Usulzen

Usulzen helps you learn the usuls — the rhythmic cycles of Turkish music — by seeing, hearing and playing them. Pick an usul and follow its cycle on a ring, its strokes on two-line notation, and the mallet movements of a kudüm player in an animation. The usul plays with real kudüm or bendir recordings, timed to the sample. Change the tempo and the mertebe (time unit) while it plays. USULS • Simple and small usuls: Nim Sofyan, Semai, Sofyan, Türk Aksağı, Yürük Semai, Devr-i Hindi, Düyek, Aksak, Curcuna, Lenk Fahte and more • Plain (sade) patterns and kudüm velveles • Mertebes (e.g. 9/8 and 9/4), number of beats and grouping • Notes, accent patterns and example works for every usul THREE VIEWS • Ring: the whole cycle at a glance; right hand outside, left hand inside • Notation: two-line usul notation; the stroke being played is highlighted • Kudüm: two bowls and two mallets; see which mallet strikes which bowl • Stage: a large full-screen view you can read from a distance REAL SOUNDS • Real kudüm and bendir strokes cut from royalty-free recordings • Several real takes per stroke rotate in turn — no mechanical repetition • Strong, semi-strong and weak strokes sound different • Play / pause from the lock screen and Control Centre LEARN • Seven syllable lessons: Düm and Tek, Te-Ke, Te-Kâ, Tek-Kâ, Tâ-Hek, Dü-Me and a combined sequence • Durations come from real usul patterns PRACTICE • Tap along with the usul on two hand zones • Measure the sound-to-touch latency so scoring is fair • Timing and hand-accuracy score, gradual tempo increase, audio guide options ALSO • iPhone and iPad (two-pane layout on iPad) • Light and dark themes, large text and VoiceOver support • Nine languages: Turkish, English, German, French, Greek, Russian, Armenian, Persian, Arabic • No internet needed; no data collected; no ads Usul names and syllables (Düm, Tek, …) are kept in Turkish in every language, as musicians use them.