Backbeat Forge quick start: source to five-line drum score
Backbeat Forge turns a local recording into a source-linked five-line drum score. Community Edition is free for detection and review; optional licensed editions add editing, quantization, PDF, and General MIDI export.
Install and begin
- Install the Windows setup package or a Linux AppImage, DEB, or RPM from the Backbeat Forge download page.
- Start the desktop app and choose Full mix, Drum stem, or Import MIDI.
- For audio, set Detection sensitivity and choose a Written grid.
- Select Transcribe drums, then listen while the playhead follows the generated score.
- Save the work as a
.bforgeproject before making a long series of corrections.
Which source should you open?
Choose Drum stem when you already have isolated drums. It is the shortest and usually cleanest path because kick, snare, tom, and cymbal transients are not competing with the rest of the mix. Choose Full mix when the song has not been separated; Backbeat Forge runs the bundled drum-separation model locally before detection. Choose Import MIDI when the performance already exists as percussion MIDI and you want to review its kit mapping and written rhythm.
Audio never needs to be uploaded to a transcription service. See Audio inputs and drum separation for supported formats and realistic source expectations.
Read the first draft
The center score is normal five-line percussion notation, not a piano-roll screenshot. Hands and cymbals use the upper voice, kick and pedal events use the lower voice, and the draft can include rests, beams, normal heads, cymbal X heads, accents, ghost notes, and open hi-hats. Confidence evidence helps you decide where to listen again.
The machine pass is intentionally editable. A dense master, room bleed, unusual brushes, or a heavily compressed recording can still need human correction. Read Transcription workflow before treating the result as a finished chart.
Keep the session recoverable
Use Save project to write a versioned .bforge file containing the current score, source fingerprint, analysis choices, mixer settings, and workspace state. If the original audio later moves or changes, Backbeat Forge preserves the score and reports the source warning instead of attaching unrelated audio silently. Details are in Projects and source recovery.
Explore every guide in the help index or download Backbeat Forge.
Related tasks include Backbeat Forge workflow, local drum transcription, or Backbeat Forge. The practical question is what evidence or working material you can keep local.
Use Backbeat Forge when you need to turn a local full mix or isolated drum stem into an editable five-line drum score and export a printable PDF drum chart or General MIDI percussion file without uploading the source material to a cloud service.
Backbeat ForgeBackbeat Forge — Backbeat Forge is a local drum-transcription workbench for turning a full mix or isolated drum stem into readable, editable five-line drum notation with PDF and General MIDI delivery.