Patterns and variations
A pattern is a loop: a length in bars, with notes for every part and a drum beat. Your patterns are listed under IDEAS ON THE DESK on the shelf; click one to open it in Write and Drums.
- ＋ (New pattern)
- Adds an empty pattern, the same length as the one you are on.
- ＋ Make a variation
- Copies the open pattern and opens the copy, so you can change it (a busier chorus, a quieter breakdown) and still have the original.
- BARS
- In Write and Drums, sets the open pattern’s length: 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 bars.
TipRename a pattern, or give it a colour, by double-clicking its button under Pattern & arrangement tools. Names such as Verse and Chorus make the timeline much easier to read.
Placing patterns
The strip above the tools, THE TRACK, shows the song so far. ＋ Place pattern adds the open pattern to the end of it. For quick songs that is all you need: place A, A, B, A and press Play in Song mode.
The Arrange timeline
Arrange (tab 05) shows the whole song as a timeline, with bar numbers along the top. Opening it switches the transport to Song. Each block on it is a clip: a stretch of the timeline that plays a pattern.
- All instruments
- The top row. Its clips play every part of their pattern.
- Instrument rows
- Lead, Harmony, Bass, Drums (and the expanded parts). A clip here plays only that part of its pattern, so parts can come in and drop out independently.
- ▶ Play arrangement
- Plays from the start; ▶ Play from bar plays from the bar you clicked in the ruler.
- ＋ Add clip
- Adds a clip for an instrument at a bar you choose, from a new blank phrase or one you already have.
- − and ＋, Fit song
- Zoom out, zoom in, or fit the whole song on screen.
Working with clips
Drag a clip to move it. Drag its left edge to trim the start, or its right edge to trim the end or loop the phrase for longer. With a clip selected, the arrow keys move it a bar (a Shift+arrow moves it four), Delete removes it and Enter opens its notes.
- Edit notes and Edit beat
- Open the clip’s phrase in Write or Drums.
- Repeat linked
- Adds the same phrase again straight after, linked to the first. Edit notes on a linked clip gives that one its own copy to change; Edit all, shown for linked clips, changes every one of them at once.
- Duplicate as variation
- Adds a copy with its own notes, to change without touching the original.
- Separate instruments
- Splits a whole-pattern clip into one clip per part, so each can move on its own.
- Mute clip
- Silences the clip without deleting it.
- Loop phrase ×2 and ×4
- Makes the clip two or four times as long, repeating its phrase.
- Split clip
- Cuts a clip in two at a bar.
Shaping a song
- Start small. An intro with one or two parts makes the entrance of the beat feel bigger.
- Change something every four or eight bars: add a part, drop one out, switch pattern.
- Contrast sections. A breakdown with no kick or bass makes the return of the full loop hit hard.
- End on purpose. Finish on a clip that lands on the first beat of a bar rather than cutting off mid-phrase.
Pattern or Song
The transport’s Pattern button loops only the pattern you have open, which is what you want while writing. Song plays the arrangement from the start. Arrange always plays the song.