PADFORMS

Finger drumming,
practice that sticks.

Padforms is a desktop trainer for your MPC or any 16-pad MIDI controller. Plug in, pick a lesson, build the muscle memory real grooves are made of.

RIDE
HAT
FILL
SNARE
KICK

Hand-written, not procedural.

Each lesson is built around a real pattern. Rock, hip-hop, off-grid hats, ghost-note funk. Pick the one nearest where your hands are, set the speed, play it through.

01Off-grid hats✓ DONE
02Push-pull✓ DONE
03Ghost notes▶ NOW
04Pocket trap⌧ LOCKED
055/4 fill⌧ LOCKED

A metronome you can actually trust.

WASAPI Exclusive on Windows. CoreAudio on macOS. Reported latency under 24ms. The click lands when it says it lands, so the scoring means what it says.

88BPM
±14MS · WASAPI EX
VS. THE USUAL SETUP
YOUTUBE + DAW

You watch. You guess.
The pads sit there cold.

You can't tell if you're early or late. Only that something feels off.
Every video starts you over. No bookmark, no path, no next step.
Your pads sit in the corner with nothing scoring what you play.
No record of what you've practised, or what's actually improving.
PADFORMS

You play. The pads cue.
The clock keeps score.

Per-hit timing tells you exactly where you slip and where you're locked.
Lessons, not loose videos. Pick one. Play through. Come back tomorrow.
Upcoming notes scroll into view. Every hit graded against the click.
Local streaks, accuracy trends, per-pad breakdowns. You can see the curve.
FROM THE BUILDER
A NOTE FROM ROB

Why this exists.

I picked up a pad controller a couple of years back, opened the bundled software inside an hour, and bounced off. There's no shortage of YouTube videos and no shortage of sample packs, but almost nothing that puts a real lesson in front of you, scores your timing honestly, and gives you a number to chase tomorrow.

Padforms is that thing. It works with any MPC or 16-pad MIDI controller. Same scoring engine, same lessons, same timeline. If yours behaves oddly or uses a non-standard layout, the contact page is real. I write back personally.

WHAT YOU NEED
macOS
11+
Apple Silicon or Intel · ~200MB · CoreAudio
Windows
10 / 11
WebView2 runtime · WASAPI Exclusive
Hardware
16-PAD
MPC, MPD, Maschine, Fire, Launchpad · USB MIDI
QUESTIONS

Does it work with my MPC / Maschine / Fire / Launchpad?

Yes. Padforms works with any 16-pad MIDI controller, including MPC, MPD, Maschine, Fire, Launchpad, and anything else class-compliant. Some non-standard pad layouts may need a quick remap; if yours behaves oddly, drop us a line on the contact page.

Is it free?

Free for the launch period (months, not weeks). When paid tiers arrive, we'll tell you first, in plain language, with a free tier that keeps the core lessons usable.

Do I need to be online?

Yes. Padforms requires an internet connection to sign in and run. You'll need a Padforms account to use the app. A connection is also needed for AI assisted summaries if your plan includes them.

Will my progress sync between machines?

Not quite yet. Progress lives locally on the machine you practised on. Cloud sync is coming and we'll wire your account to it when it ships.

Backing tracks?

Yes. Backing tracks are coming, aligned to the lesson grid rather than a YouTube embed. The metronome is the primary sound source today.

ON THE ROADMAP · NO DATES, ONLY DIRECTION
01Backing tracks aligned to the lesson grid
Audio sync
02Velocity-aware scoring. Soft hits read soft, hard hits read hard.
Dynamics
03Practice mode. Loop a bar, slow it down, isolate one hand.
Per-bar
04More lessons. More styles. More progression paths.
Curriculum
05Tested device profiles for non-standard pad layouts
Profiles
06A lesson editor, so you can build your own grooves
Authoring
FREE WHILE WE GROW

Plug it in. Find the pocket.

macOS 11+ · Windows 10 / 11 · signed installers · ≈40MB

Twelve minutes from plugging in to your first scored take. Your pads stop sitting silent today.

TELL US WHAT YOU PLAY ON
Drop your email and the device you play on. Helps us prioritise tested profiles for the most-used setups. No list, no marketing.