Rimshot for

Musical theater.

Updated November 7, 2026

A number in a musical rarely sits still. There's a vamp, a bar of 2/4 so the singer can breathe, a waltz in the bridge and a ritardando into the button. Build it in Rimshot once and rehearse it the way the book is written.

Build the number once

Make a group for each stretch of music that keeps one tempo and one time signature. Rimshot plays the groups back to back, and every change lands on the downbeat, so the bar of 2/4 is never a surprise.

• Section lettersMatch your score
• Tempo rampsThe rit. or accel.
• Accent patternsAccent, normal or silent
• SubdivisionsEighths or triplets per group

Accent patterns cover the meters that don't count in even beats. Accent beats 1, 4 and 7 of an 8/8 bar and you hear it as 3+3+2.

Drill the hard bars

Pick a start and an end, from a rehearsal letter or a measure number, and loop it. Rimshot counts off two measures between passes. Turn on the two-measure count-in and you can start anywhere in the number cold.

Walk down already knowing it

Walk down the stairs already knowing the change lands, because you looped it until it was automatic. When the conductor cues the bar of 2/4 on opening night, your hands already know where it goes.

One click for the whole pit

Once the music director has built a number, they can send it to the pit as a link or QR code. Anyone can hear it play right in their browser, then open it in Rimshot and practice to the same tempos at home, on iPhone or Android.

Under the stage

Rimshot runs entirely on your phone, so it works without a signal. Turn on Background Playback and it keeps time with the screen locked, with play and pause right on the lock screen.