App guide
Stick Lab
Build a measure, decide what each hand does, and drill it. Stick Lab is the place to work out a sticking before you take it to the practice pad.
- Build
2026-08-01.3- Open the app
- sticklab.backwerdrhythmshop.com
- Account or install
- None — runs fully offline
- Cost
- Free forever
What this app does
Stick Lab holds one measure of 4/4. You turn noteheads on and off, choose how the hands are assigned, and play the result — either as a grid of counted positions or as real engraved notation.
The single-measure limit is the point. A sticking problem is almost always a one-bar problem, and keeping the canvas that size means every note on screen is one you are actually deciding about.
What you can practice
- Reading a sticking off a rhythm instead of guessing it
- The difference alternating and natural sticking make to the same rhythm
- Leading with either hand
- Keeping a rhythm honest against a steady subdivision
How to use it
- Set the tempo — 40–240 BPM.
- Choose a subdivision: quarter, eighth, triplet or sixteenth. That decides how many positions the measure has.
- Tap noteheads to turn them on or off.
- Choose a sticking mode and a start hand.
- Press Play, or turn on Loop and let it repeat.
The controls, in full
| Mode | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Alternating | Hands switch on every played note, so a rest shifts everything after it. |
| Natural | Each hand keeps its position in the grid, so a rest leaves the following hands where they were. |
Set the start hand to R or L, then override any individual note: tap a notehead to select it and assign its hand by hand. That is how you write a sticking that neither rule produces on its own.
| Control | Choices |
|---|---|
| Notes | Grid — counted positions in a row. Notation — engraved, with flags, dotted or beamed spelling. |
| Display | Counting or Stickings under the notes. |
| Placement | What you hear |
|---|---|
| Before | One measure of straight subdivision first, then your measure. |
| Underneath | The subdivision runs under your measure the whole way through. |
Randomize generates a measure for you — useful when you want a reading problem rather than one you designed and therefore already know.
A way to work
- Build the rhythm first, with the sticking display off.
- Switch between Alternating and Natural and watch what changes. On a rhythm with rests in it, they will not agree — that disagreement is the lesson.
- Play it with the check Underneath until it locks.
- Move the check to Before, so you carry the subdivision yourself through the measure.
- Switch to Notation view and read it as it would actually be written.
Controls and accessibility
Stick Lab supports keyboard operation with visible focus, honours the system reduced-motion preference, and lays out for phones, tablets and classroom displays. Every notehead is a real button, so the measure can be built without a pointer.
Privacy
Stick Lab runs fully offline. It has no account and no backend, and your settings stay in this browser's local storage.
Help and feedback
- Report a problem: support@backwerdrhythmshop.com
- Request a feature: feedback@backwerdrhythmshop.com
Include the app name, the build in the footer, the page URL, your browser, what you expected and what happened. Copy details in the app collects most of it for you.
Work the sticking out here first.
One measure, both hands, and a check to keep it honest.