Exercise 2: Advanced Rhythm & Sound

Building on Exercise 1, this pattern introduces new sounds and subsequences. You’ll learn both rhythm and sound mapping together.

Prerequisites

This tutorial assumes you have completed:

Exercise 1 - Basic rhythm capture and sound mapping
First Sounds ↗ - Basic Strudel syntax and sound playback
First Notes ↗ - Understanding patterns, cycles, and tempo

Beatbox Sounds Used in This Exercise

This exercise uses these beatbox sounds. If you haven’t seen them yet, check the landing page sounds section to hear each sound:

B (bass/kick) → bd - Deep foundation beat
Ts (open hi-hat) → oh - Longer, sustained percussion
^K (inward snare) → sd - Different snare texture (inward breath)

Step 1: Listen & Analyze

Watch the beatbox clip below. Listen carefully for:

What new sounds do you hear compared to Exercise 1?
Are there any double hits or subsequences?
How fast is this pattern compared to the first?

Beatbox Pattern 2

Video Credit: Clip from TylaDubya’s beatbox tutorial.

Step 2: Get the Rhythm First

Start by recreating the timing using just one sound. Don’t worry about the different tones yet.

🎯 Target Rhythm (Step 2)

Listen to understand the goal, then recreate it yourself below!

Listen carefully, then try to recreate it in the editor below!

Your task: Use only bd (bass drum) to match the rhythm pattern you heard.

Notice there’s a subsequence in the pattern
Use [bd bd] for two sounds in one beat position
Press Ctrl+Enter to play, Ctrl+. to stop

Strudel basics:

setcpm() sets the cycles per minute - how many times your pattern repeats per minute
One cycle = all the sounds in your s("...") (unless using angle brackets s("<...>"))
s("bd bd bd bd") plays 4 evenly-spaced bass drums in the time you set for one cycle
s("bd [bd bd] bd") puts two sounds in the second beat position (subsequence)
You can write setcpm(90/8) and Strudel calculates 90÷8=11.25 cycles per minute

Need Help? →

Step 3: Add the Real Sounds

Now that you have the rhythm, replace the bd sounds with the actual beatbox sounds. The pattern is: B Ts ^K Ts B B Ts ^K Ts at 90 BPM.

🎯 Target Pattern (Final Goal)

Listen to understand the goal, then recreate it yourself below!

Listen carefully, then try to recreate it in the editor below!

Sound mapping challenge: Map each beatbox sound to Strudel samples:

B (kick/beat) → bd (bass drum)
Ts (open hi-hat) → oh (open hi-hat) - longer than closed hh
^K (inward snare) → sd (snare - different technique, same sample)
Listen carefully for any subsequences where multiple sounds happen in one beat position

Figure out the complete pattern by listening to the target and experimenting!

Need Help? →

🎯 Great! Here are other ways to achieve the same result:

Each technique teaches different Strudel skills. Experiment with them to expand your toolkit!

Basic answer

beginner

Shows all 8 beats with different sounds and subsequence explicitly. Maps B→bd, Ts→oh, ^K→sd correctly.

Skills utilised here:

Sound mapping
Subsequences
Basic tempo setting

Think about:

How does the open hi-hat (oh) sound different from closed (hh)?
What is the feel we get from grouping [bd bd] in a subsequence?

Math notation

beginner

Uses Strudel's math capabilities to calculate the correct tempo while mapping sounds and subsequences.

Skills utilised here:

Math in Strudel
Sound mapping
Subsequences

Think about:

Is 90/8 easier to understand than 11.25?
If the number of sounds/beats changes, will we have to change 90/8 to keep the same tempo?

With sample variations (:1)

intermediate

Uses sample number :1 for the ^K (inward snare) sounds to create textural variety while maintaining the same rhythm.

Skills utilised here:

Sample variations
Sound mapping
Subsequences

Think about:

How do sample numbers like :1, :2, :3 change the sound texture?
Why might you want to use different sample variations for the same instrument?

With sample variations (:2)

intermediate

Uses sample number :2 for the ^K (inward snare) sounds, demonstrating how different sample numbers provide different textures for the same beatbox technique.

Skills utilised here:

Sample variations
Sound mapping
Subsequences

Think about:

Compare the :2 samples to :1 - what's the difference in sound?
How does using consistent sample numbers throughout help the pattern?

Normalized beats with :1 samples

intermediate

Combines angle brackets normalization with sample variations, showing how different techniques can be mixed together.

Skills utilised here:

Alternation <>
Sample variations
Sound mapping

Think about:

How does angle bracket notation work with sample variations?
What happens if you use different sample numbers in the same pattern?

Normalized beats with :2 samples

intermediate

Another angle bracket example using :2 samples, demonstrating the flexibility of Strudel's notation system.

Skills utilised here:

Alternation <>
Sample variations
Sound mapping

Think about:

Try changing :2 to :3 - how does it sound different?
What's your preferred sample number for this pattern?

Normalized beats

⭐ Recommended intermediate

Uses angle brackets to normalize to 90 BPM directly. Subsequences work seamlessly inside angle brackets.

Skills utilised here:

Alternation <>
Sound mapping
Subsequences

Think about:

How do subsequences behave inside angle brackets?
Does 90 in this case depend on how many beats are inside the angle brackets? Why?
How can we speed this up using `*` in mini notation? show me
How can we speed this up using function notation? show me
What is your favourite speed for this beat?

Try experimenting: Play each solution above and listen to how they all produce the same rhythm with different techniques!

Try different combinations and listen to how close it sounds to the original beatbox!

Need Help?

What We Learned

Start with rhythm, then add sounds (same approach as Exercise 1)
Use the target audio to guide your ear training
New beatbox sounds map to Strudel samples:
- B (kick/beat) → bd (same as Exercise 1)
- Ts (open hi-hat) → oh (longer sound than closed hh)
- ^K (inward snare) → sd (same sample as outward snare)
Subsequences: Use [sound1 sound2] to put multiple sounds in one beat
CPM calculation: For 90 BPM with 8 beat positions: setcpm(90/8) = 11.25 cycles per minute
Math in Strudel: Write 90/8 and Strudel calculates it automatically
Patterns can mix single hits and subsequences seamlessly

← Exercise 1 Exercise 3: Complex Patterns with Rests →