Tool: The Infinite Drum Machine

I absolutely love stumbling on music making websites with innovative approaches and infinite creative possibilities. One such site is The Infinite Drum Machine from the Google AI Experiment Lab, built by Kyle McDonald, Manny Tan and Yotam Mann. This free and fun to use website allows users to make drum patterns out of a HUGE library of sounds - some musical but mostly found sounds from every day life. Users can search through a huge variety of tags to find interesting sounds that can then be incorporated into a 4-track step sequencer. You can choose from a variety of pre-made sound sets, or you can create your own. Here’s an overview video from the creators of The Infinite Drum Machine:

While there is no way within the software to record and save your work, this free drum machine has some amazing capabilities. The first thing you’ll notice when you open up The Infinite Drum Machine is that there is a multi-colored brain-like cloud of dots with 4 pre-selected sounds.

You can click on any of the sounds and move them to a different sound. As soon as you move, you’ll hear a preview of the new sound. Using the toolbar at the bottom of the screen, you can zoom in using the + or - buttons.

When I first started searching for sounds, I found the selection almost completely random. The filter on the bottom left of the toolbar can be used to find different categories of sounds.

Once you’ve found your 4 preferred sounds, you can start experimenting with different beats using the step sequencer in the toolbar. Each track is color coordinated with the sounds and you can click on any subdivision of the beat on the corresponding track to make different rhythmic pattens. You can use the Switch button to scroll through the infinite combinations of pre-made sound sets, or you can change each sound by clicking and dragging until you find one that you like best. You can also change the BPM by clicking on the metronome icon. The play button can also be controlled with the space bar.

I think that The Infinite Drum Machine can be used in any General Music or Music Tech class to get students to understand that music is all around us. Found sound projects are always a lot of fun - at least they were when I was teaching. You can easily do similar projects with actual objects. Have students try to create their own sound sets from objects in the classroom, or have them bring some things from home. Using a step sequencer handout, groups of students can compose their own rhythmic patterns. Using 3rd party audio programs like Audacity, you can definitely record the audio from their projects to use in other DAWs. I hope that you find this tool useful. I’d love to know how you use it with your students.