Hear how chords feel.
Open Chord Lab. Hear C major, then switch to natural minor. Listen to how the notes change the feeling.
FREE MUSIC TOOLS. NO ACCOUNT NEEDED.
Your music. Your workspace.
Explore chords, build a beat, and shape your next song.
A free workspace by Hilm Records · Hilm Salam
YOUR CREATIVE WORKSPACE
Make room for the music.
New to making music? Start with a small idea ↓
Sound is muted. Enable sound to hear chords, beats, and the metronome.
To listen, choose Chord Lab, Beat Sketchpad, or the metronome and press Play. Try Test sound first.
Sound help & standard audio player
Press Test sound to hear a short chord. It restores the tool volume if it’s muted. Turn up your phone’s media volume while it plays. You can also press this audio player’s triangle. The song blueprint, tap tempo, and timing calculator are silent tools.
START WITH A FEELING
02
Your song, in motion
An editable map of the emotional journey.
Changes ready to build
3:30ACTUAL LENGTH
92BPM
80TOTAL BARS
9SECTIONS
THE ENERGY CURVEQuiet Powerful
Timing follows complete bars. Intensity is your creative direction, not a volume setting.
Arrangement
Open a section to edit its directionThe number beside each section is its bar count. Change it to adjust the length.
TAKE THE IDEA WITH YOU
Ready for your next step.
YOUR ARRANGEMENT NOTES
Keep the plan beside you in a session,
or take it into your DAW.
Your blueprint is a creative guide. You decide how the music comes to life.
FIND YOUR RHYTHM
A tempo you can feel.
Listen to a song or the rhythm in your head. Tap along steadily and we’ll estimate the beats per minute.
Tap at least 3 times. More consistent taps give a better estimate.
YOUR TEMPO
—BPM
Waiting for the first beat
PRACTICE WITH A STEADY PULSE
Your practice metronome.
Play your instrument or clap along. The first beat is accented so you can hear each new bar.
Quarter-note beats · 4/4
MAKE EVERY BAR COUNT
From bars to minutes.
Plan an intro, a full track, or a section change. Translate tempo and bars into a duration—or find how many bars fit your target length.
A bar contains 4 quarter-note beats in 4/4, or 3 in 3/4. Tempo here uses quarter-note BPM.
DURATION0:42
FOLLOW YOUR EAR
Find a little harmony.
Explore four-chord progressions. Hear each chord or play the whole sequence, then take the idea to your instrument.
A chord is a group of notes sounded together. The Roman numeral tells you where it belongs in the scale. Change a chord below its card to make your own progression.
One bar per chord · 4/4
Use the standard audio player
Hear this progression through a regular audio player if live playback is silent.
Simple synthesized tones let you hear real three-note chords. These are major and natural minor scales in equal temperament. Make the melody and arrangement your own.
A GROOVE STARTS WITH ONE STEP
Sketch a beat. Make it yours.
Switch steps on or off to create a one-bar drum loop. Start with a groove, adjust the tempo, and listen as you build.
Count 1 e & a · 2 e & a · 3 e & a · 4 e & a. Each step is a sixteenth note. Filled steps play; empty steps rest. Use arrow keys to move and Space to toggle.
On a small screen, swipe the grid sideways to reach every step.
Tap a step to change the groove.
Use the standard audio player
Hear a snapshot of your current beat through a regular audio player if live playback is silent.
Kick, snare, and hi-hat sounds are synthesized in your browser. Playback starts only when you press Play. Export a one-bar loop to use in your music project.
START SMALL. KEEP PLAYING.
Your first idea starts here.
You don’t need to know everything to make something. Try one small exercise, listen, and change one thing.
Make one change.
Open the Beat Sketchpad. Play “The pocket,” remove one hi-hat, then add a kick. Hear what your choice does.
Find a steady pulse.
Set the metronome to 80 BPM. Clap, play, or sing with it. Start comfortably, then increase the pace.
Beat, tempo, and bar—what’s the difference?
A beat is the regular pulse you count. Tempo tells you its speed in beats per minute (BPM). A bar groups beats together: four quarter-note beats in 4/4, or three in 3/4. At 120 BPM in 4/4, one bar lasts two seconds.
What makes a major or minor chord?
A basic triad has a root, a third, and a fifth. A major triad has four semitones from the root to the third; a minor triad has three. Both have seven semitones from root to fifth. A diminished triad has a minor third and a lowered fifth. Try the chords and listen to the difference.
What are verse, chorus, and bridge?
A verse often develops the story. A chorus often returns with the main hook or idea. A bridge introduces contrast. These are useful possibilities, not rules. Instrumental, dance, and other forms may use different structures.
What can I take into a music project?
Download a blueprint as text, a four-bar chord progression as MIDI, or a one-bar drum loop as a WAV file. MIDI contains note and tempo information; your music software chooses the instrument sound. Save a project file to reopen all your choices in Hilm Studio.
LESS GUESSWORK. MORE INTENTION.
A space to think
like a producer.
A good arrangement gives every moment a purpose. Use the blueprint to explore that purpose, then take it into your DAW, a session, or a rehearsal.
Start with the feeling.
Pick a palette, a pace, and the emotional shape of the song. A preset gets you moving; your choices make it yours.
Shape the journey.
Adjust bars, intensity, and direction. Move sections around until the rises and quiet moments feel intentional.
Take it into the sound.
Copy the arrangement or download the whole blueprint. You stay in charge of the lyrics, performance, and final music.
A few things to know.
Is Hilm Studio free?
Yes. The blueprint builder, chord lab, beat sketchpad, metronome, tap tempo, and timing calculator are free to use. No account is needed.
Does it create finished songs or write lyrics?
Hilm Studio helps you plan the structure, timing, and emotional shape of a song. Chord Lab plays simple tones and Beat Sketchpad lets you create drum loops. It doesn’t compose finished songs or write lyrics. The music remains yours to create.
Where is my draft saved?
Your latest blueprint, chord choices, beat pattern, and practice settings are saved in this browser when storage is available. They aren’t uploaded to a server. Use Save project to keep a portable copy you can reopen. Clearing browser data removes locally saved work.
Can I use this with my DAW?
Yes. Set your DAW to the planned tempo and time signature, then use the section names and bar counts as arrangement markers. Download or copy the notes to keep alongside your project. Blueprints export as text. Beat Sketchpad can export a one-bar WAV drum loop; Chord Lab exports a four-bar MIDI file with notes and tempo information.