Online Drum Game: Pulse
Pulse is a free online drum game with a playable 3D drum kit, rhythm challenges and a free jam mode. Play in your browser with your keyboard, mouse or touch screen.
How to play Pulse
- Choose a track, then click Enter the session to start a rhythm challenge. Choose Free jam to play at your own pace.
- Use the labeled keyboard keys or tap the drum pads. In challenges, match the notes as they reach the hit line.
- Pause whenever you need a break. Adjust the sound and timing settings to suit your device.
Your best scores stay in this browser. Headphones can help you hear the timing clearly.
Play a virtual drum kit online
Pulse gives you eight drum and cymbal sounds: kick, snare, hi-hat, crash, ride and three toms. Click the 3D kit or use the labeled pad buttons to try each sound before starting a challenge. Free jam lets you play your own rhythms without following a note chart.
How do the rhythm challenges work?
Choose Midnight Drive at 90 BPM, Velvet Circuit at 112 BPM or Afterburn at 138 BPM. Notes move toward the white hit line. Strike the matching drum as its note reaches the line, then check your accuracy, score and combo. Replaying the same track gives you a consistent pattern to work on.
Start with Midnight Drive if you want more time between beats. Listen to the backing track as well as watching the notes. If a section feels rushed, try counting the pulse aloud before your next attempt. You can enable a click track in settings to hear the beat during challenges.
Which keys play the drums?
Use Space for the kick, D for the snare and S for the hi-hat. A plays the crash, J the low tom, K the middle tom, L the high tom and the semicolon key plays the ride. Escape pauses the session. On a touch screen, tap the kit or the pad buttons.
Do I need an electronic drum kit?
You can play Pulse without drum hardware, an account or a download. An electronic kit is optional: use Connect an electronic drum kit in settings when your browser supports USB MIDI. Pulse maps standard General MIDI drum notes to its voices.
What if the hits feel late?
Wired headphones help avoid the sound delay that Bluetooth can introduce. The timing offset setting lets you adjust when hits are accepted; a positive offset accepts later hits. Try a small adjustment, replay a familiar track and listen before changing it again. Reduced motion is also available in settings.
