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 pattern, or hold it to clear all patterns.

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 patterns

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

9. Manage patterns

Click a pattern 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 patterns. Use mute (M) and solo (S) buttons to focus on specific tracks.

11. Drum tracks

Add a sample-based drum track from the preset dropdown. Drum tracks play audio samples (like kick, snare, hi-hat) instead of synthesized tones. Each row on the grid represents a different drum sample. Right-click notes to adjust velocity, chance, pan, gate, and play every.

Use the Edit Drum Row section in the Edit tab to tune individual samples. Select a row from the dropdown, then adjust its pitch (-24 to +24 semitones) and volume (0-200%). The selected row is highlighted on the grid. Double-click a slider to reset it to its default value.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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 by adding a detuned shadow oscillator panned opposite to the main voice. Width: stereo separation and detune amount 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

Effect Toggles: Click any effect section header to toggle it on or off. Active effects show a filled toggle; inactive effects are bypassed. Settings are preserved when toggled off, so you can quickly compare with and without an effect.
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, Crossover, Diode
Delay: Creates echoes that repeat after the original sound. Six modes available: Ping Pong: echoes alternate between left and right channels Mono: single delay line, both channels hear the same echo Stereo: staggered L/R delay lines with cross-feedback for stereo movement Slapback: a single short echo with no feedback Reverse: captures audio and plays it back reversed Pitch Shift: each repeat shifts pitch cumulatively Time: delay interval in ms Feedback: how much signal feeds back (higher = more echoes) Sync: locks delay time to tempo subdivisions Offset: L/R time offset (Stereo mode) Pitch: semitones per repeat (Pitch Shift mode) Fine: cents per repeat (Pitch Shift mode)
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: 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
Sidechain: Ducks a synth track's volume when a drum track plays — the classic "pumping" effect used in electronic music. Enable it on any synth track and pick which drum track drives the compression. Amount: how much the volume ducks (higher = deeper pump) Ratio: compression ratio (higher = harder knee) Attack: how fast the volume drops when the kick hits Release: how fast the volume recovers after the kick Makeup: compensate for lost volume
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 Pattern (from your current pattern), Song Start (from the first pattern), or Song Position (aligned to timeline).
Loop Playback: When enabled (default), playback loops indefinitely. When disabled, each track plays through all its patterns and repeats once, then stops.

Editing Tools

Edit Selected Notes: Select notes with Shift+drag, then adjust: velocity, chance, pan, glide, gate, length, waveform, and play every. Changes apply to all selected notes at once. Alt+drag a selection to move it to a new position on the grid.
Play Every: Set a note to play only every Nth pass through the pattern. Right-click a note and set "Play Every" to 2, 3, or 4 — the note will skip the other passes. During playback, a countdown badge shows when the note will next play. Toggle between First and Last to control whether the note plays on the first or last pass of each cycle. Great for building variation across repeats without extra patterns.
Move Notes: Shift all notes on the grid using arrow buttons. Notes wrap around edges. Enable "All Patterns" to move notes on every pattern at once.
Grid Scroll: Shift the visible pitch range up or down using the scroll buttons or Shift+mouse wheel on the grid. Notes maintain their pitch by moving rows as the viewport shifts. Colored indicators on the grid edges mark notes that have scrolled off-screen.
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 Track 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. Set the pitch bend range (1-48 semitones).
MIDI Learn: Click the MIDI Learn button in the MIDI panel, then click any slider and move a knob or fader on your MIDI controller to map it. The slider will respond to that CC in real time. Use Clear All to remove mappings.

Export & Import

Download as WAV: Renders your full song offline and saves it as a 16-bit WAV file. A progress overlay shows the render status.
Export/Import Project: Save your project as a JSON file to back up or share your work. Export all grid sizes or just the current one. Import a JSON file to load it back onto the grid.

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. Click the visualizer to cycle through 26 themes — including drum-aware modes that react to drums and synths independently, and organic morphing themes like Plasma, Mycelium, and Caustics. Toggle visibility and adjust opacity from the Options panel. Use the fullscreen button to expand the visualizer to fill the entire screen.