Guide

This guide explains all the features of Draw.Audio

Getting Started

The guided tour is a short, hands-on walkthrough that has you draw a few notes, press play, and change the sound. Start it from the Take the Tour banner when you first open the app, or anytime from the Help menu. You can skip it at any point.

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, and double-click any slider to snap it back to its default.

8. Add 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 a repeat count (1–64). Drag thumbnails to reorder.

10. Add more tracks

Layer up to 10 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. 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.

Switch between drum kits from the preset selector, and the grid rows and sample sounds update instantly. Use the Edit Drum Row section in the Edit tab to tune individual samples: pick 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. These tweaks are per-track, not per-kit, so two drum tracks on the same kit can pitch and balance the same sample differently.

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 open the Share dialog. Generate a link anyone can open in their browser, or download your song as audio, both from the same window.

Control Panel

What every section and setting in the control panel does

Panel Basics

Reset a slider: Double-click any slider to snap it back to its default value. Works everywhere: synth controls, effects, mixer faders, pan, reverb sends, everything.
Toggle a section: Click any section header to turn that section on or off. Active sections show a filled toggle; inactive ones are bypassed. Settings are preserved when you toggle a section off, so you can A/B with and without it.
Section help: Every section has a ? button next to its header with a short explanation of what the section does and what each control changes.
Track Overview: A read-only summary of the current track's whole signal path: every active oscillator, filter, modulation, and effect, with its live value. Press I or use the rail button to open it over the grid (desktop only).

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. Where Pitch LFO gives periodic vibrato, Drift is random and never repeats. Amount: how far the pitch wanders, in cents Rate: how quickly the wandering evolves
Pulse Width: For the pulse waveform, sets the duty cycle, the ratio between the high and low parts of each cycle. 50% is a square wave; lower or higher values thin the pulse and change the tone. Modulate it with the PWM LFO for classic moving-pulse textures.
Warmth: Subtle harmonic saturation on the raw oscillator, before the filter. Adds gentle analog color without heavy distortion. Amount: how much saturation Color: pre-saturation low-shelf position (0 = classic 400 Hz, − cuts bass, + lifts highs) Bias: asymmetric clipping offset (0 = symmetric, + adds 'tube' character, − inverts)
Stereo Spread: Widens the stereo image by adding a detuned shadow oscillator panned opposite to the main voice. A single Width slider controls both stereo separation and detune amount: 0% is mono, 100% is maximum spread.
FM Mode: Switches the track from a single oscillator to a 6-operator FM synth. Each operator is its own sine (or saw, square, half-sine, abs-sine, or noise) source with its own ratio, fine detune, ADSR, level, velocity sensitivity, key scaling, and self-feedback. Pick from 32 algorithms in a 4×8 grid. Each one is a different way of routing operators into carriers and modulators. Carriers (lit blue) reach the output; modulators (lit orange) bend the operators they feed. FM Amount: master modulation depth that turns the whole FM character up or down Operators 1–6: tabs swap which operator the controls below edit; the S/M chips solo or mute that operator Ratio: pitch as a multiple of the played note (or set Fixed Freq for a pinned Hz) Pitch Env / P.E. Decay: per-operator pitch sweep for transient bite Feedback: sine-on-self distortion that pushes a pure sine toward a saw-like tone Randomize FM: the dice button rolls a fresh patch, randomizing algorithm, ratios, envelopes, levels, and feedback for instant new timbres
Wavetable Mode: Switches the track to a wavetable oscillator: a stack of single-cycle waveforms (frames) you sweep through for a continuously morphing tone. It reuses the rest of the subtractive voice, so the filter, unison, sub, noise, and effects all still apply. Table: choose which wavetable to scan (analog morph, formant, PPG-style digital, vocal, and more) Position: where in the table you are, from the first frame to the last; sweep it to morph the timbre Morph Envelope: an ADSR that moves the Position on its own at each note, with its own amount and attack/release curves Warp: reshapes each frame as it's read (bend, asymmetry, mirror, or hard-sync) with an Amount that sets how far Phase Spread / Free Phase: spread the start phase across unison voices, or let phase run between notes, for a wider, more organic attack Both Position and Warp are also LFO targets, so the modulation rack can animate the morph automatically.

FM Synthesis Basics

Instead of filtering a single oscillator, FM stacks six sine oscillators ("operators") that can shape each other's frequency. Tabs 1–6 each carry their own envelope, ratio, level, waveform, feedback, and pan.

Algorithm: The algorithm determines who feeds whom. There are 32 algorithms (the DX-7 standard). Operators at the bottom of the diagram make sound (carriers, ●); operators above them shape it (modulators, ○). The dots on the operator tabs flip between ● and ○ to match the current algorithm.
Ratio: An operator's pitch relative to the played note. Integer ratios (1, 2, 3…) sound harmonic; fractional ratios sound bell-like or metallic.
Feedback: An operator modulating itself. Small amounts brighten a sound; large amounts get raspy.
Pan: Per-operator stereo placement. With multi-carrier algorithms, panning carriers apart widens the sound.
Activity dots: Pulsing dots on the operator tabs during playback show which operators are contributing right now.
Tip: The fastest way to learn FM is to press Random until you find a sound you like, then look at which algorithm it used.

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. ADSR: shapes the filter sweep over time Depth: how far and which way the cutoff moves. Positive sweeps up, negative sweeps down
Pitch Envelope: A one-shot pitch sweep triggered on each note. Useful for drum hits, laser zaps, or synth plucks. ADSR: shapes the pitch sweep Amount: semitones of pitch bend at peak
LFO Overview: LFOs cyclically modulate any parameter. Click Add Modulation Target in the Modulation panel and pick from 30+ targets: pitch, highpass cutoff, lowpass cutoff, gain, pulse width, resonance, highpass resonance, pan, distortion, distortion tone, delay feedback, delay time, reverb send, chorus depth/mix/rate, ring mod, ring mod freq, stereo spread, warmth (with color and bias), wavetable position, wavetable warp, sub level, noise level, sustain, FM amount, attack, decay, release, glide, and gate. Each lane has the same controls: Waveform: sine, triangle, sawtooth, or square Rate: speed in Hz, or synced to a tempo subdivision Depth: how strongly the LFO modulates its target Anchor: when enabled, resets the LFO's phase to 0 each time playback starts, which keeps the modulation aligned with the beat
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
Highpass LFO: Modulates the highpass filter cutoff up and down, creating rhythmic thinning or sweeping effects on the low end.
Lowpass LFO: Modulates the lowpass filter cutoff for the classic auto-wah or "filter pulse" effect. Pair with resonance for a squelchy, synthy movement.
Gain LFO: Pulses the volume up and down (tremolo). Waveform: LFO shape Rate: speed in Hz, or synced to tempo Depth: volume swing amount
PWM LFO: Modulates the Pulse Width of the pulse waveform, shifting the duty cycle in real time. Creates the shimmering, hollow-and-open sound of classic PWM synths. Only affects tracks using the pulse waveform.

Effects

Reverb: Adds space and ambience. All tracks share one reverb, and each track can send any amount of its signal into it. Send: how much of the track feeds the shared reverb (set per track in the Mixer, or in the Effects tab) 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) Slapback Time: short echo length (Slapback 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) Wobble Rate: speed of the wobble pitch variation 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 triggers the ducking. Depth: how much the volume ducks (higher = deeper pump; 100% fully ducks the synth on each kick) Ratio: how aggressively the compressor reacts above threshold 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: Constrains grid rows to a musical scale. The picker groups scales by category (pentatonic, major and minor, modes, blues and jazz, world, and more) and lets you set the root note. Notes already on the grid snap to the nearest scale degree when you switch.
Tempo: Sets playback speed in beats per minute. Type a value directly, drag the tempo display, or use Tap Tempo: tap the button at the speed you want, and the app averages your taps and updates the BPM.
Groove: Controls the rhythmic feel. Swing: shifts every other step later for a shuffle feel (50% = straight, higher values lean toward triplet feel) Gate: shortens notes; lower values create staccato Glide: slides pitch between consecutive notes Ratchet: retriggers each step N times (Off, 2×–8×) for drum rolls, flams, and stutter leads
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).
Loop Playback: When enabled (default), playback loops indefinitely. When disabled, each track plays through all its pages once and stops when every track has reached the end.

Mixer

Mixer View: A dedicated view for balancing your tracks. Use the layout toggle in the header to show or hide it. The mixer builds one channel strip per track plus a Main strip for the overall output, and works live, so you can adjust levels while a page plays.
Track Strips: Fader: sets the track's volume. Double-click to reset to the default level. Name: click the label above the fader to rename the track (for example "Bass" or "Hi-Hat"). Mute / Solo: the M button silences the track, S isolates it so only that track is heard. Pan: places the track left or right in the stereo field. Reverb Send: controls how much of the track is sent to the shared reverb. Reorder: drag a strip sideways to rearrange tracks. Delete: the small × on each strip removes the track (two-click confirm).
Peak Meters: Each strip has an LED-style stereo meter showing the track's live output. Green is safe headroom, amber is loud but still clean, and red means you're close to clipping (harsh digital distortion). A small peak marker catches the loudest recent moment and holds for a beat so brief spikes don't get missed.
Main Output: The Main strip controls the final level after all tracks are mixed together. Its meter shows the overall output, and the fader is your master volume. BOOST: pushes an extra +6 dB through the main limiter so your song sits at streaming-service loudness (Spotify, YouTube, etc.). Leave it off if you want the mix to keep its natural dynamics.
Vertical or Horizontal: Click the rotate button next to the mixer to switch layouts. Vertical gives you the classic tall-fader, side-by-side look. Horizontal stacks compact strips above the page thumbnails so the grid stays in view while you mix.

Equalizer

EQ Mode: A per-track 8-band parametric equalizer for shaping a track's tone after synthesis. Press E or toggle EQ Mode in the Edit tab to open it over the grid. Each track keeps its own EQ, and it works on both synth and drum tracks.
Bands: Eight bands span the spectrum: a highpass and lowpass at the ends (each with a selectable 12, 24, or 48 dB/oct slope), a low shelf and high shelf, and four peaking bands in between. Click an empty part of the curve to add a band; toggle any band off to bypass it without losing its settings.
Editing the Curve: Drag a band's node to move it: left and right sets its frequency, up and down sets its gain. Roll the mouse wheel over a node to widen or narrow its Q (bandwidth). Hold Shift while dragging or scrolling for fine control.
Spectrum Analyzer: A real-time analyzer draws the track's live spectrum behind the curve so you can see what you're cutting or boosting. Switch it between the signal before EQ, after EQ, or both.
Presets: Start from a ready-made curve: Bass, Bright, De-Ess, De-Mud, Phone, V-Shape, Vocal, or Warm. Adjust from there to taste.

Automation

Automation Mode: Automation lets you draw parameter changes over time. Instead of a slider staying at one value, you can make it sweep, pulse, or follow any shape across a page. Press A or toggle the switch in the Automation tab to enter automation mode.
Lanes & Parameters: Each automated parameter gets its own lane. Click "Add Parameter" and pick any slider from the dropdown: volume, pan, reverb send, filter cutoff, delay feedback, and more. Lanes appear in the sidebar with a colored dot. Click a lane to select it for editing. Use the toggle to enable or disable a lane without deleting it.
Drawing Tools: Three tools for editing curves: Draw: click and drag to freehand a curve across the canvas Edit: click to place precise breakpoints, drag to move them, drag handles to adjust tension (curve shape) Erase: click and drag to select a time range and remove all breakpoints within it
Presets: Quick-apply common curve shapes to the selected lane: Ramp Up/Down, Low Ramp Up/Down (small moves near the bottom), High Ramp Up/Down (near the top), Exp Up/Down, S-Curve Up/Down, Sine, and Sine Valley. Clear removes all breakpoints from the lane on the current page.
Playback: During playback, automation curves override slider positions in real time. Sliders visually follow the curve and the inline value display shows the current value. When playback stops, sliders return to their manual positions. You can grab a slider during playback to temporarily override the automation. When you release, it smoothly ramps back to the curve instead of snapping.
Per-Page Curves: Automation data is stored per page. Each page can have different curves for the same parameter. When you add a lane, it's available on all pages but each page's curve is independent.
Recording from Sliders: Arm the record button on the selected lane, start playback, then move the matching slider. Your movements are captured as breakpoints on the current page. Releasing the slider ends the take; playback keeps running so you can punch in again on the next pass.

Editing Tools

Edit Selected Notes: Select notes with Shift+drag, then adjust them in the Edit panel, in this order: play every (with a First/Last toggle), chance, velocity, glide (synth tracks only), gate, length (synth tracks only), FM amount (FM-mode tracks only), waveform (synth tracks only), and pan. Drum tracks expose only play every, chance, velocity, gate, and pan, since drum hits are single-cell. Changes apply to all selected notes at once. Alt+drag a selection to move it to a new position on the grid. Ctrl/Cmd+C, X, V copy, cut, and paste the selection; Delete removes it.
Play Every: Set a note to play only every Nth pass through the page. Right-click a note and set "Play Every" to 2, 3, or 4, and 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. Useful for building variation across repeats without extra pages.
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.
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.
Track Options: Open a track's options menu from its tab. Settings are per-track: Speed: how fast this track moves through its columns relative to the song tempo. 1x is the default; 2x and 4x play twice or four times as fast, 1/2 and 1/4 at half or quarter speed. Useful for polyrhythms, half-time drums, or speeding up an arpeggio without changing the tempo. Columns: limit the playback range for this track. Notes past the chosen column stay on the grid but aren't played. Duplicate Track: clone the track with the same pages, sounds, and settings, plus a fresh color. Disabled when you're at the 10-track limit. Color: pick a color from the theme palette or set a custom one. Locked colors stay put when you change themes.
Per-Page Loop & Jump: Right-click or long-press any page thumbnail for more options than duplicate, delete, and repeat: Loop At: shorten the page by setting the last column it plays (1-indexed). Notes past that column are kept on the grid but skipped during playback, useful for odd time signatures or half-bar fills. Jump To: when this page finishes, jump to another page number instead of advancing to the next one. Combine with the repeat count to build verse and chorus arrangements without copying pages.
Loop Window: Drag the flag markers above the page thumbnails to set a loop window. Playback loops just that range of pages and columns, so you can audition a section without deleting anything. Drag either flag past the other to redraw the window, double-click a flag to reset it to the song edge, or nudge it with the arrow keys. WAV and MIDI export honor the window too.

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. The pitch bend range select offers four fixed widths: ±2, ±7, ±12, or ±24 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, reached from the Share dialog. A progress overlay shows the render status. For looping or endless songs you set the export length first, by time or loop count.
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.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Full shortcut reference: Press ? at any time for an overlay listing every shortcut, or visit the Shortcuts page. Quick highlights: Space: play / stop (resume from where you stopped) Enter: play from the beginning Ctrl/Cmd+Z / Shift+Z: undo / redo A: toggle Automation Mode • E: toggle EQ Mode • G: toggle visualizer T: tap tempo • [ / ]: nudge BPM (±1) D: cycle playback direction • X: reset sliders • C: clear (then A=all, P=this page) P / Shift+P: next / previous preset V / Shift+V: next / previous visualizer theme 1–5: select waveform (sine, sawtooth, triangle, square, pulse) Arrow keys: navigate pages (left/right) and tracks (up/down); add Shift to move notes; add Ctrl/Cmd+D to duplicate the current page

Appearance

Color Themes: Cycle through color themes or customize individual colors for background, visualizer, and per-waveform notes.
Note Labels: Show note names on the grid so you can see which pitches you're placing. Toggle it from the Options menu.
Piano Keys: Show a vertical keyboard down the side of the grid that lines white and black keys up with the rows, so the layout reads like a piano roll. Click a key to hear its pitch. Toggle it from the Options menu.
Spectrum Visualizer: Shows the frequency content of your sound in real time. Click the visualizer (or press V / Shift+V) to cycle through 26 themes. Two of them, Seismograph and Split, are drum-aware and react to drums and synths on separate channels. Others morph organically with the music (Plasma, Mycelium, Caustics). Toggle visibility and adjust opacity from the Options panel. Use the fullscreen button to expand the visualizer to fill the entire screen.
Performance Mode: Cuts animations and visual effects to save battery and CPU on lower-powered devices. Find it in the Options menu. It stays off until you turn it on.
Simple Mode: A stripped-down, kid-friendly layout with just the essentials: draw notes, pick a sound and scale, and adjust a few effects. Turn it on with the Simple button in the header. Your full project stays separate and untouched while you work in Simple Mode.