Here is an example how to create a rythm diagram: For this example we will use a guitar strumming rythm.
Step 1. Select a suitable time signature. You can choose from a range of signatures in the edit menu. Let’s use a simple 4/4 time signature.
This gives us 4 beats of 4 quarter notes, 8 eighth notes or 16 sixteenth notes in each bar. On a time line, these would appear as:
1234
1+2+3+4+
1e+a2e+a3e+a4e+a
Step 2. Tap the … option on the top right of the screen. Then tap Insert … and select Rhythm diagram. This inserts a pre formatted line in the editor.
This is where you will enter your Action and Modifier characters (between the provided brackets { }).
On saving, these characters will be converted to a rhythm diagram.
Step 3. Decide on the strumming pattern you will use. In this example we will use a common strumming pattern made up of eighth notes. This pattern is often found in 4/4 time signatures. Using eighth notes we will need a total of 8 Action characters, one for each note.
The pattern is:
Downstrum, missed Upstrum, Downstrum, Upstrum, missed Downstrum, Up strum, Down strum, Up strum.
This pattern often has an accented or harder strum on the first beat in each bar, so we will add one too.
Using our Action and Modifier characters, this pattern can be represented as:
{rhythm: D>-DU-UDU}
Where D indicates a downstrum, U indicates an Upstrum and – indicates no strum. Notice we added a Modifier character (>) immediately after the first D. This modifier tells us a hard strum is required.
Notice that we have a total of 8 Action characters with 1 Modifier used on the first Action.
After saving this pattern will appear as:
Interpreting the diagram.
The numbers on the bottom of the diagram tells us the location of the ‘Beats’ in each bar. In this case there are 4 beats.
The dots between each beat are the number of pulses or notes available to us. In this case there are 8 pulses or notes.
We strum down on the first note of beat 1, strum down again on beat 2 (note we miss the upstrum between Beats 1 and 2), and as Beat 1 has a > modifier above it we make a hard (louder) strum on that beat. After beat 2 we make an Upstrum. Beat 3 we miss the Downstrum but follow immediately with an Upstrum. Beat 4 is another Downstrum immediately followed by an Upstrum.