Launched this week
Drop in a full mix or an isolated drum stem. Backbeat Forge puts the performance on a five-line drum score you can check against playback and correct by hand. When the chart feels right, export it as a printable PDF or General MIDI file. It all runs locally.
Dropped in a drum stem and was honestly surprised how clean the notation came out, even with some messy ghost notes. Being able to hand-fix the chart and export straight to MIDI without anything leaving my machine is a really nice touch.
Backbeat Forge
@kran273214 Thanks, Şükran! Ghost notes are exactly where automatic transcription can get messy, so I’m really glad the editable score made those corrections manageable. Keeping the audio and exports local was a non-negotiable part of the design for me.
Dropped in a stem and the transcription came out close enough that I only had to nudge a few hits by hand, which is way better than I expected. The PDF export looks clean and ready to print for a real chart.
Backbeat Forge
@aykutq0yd Thanks, Aykut! That’s exactly the workflow I was aiming for: get close enough automatically that you’re adjusting a few hits rather than building the entire chart from scratch. Really glad the PDF came out clean enough to use as an actual printed score.
This sounds too good to be true! As a drummer myself, I know how time-consuming it can be to transcribe parts by ear, so turning drum audio into an editable score feels incredibly useful! Thanks so much for making this.
Backbeat Forge
@cathy_cc That means a lot coming from a drummer! I don’t want to pretend it can magically solve every difficult recording, but turning audio into an editable starting point can already remove a lot of the repetitive work. Thanks so much for giving it a try and sharing your thoughts.
Hannes, transcribing by ear is the part every drummer I know quietly dreads, so seeing this exist makes me happy. The fact that it all stays on my own machine is a real comfort too.
Backbeat Forge
@melodie_sh Thanks, that genuinely means a lot. Transcribing by ear can turn practice into homework very quickly, so the goal was to remove that painful blank-page stage without taking control away from the drummer. Keeping everything local felt just as important, especially with unfinished tracks and personal recordings.
This is such a great, unglamorous problem to pick. Everyone does melody transcription and quietly skips drums because they're the messy case, so going straight at it is a nice move. All the best with it!
Backbeat Forge
@uddipta That means a lot coming from a drummer! I don’t want to pretend it can magically solve every difficult recording, but turning audio into an editable starting point can already remove a lot of the repetitive work. Thanks so much for giving it a try and sharing your thoughts.