Virtual Drums: Play a Drum Kit Online

Yes. They are free, need no account or download, and run in your browser on a computer, tablet or phone.

Space or B kick, S or D snare, J or K closed hi-hat, L open hi-hat, V hi-hat pedal, F high tom, G mid tom, H floor tom, E crash, I ride and O ride bell. The letters are printed on each drum, and holding Shift plays an accent. The keys sit in the same place on QWERTY, QWERTZ and AZERTY keyboards.

Yes. Connect the kit to your computer by USB, press Connect MIDI kit and allow MIDI. Each pad plays its drum by its General MIDI note, at the strength you hit it. This needs Chrome or Edge on a computer or an Android device; Safari and iPhone do not support MIDI in the browser.

Yes. Tap with as many fingers as you like, and turn the phone sideways or press Full screen for bigger drums. On an iPhone, turn off silent mode, because it also mutes sound from web pages.

The drums are made in your browser the moment you hit them, with nothing to download, so most of any delay comes from the audio output. Bluetooth headphones and speakers often add a delay you can hear; wired headphones or the device's own speakers respond fastest. Closing other tabs that play audio can help too.

Yes. Choose 1, 2 or 4 bars, press Record and play after the four-click count-in. When the bars are up, your beat loops. Press Overdub to layer more drums on top, and set Quantise to 1/8 or 1/16 to snap your hits to the beat. The loop lives in the page and is gone when you leave it.

Click or tap any drum or cymbal, or use the computer keyboard: Space or B for the kick, S and D for the snare, J and K for the closed hi-hat, L to open it and V for the hi-hat pedal, F, G and H for the high, mid and floor toms, E for the crash, I for the ride and O for the ride bell. Two keys each on the snare and hi-hat let two fingers alternate for fast rolls and sixteenth notes. Hold Shift for an accent. With the mouse or a finger, a hit near the middle of a head is louder than one near the rim, so you can play quiet ghost notes too. On a phone or tablet, play with several fingers at once.

Plug a Roland, Alesis or other electronic drum kit, or a pad controller, into your computer by USB, press Connect MIDI kit and allow MIDI when the browser asks. The kit follows the General MIDI drum map: 36 kick, 38 and 40 snare, 37 side stick, 42 closed hi-hat, 46 open hi-hat, 44 pedal, 48 and 50 high tom, 45 and 47 mid tom, 41 and 43 floor tom, 49 and 57 crash, 51 and 59 ride, 53 ride bell. How hard you hit each pad sets its volume, and grabbing a cymbal to choke it works on kits that send aftertouch. MIDI works in Chrome and Edge on a computer or an Android device; Safari and iPhone do not support it.

Turn the metronome on at 70 BPM and count 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and. Press J on every number and every and: eight even hi-hat notes per bar. Add Space together with the J on 1 and 3 for the kick, and S together with the J on 2 and 4 for the snare backbeat. When it feels steady, choose 2 bars and 1/8 quantise, press Record and play it through once: the loop plays it back so you can hear how even it is. Then add a crash (E) with the kick on beat 1, or end every fourth bar with a fill: S S F F G G H H as sixteenth notes across beats 3 and 4.

The kick, or bass drum, is played with the right foot on a pedal and holds the low pulse; most are 20 or 22 inches across. The snare, usually 14 inches, has metal wires under its bottom head that give it its crack, and plays the backbeat on 2 and 4. The hi-hat is two cymbals on one stand: closed with the left foot it gives a tight tick, opened it rings out, and the pedal alone plays a short chick. The rack toms (often 10 and 12 inches) and the floor tom (14 or 16 inches) are for fills. The crash, 16 to 18 inches, marks accents and the start of a new section, and the ride, 20 to 22 inches, keeps a steady pattern, with the bell in its middle for a bright ping.

No. The free tools need no account and no download. They run in your browser, and nothing you play or drop in is uploaded.

Yes, in any current mobile browser. MIDI keyboards and pad controllers need Chrome, Edge or Opera, on a computer or an Android phone.

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