The Drum Circle

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User Manual & Syntax

This software was inspired by Metric Tree by Andy Chamberlain and by the video Leaf Scales by Levi McClain. Both works explore structural and generative approaches to musical organization, offering a perspective that deeply influenced the conceptual foundation of this project. I strongly encourage you to explore the original video and software to better understand the ideas that helped shape this tool.

Rhythmic Syntax Logic

• Additive Base: Numbers separated by spaces. E.g., 2 2 3 creates a 7-beat circle divided accordingly.
• Parentheses (): Used to group subdivisions. E.g., (2 2 3) (2 2 3) divides the circle into 14 parts.
• Multiplication *: Repeats a group. E.g., 2 * (2 2 3) is identical to the previous example.
• Division /: Subdivides a specific beat. E.g., 2 2 3/(2 2 3) divides the last beat of 3 into 7 micro-beats grouped as 2, 2, 3. Supports infinite nesting!
• Divisive Logic []: Divides a beat into equal parts with varied internal subdivisions. E.g., 2/[2 3] takes a 2-beat space and splits its two halves into 2 and 3 equal micro-parts respectively.

Global Controls

• SYNC / FREE: SYNC locks all circles to a global CPM (Cycles Per Minute). FREE lets each circle spin freely at its own independent BPM.
• BEATS / TONES: Switches the engine between percussive drum sounds and melodic synthesizers (pitch depends on angle).
• MIDI OUT: (Desktop only) Sends notes to external hardware/software MIDI synths.

Circle Controls

• S / M: Solo or Mute the specific circle.
• Filter Button 1: Cycles through 3 states:
  • Grey: ALL notes played (Default).
  • White/Orange Text: ONLY Accents are played.
  • Orange/White Text: ONLY Ghost Notes are played (great for adding groove).