Guide

Everything you need to know to make music with Draw.Audio

Getting Started

1. Draw notes on the grid

Click or tap any cell on the grid to place a note. Click again to remove it. Each row represents a different pitch, and each column is a step in the sequence.

2. Press play to hear your song

Hit the play button (or press Space) to start the sequencer. It will sweep across the grid from left to right, playing each column of notes in sequence.

3. Clear the grid

Use the Clear button to erase all notes on the current page, or hold it to clear all pages.

4. Reset sound settings

The Reset button restores all sliders and effects to their defaults without erasing your notes.

5. Change the grid size

Switch between 8, 16, 32, or 64 steps. Larger grids give you more resolution for detailed patterns. Each grid size maintains its own set of tracks.

6. Browse sound presets

Use the preset selector to quickly switch between pre-configured sounds. Navigate with the arrow buttons or pick from the dropdown.

7. Shape the sound

The control panel on the right has tabs for waveform, filter, envelope, effects, and more. Each section has a "?" button that explains what it does.

8. Add pattern pages

Click the "+" button below the grid to add a new page. Pages play in sequence, letting you build longer songs. You can have up to 32 pages per track.

9. Manage pages

Click a page thumbnail to select it. Right-click or long-press for options: duplicate, delete, or set repeat count. Drag thumbnails to reorder.

10. Add more tracks

Layer up to 8 tracks per grid size. Each track has independent notes, sound settings, and pages. Use mute (M) and solo (S) buttons to focus on specific tracks.

11. Undo and redo

Press Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on Mac) to undo, Ctrl+Shift+Z to redo. Hover over the undo/redo buttons to preview what will change.

12. Explore community patterns

Click the Explore button in the header to browse featured patterns from other users. Load any pattern to play, remix, or learn from.

13. Share your song

Click the Share button to generate a unique link. Anyone with the link can load your pattern in their browser.

Control Panel

What every section and setting in the control panel does

Sound Synthesis

Waveform: Pick the sonic character of your sound. Options include sine, triangle, sawtooth, square, and pulse.
Note Length: Controls how long each note plays before stopping. Ranges from 1 to 8 steps.
ADSR Envelope: Shapes how each note fades in and out over time. Attack: fade-in time Decay: time to drop from peak to sustain level Sustain: held amplitude while note is on Release: fade-out time after note ends
Sub Oscillator: Adds a second, lower tone underneath your main sound. Level: mix amount of the sub Waveform: sine, saw, triangle, or square Octave: -1, -2, or -3 octaves below the main oscillator
Noise: Mixes in noise alongside the oscillator. Level: mix amount of noise Type: white (flat), pink (-3dB/oct), brown (-6dB/oct), blue (+3dB/oct)
Unison: Stacks multiple detuned copies of the oscillator for a thicker sound. Voices: number of copies (1 = off) Detune: pitch spread between copies in cents Spread: pans voices across the stereo field
Drift: Random, subtle pitch wandering — like analog oscillator instability. Unlike Pitch LFO (periodic vibrato), Drift is random and never repeats.
Warmth: Subtle harmonic saturation on the raw oscillator, before the filter. Adds gentle analog color without heavy distortion.
Stereo Spread: Widens the stereo image using frequency-based panning. Width: how far left/right the sound spreads Mix: wet/dry balance

Filters & Modulation

Highpass Filter: Thins out the sound by removing low frequencies. Cutoff: frequencies below this are attenuated Resonance: boost at the cutoff point
Lowpass Filter: Darkens the sound by removing high frequencies. Cutoff: frequencies above this are attenuated Resonance: boost at the cutoff point
Filter Envelope: Sweeps the filter cutoff once per note — triggered by each note-on. Direction: sweep up or down from cutoff ADSR: shapes the filter sweep over time Amount: how far the cutoff moves
Pitch LFO: Continuous cyclic pitch wobble (vibrato). Repeats as long as the note plays. Waveform: LFO shape Rate: speed in Hz, or synced to tempo Depth: how far the pitch bends
Pitch Envelope: A one-shot pitch sweep triggered on each note. Great for drum hits, laser zaps, or synth plucks. ADSR: shapes the pitch sweep Amount: semitones of pitch bend at peak
Gain LFO: Pulses the volume up and down (tremolo). Waveform: LFO shape Rate: speed in Hz, or synced to tempo Depth: volume swing amount

Effects

Reverb: Adds space and ambience. Mix: wet/dry balance Decay: how long the reverb tail rings out
Distortion: Adds crunch and harmonics after the filter — from subtle warmth to extreme mangling. Drive: amount of effect Tone: post-distortion brightness Mode: Soft Clip, Hard Clip, Wavefold, Bitcrush, Rectifier, Exponential, Chebyshev, Downsample
Delay: Creates echoes that repeat after the original sound. Time: delay interval in ms Feedback: how much signal feeds back (higher = more echoes) Sync: locks delay time to tempo subdivisions
Chorus: Makes the sound fuller by layering slightly shifted copies. Rate: modulation speed Depth: pitch variation amount Mix: wet/dry balance
Tape: Emulates old cassette tape machines. Applies globally to all tracks. Wobble: pitch instability (wow + flutter) Saturation: compressive harmonic warmth Hiss: filtered noise layer Wear: high-frequency rolloff Dropout Rate: random amplitude dips
Vinyl: Emulates vinyl records and turntables. Applies globally to all tracks. Noise: surface crackle from dust Crackle: random pops and clicks Wow: slow pitch drift Rumble: low-frequency vibration Wear: high-frequency loss Stereo: subtle stereo wandering
Ring Mod: Blends your sound with another tone for metallic or robotic textures. Mix: wet/dry balance Frequency: carrier oscillator pitch

Playback & Sequencing

Playback Direction: Choose which direction the sequencer moves: Forward, Backward, Bounce (ping-pong), Random Columns, or fully Randomized.
Scale & Tempo: Set the musical key and playback speed. Scale constrains grid rows to a musical scale. Tempo controls BPM. Tap Tempo lets you set BPM by feel.
Groove: Controls the rhythmic feel. Swing: shifts every other step later for a shuffle feel (50% = straight, 67% = triplet) Gate: shortens notes — lower values create staccato Glide: slides pitch between consecutive notes
Humanize: Adds subtle natural variation to playback. Timing: nudges each note slightly early or late Velocity: randomly varies the loudness of each note
Playback Start Mode: Where each track begins when you press play: Selected Page (from your current page), Song Start (from the first page), or Song Position (aligned to timeline).

Editing Tools

Edit Selected Notes: Select notes with Shift+drag, then adjust: velocity, chance, pan, glide, length, and waveform. Changes apply to all selected notes at once.
Move Notes: Shift all notes on the grid using arrow buttons. Notes wrap around edges. Enable "All Pages" to move notes on every page at once.
Transpose: Pitch all notes up or down. Toggle between semitone and scale-step mode. Each mode remembers its own offset.
Generate Notes: Randomly place new notes on the grid. Control density and toggle random variety in waveforms, lengths, velocities, or chance.
Randomize Existing Notes: Shuffle properties of notes already on the grid: waveforms, velocities, lengths, effects, or panning.

MIDI

MIDI Input & Output: Connect a MIDI keyboard to play live, or send notes to external synths and DAWs. Select input and output devices in the MIDI panel.
MIDI File Import/Export: Save your pattern as a standard .mid file, or import a .mid file onto the grid. Import auto-detects scale, grid size, and tempo.
MIDI Options: Toggle which MIDI parameters are sent and received: velocity, MIDI clock (sync external gear), pan, and pitch bend.

Appearance

Color Themes: Cycle through color themes or customize individual colors for background, visualizer, and per-waveform notes.
Spectrum Visualizer: Shows the frequency content of your sound in real time. Toggle visibility, cycle color schemes, and adjust opacity.