First, add a score file to the scores folder. The score file name must end in .py.
A score is a Python script that tells the program what to play.
The simplest thing you can do is one beat, using the function beat() which is available in the beats package. So, the smallest possible score looks like this:
from beats import beat
beat()Beats in the score play one after the other. So,
beat()
beat()plays two beats.
Normally, beat() will play a snare drum for a duration of one beat. To play a longer or shorter beat, add a decimal number in the brackets (a "parameter" or "argument"). For example, try:
beat(2)
beat(1)
beat(0.5)
beat()You can also select a different drum from the drum kit. A list of all the drums can be found in the kit folder. To play a different drum, use the play function, which takes the drum name as a string (in quotes, without the .py). So, here are some different drum beats:
from beats import play
play('Kick-01')
play('Crash-03', 0.5) # You can add a duration to play as well
play('Tom-01')rest is like beat but plays nothing.
Finally, there are some functions you can import to make longer and more interesting compositions. To use these, you will have to define your own functions to represent parts of your composition. Functions are just code blocks that give a small part of a program a name, so you can run them many times. They are created using the keyword def, followed by the function name, a pair of brackets, a colon, and then your composition, indented. Let's create a bar of drum sounds:
from beats import beat, repeat
def bar(): # The function name is "bar"
beat(0.5) # These lines are indented
beat(1)
beat(0.5)
beat(1)
beat(1)repeat takes a function and repeats it a number of times. Let's add a line to repeat the bar four times:
repeat(bar, 4)together takes any number of functions and plays them all at the same time. Have a look at the example score to see this being used.