Tool: SlapTrack

Sometimes, really simple tech tools are really good, and when they’re FREE, they’re even better. I just found a wonderful FREE tool for elementary music educators called SlapTrack and all it does is create play-a-long graphics for body percussion. That’s it. There are nine different icons that when you press the play button, will start bubbling up from the bottom of the screen while synced to a metronome. When each icon hits the top of the screen, the students are meant to “do” whatever the icon says. Super simple.

At the bottom of the screen you’ll see three options: SlapTrack, Settings, and Help. The default mode is the SlapTrack mode - this is the one to use with your students. The Settings mode allows you to adjust the frequency which each icon (action) appears in Play mode. These actions include: Chest Left, Chest Right, Clap,. Improvise (question mark), Pat, Rest, Snap, Stamp, and Stomp.

There are only a handful of buttons on the screen: a play button, a metronome button as well as a trash can button. The metronome button allows you to make a few adjustments, including Dark Mode, BPM, number of measures, time signature and whether you want to hear the sounds that each icon makes.

Here’s what SlapTrack looks like when you press play. There’s no audio in this clip as it is a VERY busy morning in my house this morning :). If there was, you’d first hear a 1 measure count off from the metronome, then the icons playins when they hit the top of the screen.

Here are five ways that I think SlapTrack can be used in a music classroom:

1. Rhythmic Accuracy Drill

Have students play or clap a steady beat to the track’s click/clap, aiming for matching precision. A great warm‑up to build internal pulse and timing.

2. Layered Rhythms

Use the Slap Track as the foundation beat, then have small groups add contrasting rhythm parts (e.g., tambourine, hand drums, clapping patterns). It's an engaging way to explore texture and ensemble coordination.

3. Improvisation

Play the track and invite students to improvise melodies or rhythms over it. You can set boundaries—like scale, call‑and‑response phrases, or solos—to focus the creative process.

4. Dynamics Game

Encourage students to play along at varying volumes—pianissimo to fortissimo—while maintaining rhythm.

5. Syncopation

Challenge students to overlay the Slap Track’s steady beat with syncopated rhythms or different rhythmic subdivisions (eighths, triplets, sixteenths). This improves internal counting and rhythmic diversity.

I hope that you find this tool useful. Let me know what you think!