BeatBox

BeatBox is an entertaining application that provides a simple method of creating your own audio beats, without requiring advanced knowledge in the music field.

It is an extremely simplistic approach to music composition, which is why it addresses mostly amateurs and hobbyists. It can be used for fun purposes by anyone with a minimal computer know-how.

It is written in Java, which means you will have to install JRE prior to running the application. There’s no need for installation, simply double-click the JAR file and get acquainted with the user interface.

The appearance of the software is very basic; although simplicity is not always a bad thing, there is such a thing as too much of it. BeatBox belongs to this category and is need of a complete makeover in order to appeal more to the crowds.

The program displays a 16 by 16 grid, with each line assigned to one percussion instrument, as follows: bass drum, closed hi-hat, open hi-hat, acoustic snare, crash cymbal, hand clap, high tom, hi bongo, maracas, whistle, low conga, cowbell, vibraslap, low-mid tom, high agogo and open hi conga.

In order to create a new audio beat, you are required to check one or more boxes corresponding to the instrument(s) you want to include in the output, with a customizable BPM (from 48 to 180).

Before you save the output file, you have the chance to play what you’ve created so far, via the built-in player. As for the export process, the program will store the output on a location of your choice.

On an ending note, BeatBox lacks in many aspects, but the most stringent of all is the user interface; support for more instruments would also be welcomed.