The timeline

The timeline sits below the patcher: a ruler in bars and beats, the playhead, a loop band and one row per track. Drag across the loop band to set a loop, then drag its ends or its body to change it.

Tracks

The + above the tracks adds an Audio Track, a MIDI Track or a Video Track.

• A MIDI track is the instrument itself, holding its own clips. Nothing to wire.
• An Audio Track records and plays audio. Cord whatever you want to record into it, arm its R box and play.
• A Video Track plays its clips against the transport and records what reaches its inlet.

Each header has M (mute), S (solo) and R (arm), all mappable to a controller. Double-click a header to find its organism in the patcher. Drop audio or video files straight onto a lane.

A PianoRoll is not a track: it is a looping note source you cord into as many instruments as you like. Right-click it and pick MIDI to Track to move its notes onto the timeline.

Clips

Drag to move, drag an edge to trim, Cmd-drag an edge to stretch, Cmd- or Ctrl-drag to copy. Right-click a clip for the rest: split, loop, duplicate, rename, colour, gain, pitch, fades, reverse, warp and more.

Right-click empty timeline for Cut at Playhead, which splits every clip the playhead crosses. On an audio clip, Convert to MIDI Track traces its melody into notes you can cord into any instrument.

Notes

Double-click a MIDI clip to edit its notes in place. The tool strip holds Pointer, Pencil, Line, Scissors and Eraser, each on a number key. Lanes below the notes carry velocity, controllers and pitch bend. Right-click a note, or a selection of them, and choose Color to mark them with one of the clip colours or any colour of your own. The PianoRoll's editor follows the same gestures.

Automation

Right-click any knob and choose Automate to give it a lane. A track with lanes shows a fold arrow on its header: open it to draw with the pencil, rule straight lines, drag points, or double-click a point to type its bar and value. Points snap to the grid unless you hold alt.

The tempo automates the same way, from a right-click on the tempo, so a song can speed up and slow down.

Meter

The chip beside the tempo shows the time signature. Click it for the common meters, from 2/4 to 12/8, or Custom for anything else, 13/16 included. Automate the meter lets it change along the song; the ruler, the grid, the metronome and every bar-synced organism follow.

Recording

Performance capture fills the timeline in one pass. For a single take, arm a track's R box and play.