Zenbeats

Learn about Zenbeats.

For some musicians, extra time at home has opened up a new realm of music making. Roland is helping musicians by offering a free download of the full version of its Zenbeats app, which allows them to create and share tracks from their mobile devices and computers.

The app provides lessons and a variety of free tutorials for new creators. “Zenbeats is aimed at inspiring music creators of all skill levels, from beginners to pros,” says product manager Matthew Presley.

Zenbeats is popular for its flexibility and portability since tracks are created with a simple smartphone interface. Users can also share, collaborate, and save work to cloud-based storage locations.

With its touchscreen interface, creators can “tap, swipe, modulate, and pitch bend sounds using gestures with Zenbeats’ on-screen instruments including drum pads, keys, and ultra-flexible note grid,” according to the product website. They can loop, sync, sequence and layer musical elements to create tracks.

The app features nine instruments and 14 effects and also lets users play, edit, and capture sounds, including instruments and live vocals, with its SampleVerse tool.

Roland offers the app for iOS, Android, Mac, and Windows. For more information, visit roland.com/us/products/zenbeats.

About author

Kacie Brown

Kacie Brown was a member of the Pride of Broken Arrow from 2012 to 2016. She is now an associate instructor at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she is pursuing a Master of Music degree in saxophone performance as a student of Dr. Otis Murphy. She completed a Bachelor of Music degree with a certificate in journalism at Indiana University in 2020. In 2019, she won the inaugural Elise Hall Competition for Emerging Saxophonists and has performed at the U.S. Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium, North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference, and the Society of Composers, Inc., National Student Conference.