Nat 3Nat 4Nat 5HigherAdvanced Higher
On the beat/off the beat
On-the-beat sounds align with main beats, while off-the-beat sounds happen between them.
Also called: On the beat, Off the beat
Level relevance: introduced at Nat 3; tagged for every later level where the same concept remains useful.
Explanation
This concept helps learners edit, quantise, program, and analyse rhythmic parts accurately in a DAW.
Topics
TimingSequencingListening
Curriculum statusofficial concept
Review statusdraft
Sources
- National 5 Music Technology course specification, May 2023, version 3.0 · accessed 2026-07-08
Used for the National 3, National 4, and National 5 technology and music concept tables.