I've developed a free web app https://erhythm.org/ (disclosure: I'm the developer), it's a visual, interactive rhythm composer inspired by Godfried Toussaint's "The Geometry of Musical Rhythm". The core idea is simple: rhythm is represented as geometry. You place beats on a circle, the active beats connect to form a polygon, and you can immediately hear the pattern. Euclidean rhythms, polyrhythms, and world rhythms all become visually intuitive this way. As music educators or experienced musicians, do you think a geometry-based visual approach like this has real pedagogical value for beginners who haven't yet learned to read notation? Specifically I'm wondering:

Can seeing rhythm as a polygon on a circle help a pre-notation learner feel and internalize rhythm more naturally? Would you consider integrating something like this into early lessons? Are there risks or limitations to this approach compared to starting with traditional notation?

As a live example, here is a Bembé Afro-Cuban rhythm you can play and interact with directly:
Try it here — https://erhythm.org/composer/r/bembe-afro-cuban?utm_source=audiosex.pro

I'd appreciate honest, critical feedback from anyone with teaching or learning experience.

 

Are those our only 2 choices?

 

useful or cool is a strange choice.

i find it first of all boring - simply because there are already 50 or 60 sequencers which use the same visual representation.

and then there is always that inconsistency with circular interfaces for sequencer loops. on one hand it somehow looks cool. but on the other hand it is all but useful because it is really hard to read. (and it is also more complicated to implement.)

i´ve been giving up "circular" 20 years ago and only use left to right bars since then.
you´ll notice the difference mainly with multiple tracks. set up euclidian 7/18, 8/18 and 10/18 first circular and then do the same with columns...

it is much harder to notice equal or unequal distances between beats when they are lined up in a circle, same with finding matching beats between different tracks.

 

Hi @Erhythm, I think that if children or young people grow up with your system, they’ll master and use it.
Try reaching out to music teachers or youth centers—in short, really promote it!

Who even learns musical notation anymore?
My generation grew up with chord diagrams (for guitar and keyboard) and step sequencer templates.

 

Last edited: Jun 11, 2026 at 5:23 PM

It looks nice from a graphics angle, but because it is web-based, it lands at cool but probably not useful for production. For me, anyway. Learning purposes? I'm not sure.

If it was a MFX plugin pattern sequencer, with each drum "module" generating midi data and sending to multiple assignable midi channels, you would have a tool that would probably fit into some people's audio production workflow. There is a euclidian sequencer in UVI Falcon, but it is in a $200 or $300 synth platform (sales prices vary a lot). A separate MFX plugin pattern sequencer to maybe look at as an example is 510K Seqund.

 

Your application is really interesting Is it possible to export the results as MIDI files?

 

ill find it useful! to play my drums patterns, but idk... need more time to say something more deep.

 

I'll enjoy using that. Opening up my daw isn't always what i'm looking to do so web based apps come in handy. It's a tidy job you done. Cheers.

 

web based is not cool

 

Thank you @Lou Ulfark for your feedback, Yes you can export rhythm as MIDI and audio WAV file too.

 

A very interesting online tool, really, congratulations!

Just two possible updates you could consider:

1. working with sets of notes (that would be amazing!!!); and
2. the possibility of exporting the patterns as MIDI so we’re not limited to the quality of the samples you use!
   

 

Why not? Do you like closed app market places?

 

It remniscent of groove pizza. https://apps.musedlab.org/groovepizza/?museid=gSMPn3dUD& which is also open source, and has the midi function. However, GP is limited to less busy beats in terms on instrumentation. It's drag and move geometry is very effective.

Definitely have an export to midi.

Personally I think it would be easier if you could populate the circles with dragging while onmousedown or whatever the JS is... It's irritating to use if each circle needs to be clicked.

Would be good to have accented notes. Especially for teaching. Similarly it would be good to have open or closed HHs.

 

Mathémusique offers a similar tool: https://rhythm-circle.com/ with MIDI export.

He runs a YouTube channel (in French) dedicated to musical mathematics, rhythmic structures, and time divisions. It's one of the most useful and interesting French music channels.

https://www.youtube.com/@mathemusique

 

cool! Patterning is an incredible drum sequencer which does similar. Check it out if you aren't familiar with it. Maybe you can find some inspo to incorporate into yours!

 

Thanks @Obineg for the honest feedback. That's a fair point—circular layouts aren't meant to replace traditional step sequencers. My focus with Erhythm is more on rhythm visualization and learning than workflow efficiency, but I appreciate the perspective.

Thanks @PulseWave for the encouragement! That's exactly one of the audiences I hope to reach. I'm actively sharing Erhythm with educators and music communities to see where it can be most useful.

Thanks @clone for the feedback! Erhythm is currently focused more on learning and rhythm exploration than production, but MIDI integration and plugin formats are definitely interesting directions. I'll check out Seqund as well—thanks for the reference.

Glad to hear that @ELJUNTADERO2022 ! Totally fair, real use cases usually take a bit of time. Appreciate you giving it a try

Thanks a lot @oneunder ! That’s exactly the kind of lightweight workflow I’m aiming for—quick ideas without opening a full DAW. Really appreciate the feedback

Fair point @panaman it’s not for everyone. The focus here is more on quick access and experimentation rather than replacing a DAW.

Thanks @Mynock a lot! Note sets and MIDI export are great ideas—MIDI export is actually already available in Erhythm I’ll keep the note-set workflow in mind for future updates.

Thanks @Mynock a lot! Note sets and MIDI export are great ideas—MIDI export is actually already available in Erhythm I’ll keep the note-set workflow in mind for future updates.

Thanks @ArticStorm

Thanks @DoubleSharp for the detailed feedback! Groove Pizza is a great reference. I like your points on drag-to-populate, accents, and open/closed hi-hats—those would definitely make the interaction more fluid and expressive. MIDI export is already implimented and ready to use.

Thanks for sharing @synackta ! Really interesting to see similar ideas explored, also Erhythm has MIDI and Audio WAV export.

Thanks @shinyzen for sharing, always useful to see how others approach the same idea.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jun 12, 2026 at 1:21 PM

Keep up the great work, results speak for themselves and and keep shining!

 

I think the concept itself is pretty brilliant. The only "cons" I see is, despite being easy to create great beats, it's has to be the same thing with no variance. So the user would either have to create several slightly different variations manually, or maybe (and yeah, this is pushing it) there could be some sort of built-in smart randomization that can make subtle changes. But again, the idea itself is quite cool.

 

Thanks @lexeed ! That’s a really good point. Some kind of controlled variation or “humanize” / subtle randomization could definitely make patterns feel more alive without losing structure. Appreciate the thoughtful feedback.