Beatbox notation: how to read and write it
Beatbox notation writes a beat as letters: one letter per sound, in the order you play them. Once you can read B T K T, you can learn any beat from a page, and write down your own.
The letters
Each letter is one sound, named after how it's made. These are the ones you'll see first:
| Write | Sound | Drum |
|---|---|---|
| B | a lip pop, a whispered "b" | kick |
| t or T | tongue tip off the teeth, "ts" | hi-hat |
| K | back of the tongue, a whispered "k" | snare |
| Pf | a B that ends in a hiss through the lips | snare |
| ^K | a K made breathing in | inward snare |
The most widely used system is Standard Beatbox Notation (SBN), which writes the hi-hat as a small t and the snare as Pf or K, and marks inward sounds with ^. This site writes the hi-hat as a capital T so the three sounds line up, and uses K for the snare. The details of the kick, snare and hi-hat are on their own page.
How to read a beat
- Read left to right, one letter per click of the metronome.
- A - is a rest: count it, but make no sound.
- A | marks the end of a bar. Most beats are 4, 8 or 16 steps long, then repeat.
So B T K T is kick, hat, snare, hat, one per beat. This is "boots and cats":
BTKT
Take the hats away and leave rests in their place, and the timing stays the same:
B-K-
Eight steps, read the same way:
BTKTBBKT
Written with bars: | B T K T | B B K T |.
How to play a beat from notation
- Say the letters out loud in time with a slow click, 60 to 70 beats a minute.
- Whisper them: same rhythm, air only.
- Count the rests in your head: "B, (two), K, (four)".
- Loop it until it repeats without a gap at the bar line, then speed up by 10.
How to write your own
- Choose a length: 8 steps is a good start.
- Put a kick on step 1 and a snare on steps 3 and 7: B - K - - - K -.
- Fill the gaps with hi-hats or kicks, one change at a time.
- Play it slowly. If it feels awkward, swap one letter and try again.
Six ready-written beats, from easy to hard, are on beatbox practice patterns.
Check your timing
Reading a beat is half of it; playing it in time is the other. Learn Beatboxing plays the click, listens through your phone, and shows each letter you landed, mixed up or missed.
Play B T K T and see your score →
Questions
What does B T K T mean in beatboxing?
It is beatbox notation for the basic beat: B is the kick drum, T the hi-hat and K the snare, one sound per beat. Said aloud it is "boots and cats".
What is Standard Beatbox Notation?
Standard Beatbox Notation (SBN) is the most common way to write beatbox sounds as letters, such as B for the kick, t for the hi-hat and Pf or K for the snare.
How do you write a rest in beatbox notation?
With a dash (-): it takes up one step of time with no sound. B - K - is a kick and a snare with a rest after each.