    --samples ./assets/samples/linndrum \
    --tempo 118 \
    --repeat

Get a Little (Patrick Cowley)

$ rudiments \
    --pattern ./assets/patterns/get-a-little \
    --instrumentation ./assets/instrumentations/linndrum \
    --samples ./assets/samples/linndrum \
    --repeat

I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Whitney Houston)

$ rudiments \
    --pattern ./assets/patterns/i-wanna-dance-with-somebody \
    --instrumentation ./assets/instrumentations/linndrum \
    --samples ./assets/samples/linndrum \
    --tempo 118 \
    --repeat

Tom Sawyer (Rush)

$ rudiments \
    --pattern ./assets/patterns/tom-sawyer \
    --instrumentation ./assets/instrumentations/linndrum \
    --samples ./assets/samples/linndrum \
    --tempo 180

Never Gonna Give You Up (Rick Astley)

$ rudiments \
    --pattern ./assets/patterns/never-gonna-give-you-up \
    --instrumentation ./assets/instrumentations/linndrum \
    --samples ./assets/samples/linndrum