Earstep
Trainers / Rhythm

Steady Beat

Keep an even pulse through four beats.

Start trainingExplore the lesson

Listen, compare, then practise

Count 1, 2, 3, 4 out loud. Listen once, then tap along to the metronome on the next bar.

A · Worked example

Tap at quarter-note positions 1, 2, 3, 4.

11234>1111

Count four equally spaced numbers with the four attacks. Start counting before you move your hand; the count-in establishes the spacing.

Count 4/4 at 80 BPM. Attacks occur at 1, 2, 3, 4 in quarter-note beat units. Rests take time without an attack.

B · Compare the difference

Pattern A · attacks at 1, 3 in quarter-note units

11234>22

The comparison sounds only on beats 1 and 3. Keep saying all four numbers: fewer attacks do not make the underlying pulse slower.

Count 4/4 at 80 BPM. Attacks occur at 1, 3 in quarter-note beat units. Rests take time without an attack.

Blocks show durations in quarter-note units. R marks a rest; > marks an accented attack. Numbers below each bar are quarter-note positions, which differ from the main beat in 6/8.

Check the idea: A uniform early or late offset concerns alignment; different offsets within a bar concern steadiness.

1 · Guided practice

During the two guided questions, say the count-in aloud and tap each following numbered beat. Inspect whether all taps share one offset or only one tap strays.

2 · Independent practice

Tap the full practice set without restarting after an uneven tap. Keep each later beat on the original pulse.

3 · New-question check

On the fresh-question check, begin from the new count-in without copying the timing of your last retry. The steady pattern itself stays the same.

Each session starts with two guided questions, then your chosen practice set, followed by two new questions at a different tempo. First answers, same-question retries, and the final check have separate results.

Begin this lesson

Choose your practice

If this feels difficult

  • The whole bar is early or late. Use calibration, then wait through the complete count-in before tapping. Steady Beat
  • The pulse disappears during a gap. Keep tapping while the reference click becomes silent. Keep the Silent Pulse

Practice on paper or with a teacher

The teacher pack includes 10 fixed questions, replay controls, a student sheet, and a separate answer key. The printed key and downloaded JSON use the same questions.

Open printable teacher packDownload teacher pack JSONCustomize a practice link

Download an audio example

Original synthesized audio · A4 = 440 Hz · mono, 48 kHz WAV.

Download example WAV

Related skills

Quarter NotesKeep the Silent Pulse

Musical background

These references explain the underlying definitions. The examples and practice sequences here are generated for Earstep.