Building an Arrangement

From Loops to Songs

The Sequencer is where you write individual patterns — 16-step loops. The Arrangement is where those loops become a song. You chain patterns across 32 bars to define what plays when: intro, verse, chorus, breakdown, outro. No recording required — it's pure click-to-place composition.

🎵 Goal: Build a complete song structure — Intro (Pattern 1) → Verse (Pattern 2) → Chorus (Pattern 3) → Verse → Chorus → Outro (Pattern 4) — across 24 bars.

Step 1 — Create Your Patterns in the Sequencer

Before building an arrangement you need at least two or three distinct patterns. Switch to the Sequencer tab and use the pattern buttons (1 through 8) in the transport bar to switch between slots.

For this tutorial, prepare four distinct patterns:

Pattern 1 — Intro: Sparse, atmospheric — low density, low chaos. Establishes the key and tempo without overwhelming the listener.
Pattern 2 — Verse: Energetic groove with a clear bass line and moderate melody activity.
Pattern 3 — Chorus: Full density, all tracks active, peak energy of the song.
Pattern 4 — Outro: Mellower version — mirrors the intro energy to bring the song to a close.

💡 Tip: Use the Generator to quickly fill each pattern. Switch to Pattern 2, set Mood to Energetic, click Generate All. Switch to Pattern 3, set Density to 70, click Generate All. Each slot gets its own distinct character in seconds.

Step 2 — Open the Arrangement View

Click the Arrangement tab inside the Sequencer section. The grid shows your eight pattern rows (Pattern 1 through 8) as horizontal lanes, and bars 1 through 32 as vertical columns. The timeline at the bottom shows the playback time in minutes:seconds.

Make sure the ON toggle at the top right of the Arrangement section is enabled (green). When ON, playback follows the arrangement timeline instead of looping a single pattern.

Step 3 — Place Patterns on the Timeline

Left-click any cell to place a pattern block at that position. Clicking again removes it. The pattern in that row plays at that bar when the arrangement reaches it.

Here's the structure to build:

Pattern 1 row, bars 1–4 → Intro (4 bars = 1 loop each)
Pattern 2 row, bars 5–8 → Verse 1
Pattern 3 row, bars 9–12 → Chorus 1
Pattern 2 row, bars 13–16 → Verse 2
Pattern 3 row, bars 17–20 → Chorus 2
Pattern 4 row, bars 21–24 → Outro

🎯 How it works: At each bar, the arrangement plays exactly one pattern — whichever row has a block at that column. If no row has a block at a given bar, that bar is silent (a break or pause in the music).

Step 4 — The Complete Song Structure

Step 5 — Adjust Bar Count

The arrangement defaults to 8 bars. Use the + and − buttons next to the bar count to expand or shrink the timeline. A typical chiptune track runs 16–32 bars. The time display at the bottom shows the total duration at your current BPM.

At 100 BPM with 16-step patterns, each bar is about 9.6 seconds. 24 bars = roughly 3 minutes 50 seconds — a full track.

Step 6 — Press Play

Press Space or click the ▶ Play button. The yellow playhead sweeps across the arrangement, playing each pattern as it arrives. The song progresses from Intro through Verse, Chorus, back to Verse, Chorus, and finally the Outro — exactly as you built it.

Enable the Loop button (↺) to repeat the entire arrangement once it reaches the last bar.

🔁 Pro tip: Click on any bar in the timeline ruler to jump the playhead to that position instantly. Great for checking how the Chorus sounds immediately without waiting through the Intro.

Step 7 — Use Arrangement Presets

Click the Presets dropdown in the Arrangement header to load a complete arrangement template. Presets snap in pre-built song structures (Intro–Verse–Chorus–Outro, ABAB form, etc.) into your pattern grid — instant song scaffolding you can then customize.

💾 The Clear button removes all blocks from the timeline (the patterns themselves are untouched). Use it to start a new arrangement structure without losing the notes inside each pattern.

What's Next?

Your arrangement is a full song. Here's how to finish it:

Mixer → balance volumes, panning and EQ for each track across the arrangement
Master FX → add reverb, delay and compression to glue the mix together
Export → render the entire arrangement as a WAV or MP3 file
Mixer Automation → draw volume/filter curves that evolve over the arrangement timeline

Happy arranging! 🎮