EASY RAVE guides
Guides: make music in your browser, free
Short, practical guides to making electronic music with EASY RAVE, a free groovebox that runs in your browser. Each one ends with something you can play straight away.
Start here
What EASY RAVE is and how to make your first beat in a few minutes.
Start hereHow to make beats online for free (no download, no sign-up)Make a full beat in your browser for free: drums, acid bass, chords and effects, then save it as WAV or MP3. No download, no account, no payment.Start hereWhat is a groovebox? (And how it differs from a drum machine)A groovebox is a drum machine, synths and a sequencer in one instrument, built for making whole tracks. Here is how it differs from a drum machine or a DAW.Start hereFree online drum machineA free online drum machine with 3 kits (909, 808 and 80s style), a 16-step sequencer, accents, swing and effects. Play with your mouse, keyboard or MIDI.
Make a track
Step by step recipes for house, techno, acid and lo-fi, with the exact patterns to program.
Make a trackHow to make house music for free, in your browserMake a house track step by step with free tools in your browser: a four on the floor beat, an offbeat bassline, deep chords, sidechain and a simple arrangement.Make a trackHow to make techno online, step by stepMake a techno track online for free: a driving 909-style kick, a rolling bassline that dodges it, a dub chord stab with delay, filter sweeps and live effects.Make a trackHow to make acid house: the 303 bassline, step by stepMake acid house free in your browser: a squelchy 303-style bassline with accents and slides, a house beat, and the filter sweeps that bring it to life.Make a trackAcid bassline patterns: 6 lines to program (and a generator)Six acid bassline patterns written out step by step, with notes, accents and slides, plus how EASY RAVE's free RANDOM acid generator builds a new line in key.Make a trackHow to make lo-fi beats for free, in your browserMake a lo-fi hip-hop beat free in your browser: a slow swung drum loop, jazzy 7th chords, a soft bass, bit crushing and a muffled filter.
Drums and rhythm
Drum machines, step sequencers and the beats every producer learns first.
Drums and rhythm808 vs 909 vs 303: the classic sounds explainedWhat is the difference between the 808, the 909 and the 303? How each one sounds, which genres use them, and how to play all three free in your browser.Drums and rhythmDrum patterns for beginners: 8 beats to program on a step sequencer8 essential drum patterns on a 16-step grid: backbeat, four on the floor, house, techno, boom bap, breakbeat, drum and bass and electro, with tempos.Drums and rhythmWhat is a step sequencer? How to program drums step by stepA step sequencer plays a loop of steps you switch on and off. Learn how steps, bars, accents, swing and quantize work, and program drums free in your browser.
Synths, notes and chords
Filters, acid basslines, scales and chord progressions, explained by doing.
Synths, notes and chordsFilter cutoff and resonance, explained by earWhat the cutoff and resonance knobs on a synth filter do, low-pass vs high-pass, and how to sweep a filter by hand, free in your browser.Synths, notes and chordsChord progressions that always work (and how to play them free)Nine chord progressions behind pop, house, lo-fi and jazz, with Roman numerals, the chords in C, and how to play each one on a free chord synth in your browser.Synths, notes and chordsMusic scales for beginners: why you can't play a wrong noteWhat a musical scale is, how major, minor, Dorian, Phrygian, pentatonic and blues sound, and how a scale lock keeps every note you play in key.
Effects and mixing
What each effect does, how to use it, and how to perform with live effects.
Effects and mixingAudio effects explained: drive, compressor, reverb, EQ, pan, sidechain and delayWhat drive, compression, reverb, EQ, panning, sidechain and delay do to a sound, when to use each, and how to try them all free in your browser.Effects and mixingWhat is sidechain compression? The pumping sound, explainedSidechain compression makes the bass and chords duck each time the kick hits: the pumping sound of dance music. How it works and how to do it free.Effects and mixingLive effects: how to perform drops, stutters, loops and filter sweepsHow to perform a beat with live effects: build a drop, stutter and loop the beat, sweep filters, crush and pump the mix, free in your browser.Effects and mixingWhat is gated reverb? The 80s drum sound, and how to get itGated reverb is a big reverb that is cut off abruptly, the huge 80s snare sound. How it works, where it came from, and how to use it free in your browser.Effects and mixingHow to mix a beat: levels, panning, EQ and the MIX viewA beginner's order for mixing a beat: kick first, then bass, then the rest, with panning, EQ cuts and sidechain. Plus EASY RAVE's EDIT and MIX views.
Ways to play
Your keyboard, a MIDI controller, your voice and your webcam: every way to get notes in.
Ways to playPlay a theremin with your webcam, free in your browserPlay a theremin-style synth by moving your hand in front of your webcam: distance sets the note, height the volume. Free in your browser, video stays local.Ways to playHum a bassline: turn your voice into notes, free in your browserSing or hum a melody and EASY RAVE writes it as bass notes on its piano roll, in key, with accents and slides. How SING works and how to get a clean take.Ways to playPlay drums and synths with your computer keyboard or a MIDI controllerPlay drums, bass, chords and samples from your computer keyboard or a MIDI controller, record live takes, step record and map knobs, free in your browser.Ways to playSave, export and share your beat: WAV, MP3, video and project filesSave songs in EASY RAVE, record them as WAV or MP3, film the rack for YouTube or Reels, and export a project file that plays offline in any browser.