Opening the studio
The studio opens on an entry screen with a few ways in. Pick the one that matches what you want to do right now.
- Start a track
- Opens an empty project called Untitled: one pattern two bars long, at 120 beats per minute.
- Open a project
- Opens your saved projects so you can carry on with one.
- Return to the desk
- Goes straight back to whatever you had open last time.
- The idea machine
- The card on the right opens a finished demo track, a trance piece in A minor. It is a good way to hear what the studio can do, and a good song to pull apart.
The desk at a glance
Once you are in, the desk has the same layout whatever you are doing.
- The masthead
- Across the top: How do I make songs? (this manual, in a new tab), the Tutorial switch and Projects.
- The project bar
- Your project name (click it to rename), who is in the session, Save project, and Export for when you are ready to finish.
- The transport
- Play and stop, Pattern or Song, the tempo in BPM, where you are, Undo, Find a tool, MIDI and the shortcut sheet.
- The shelf
- On the left. IDEAS ON THE DESK lists your patterns; YOUR INSTRUMENTS lists your parts: Lead, Harmony, Bass and the Drum machine.
- The track
- A strip showing the song so far. Place pattern adds the pattern you are working on to the end of the song; Arrange opens the timeline.
- The tools
- Eight tabs. Each one opens a different workspace below them.
The eight tools
Every tool has its own chapter in this manual. In short:
- 01 Write
- Notes and chords for the part you have selected, drawn on a piano roll.
- 02 Drums
- The rhythm machine: six drum voices, the steps they play on, and how each one sounds.
- 03 Sounds
- The instrument itself: its synth type, presets and every knob, plus samples.
- 04 Inspire me
- Generates melodies, beats, bass lines and whole song sketches for you to keep or throw away.
- 05 Arrange
- Turns loops into a song by placing clips on a timeline.
- 06 Movement
- Swing, groove and automation: things that change over time.
- 07 Mix
- Level, pan, filters and effects for each part.
- 08 Finish
- Save, export a WAV, and the mastering suite.
Playing what you have
- Press Play in the transport, or the Space bar. Press it again to stop.
- Choose Pattern to loop only the pattern in front of you, or Song to play the whole arrangement. Opening Arrange switches to Song for you.
- Type a tempo into the BPM box. Anything from 1 to 599 works; most songs sit between 70 and 170.
TipUndo, in the transport, takes back your last musical edit. Ctrl or Cmd with Z does the same, and Ctrl+Y or Shift with Ctrl or Cmd and Z brings it back.
Help while you work
Turn Tutorial on in the masthead and rest the pointer on any control, or move to it with the Tab key, to see a card that says what it does and how to use it. On a touch screen the first tap explains a control and the second tap uses it. The setting is remembered in this browser.
Find a tool (Ctrl or Cmd with K) lists the eight tools and jumps to the one you type. The ? button opens the keyboard shortcuts.