A Rhythm Story

A game that teaches you to read rhythm, from the first beat to polyrhythms. Listen, tap in time, and music theory sinks in on its own!

Rhythm isn't something you learn from a book. You hear it, you tap it, you feel it.

A Rhythm Story is a music game that teaches you to read a score by playing it. You listen to the music, you watch the notes come towards you, and you tap the screen right on time — one hand for the treble clef, one hand for the bass clef, just like at the piano. No prior knowledge needed: the tutorial starts from nothing.

PLENTY OF PIECES, FROM THE FIRST BEAT TO POLYRHYTHMS

Every piece brings in one new difficulty, in an order designed never to discourage.

You start with nursery rhymes in quarter notes and half notes. Then come the offbeats of Schumann's Happy Farmer, the sixteenth notes of Dvořák's Humoreske, the triplets of Tchaikovsky's March of the Toys, Debussy's ragtime syncopation, the tango rhythm of Albéniz. And finally Chopin's dreaded polyrhythms, where the left hand plays two eighth notes while the right plays three. Original compositions round off the programme. Every piece starts slowly and speeds up as you progress.

AT YOUR OWN PACE

Easy mode shows a moving guide line marking where the beat falls. Normal mode leaves you alone with the music. Expert mode mutes the piece altogether: nothing left but the metronome and your own sense of time.

You can play with a single hand, the other staying on screen without being scored — ideal for working out a tricky passage. And every piece can be played at several speeds, from very slow to the real tempo.

A level system asks for 75% of the notes right before you move up. No penalties, no countdown: try again as often as you like.

A THEORY SECTION WRITTEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD

Beats, measures, time signatures, note values, the augmentation dot, triplets. Everything is explained in plain words and concrete comparisons — the whole note that fills a whole box, the eighth notes that go ta-ka, the triplet that says "cho-co-late" on a single step.

PLENTY OF CHARACTERS TO UNLOCK

Two music notes keep you company throughout the game, changing costume as you make progress. Reach level 3 on a piece to discover the next pair!

BUILT-IN SOUND ADJUSTMENT

If the sound feels out of step with the display — which happens with some wireless headphones — a built-in test measures the offset and corrects it automatically. It takes a few seconds.

WHAT WE DON'T DO

No advertising. No account to create. No data collected: the game works entirely offline and sends nothing, to anyone. Your scores stay on your device.

No subscription either. The tutorial and a first piece are freely available; the full version unlocks the rest with a one-time purchase.

WHO IT'S FOR

For children starting music theory who find rhythm lessons too abstract. For music students who want to work on their reading a different way. For adults who gave up an instrument and would like to go back to it. And for seasoned musicians: try Chopin's Étude in Expert mode!

Available in English and French.

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