Step Sequencer

A grid of equal cells where each cell answers one question, whether that step fires.

Related

SequencerSequenceTempo

A step sequencer cuts time into equal cells, and each cell answers one question: does this step fire.

The problem

Drum machines and dance need sixteenth-note repetition that lands identically every pass. Playing by hand is about touch, while step sequencing is about position. Turning gestures into switches makes repetition stable and every cell editable.

How it works

One row is a lane, one column a step. Each cell holds on, off, velocity and pitch offset, and a tie joins adjacent cells into one note. On each clock step the engine reads the column and fires every active lane. Sixteen steps in a bar means sixteenth notes.

Settings and practice

Set step length and loop length, place kick and snare, then add hats. Accent the first of every four steps, use ties for slides, and add probability or a micro-shift of a few milliseconds. After a tempo change, confirm steps still follow beats.

What to listen for

Hear how steady a repeated cell is and which step carries the accent. Mute the hats for the kick skeleton, then judge whether the sixteenths crowd the vocal.

Common misunderstandings

Step sequencing is not only for electronic music, and a grid is not quantise. The grid is an input method, while the output can still carry velocity and timing offsets.

Sources

• 步进音序的格子模型与连步用法，依通行鼓机与音序软件说明核查，未抄文本
• 步长、重音与概率触发的参数范围，依电子音乐制作通识核查，未抄文本

Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.