Make a mixtape. Send it to somebody.
YOUR TAPES
Your tapes live in this browser. Your shelf link brings them to any other browser or phone.
YOUR SHELF LINK
Every tape on this shelf, in one link. Open it in any browser to bring them all along. Bookmark it or send it to yourself, and grab a fresh one after you save new tapes.
Point your phone's camera here to take your tapes with you.
ALL YOUR TAPES ▾
THE RACK
Save more tapes and they stack up here. Star the ones you love to keep them up front.
SMALL MAIL
Tapes people send you land here, with their name on them.
GOT THE CREW HOME
BUDDIES MET
ABOUT
What is this?
Small Beats is a tiny music adventure about one long night, played on a little tape machine.
The show ran late. The last train didn't. Now Dino and the crew have a pixel New York between them and morning: six stops, trains that stop short, entrances that close, long walks and strange detours. Good thing they brought the tape machine.
Every stop needs something different: something slow to get past the night shift on the pier, a deep bass to cut through Midtown, no drums so nobody on the park benches wakes up. Pick the style that takes the crew there, change the parts, play along on the keys, and hit SAVE TAPE. The right tape gets them moving again, and they ride on to the next stop, until the last train home.
One night. Six stops. Six tapes. Get the crew home. Come back tomorrow and the route is new. Every tape you save keeps its scene, and EJECT lets you name it and send it to somebody: they hear exactly what you made, and can make it their own.
No account. Nothing to install. Nothing to learn. Hit NEW whenever you want another tune, and UNDO if the last idea was better.
How it works
- Nothing is a recording. Drums, bass, keys, rain and fire are synthesized in your browser while you listen, a bar at a time.
- Everything fits. Every part follows the same chord changes, so whatever you switch on plays in key.
- A tune is a number. A tape link holds the parts, the buddy and a number for the tune, so everyone who opens it hears the same song.
- Real instruments, in code. Rhodes is FM synthesis, the guitar is a plucked-string model, 8-bit is pulse waves, and the drums are noise and oscillators: soft, lo-fi, house and dub kits, played TIGHT or with SWING. The keyboard is a little synth voiced for each style.
- The cassette chain. Lo-fi tapes run through tape saturation, wow and flutter, a gentle roll-off and a little hiss.
- Made in the machine. No samples and no AI-generated music: every drum, bass line, chord and melody is synthesized in your browser.
Any modern browser · works offline · installable · no account · about 200 KB
Small Beats FM
Small Beats FM is the crew's channel on YouTube. Every episode is the whole night, start to finish, on a different route: the missed train, six stops, the last train home. Every song in it is a tape somebody made here. Listen, watch, play along, or send one in. Tapes that come in by Small Mail go on air with the maker's name on them.
Want yours on? Drop your tape link in the comments under any video.
Who made it?
A guy who likes mixtapes, 808s, retro games and dinosaurs. It's free, with no ads. Something broken, or made a tape worth hearing? hello@smallbeats.com
Questions
Can I use the music in my videos?
Yes. The music is royalty-free: use it in videos, streams, podcasts, games or anything else, even commercially, with no fee and no need to ask. Credit is appreciated, not required. Because anyone can make the same tape, please don't register it with Content ID or resell it as a sample library. The details are in the terms.
Can my tape play on Small Beats FM?
Yes. Drop its link in the comments under any Small Beats FM video. Small Mail picks from there, and every tape that plays is credited with the MIXED BY name on it.
Can I download a tape as a file?
Not as a file. The music is made live, so to keep it, record it: your phone or computer's screen recorder works, and so does OBS for longer recordings.
Is any of it AI?
No. Not one note is AI-generated. Everything is synthesized by code in your browser, from the tape's settings and a number for the tune.
Do I need an account?
No. There's nothing to sign up for and nothing to install. It's free, with no ads.
Where are my tapes kept?
In this browser, on this device. Your shelf link (under YOUR TAPES) holds every tape in one link: open it in any other browser or phone to bring them along. Private browsing windows forget everything when they close.
Does it work offline?
Yes, once the page has loaded. Add it to your home screen and it opens like an app. On iPhone it plays even with the ring switch on silent.
Which browsers does it work in?
Current Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox, on computers, phones and tablets.
What it does
- Six styles. Lo-fi, House, Ambient, 8-Bit, Dub and Trance, each written fresh from a seed.
- Six parts. Drums, bass, keys, texture, speed and volume. Tap one to change it, and it changes on the beat.
- NEW. A new tune in the same style, landing on beat 1. Hold it to spin the name.
- The keyboard. Every key fits the song. Hold for long notes. Play along while the music plays and what you play joins the song.
- The crew. Dino leads, Bunker is the wildcard, Hoot keeps them grounded. The three of them stick together all night, and somewhere along the way somebody new tags along. They wander, dance to your track, react when you change it, and sing when you poke them. Fifty more regulars live around the city.
- Mini Tapes. SAVE TAPE puts it on your shelf. EJECT to name it, pick a buddy and a shell, and send the link.
- The city at night. Every style takes the crew to a different district of a pixel New York, with its own buildings and goings-on: the Empire State over Midtown, the Statue of Liberty across the Harbor, the old bridge, Central Park asleep under the towers. Rain follows your texture, the moon keeps your time, and strange things pass overhead.
- Royalty-free. Every note is made in your browser, so the music is yours to use, even commercially. How it works.