Guide

This guide explains all the features of Draw.Audio

Getting started

The guided tour is a short, hands-on walkthrough: you draw a few notes, press play, and change the sound. Start it anytime from the Help menu. You can skip it at any point.

• Learn and compose music on the piano rollOpen draw.audio/learn for a layout made for learning: piano keys beside the grid, note names on every row and a piano sound, to try notes, scales and chords.

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

Click the play button (or press Space) to start the sequencer. The playhead moves across the grid from left to right, playing each column of notes in turn.

3. Clear the grid

Click Clear and pick what to erase: this page, this track, or every track and page. Click your choice a second time to confirm.

4. Reset sound settings

Reset sound, at the bottom of the same Clear menu, restores the track's sliders and effects to their defaults without erasing your notes.

5. Change the grid size

Switch between 8×8, 16×16, 32×32 and 64×64 grids. Larger grids have more steps per page and more rows of pitch. Each grid size keeps its own song, with its own tracks.

6. Browse sound presets

Use the preset selector to switch between ready-made sounds. Step through them with the arrow buttons or pick one from the dropdown.

7. Shape the sound

The control panel has six panels. Pick one from the icon rail: Sequencer, Oscillator, Filter, Effects, Modulation or Edit. Each section in a panel has a "?" button that explains what it does. Double-click any slider to reset it 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. Hover over it, or tap the selected page on a touchscreen, to show its buttons: repeat count (1-64 or ∞), duplicate and delete. Drag thumbnails to reorder.

10. Add more tracks

Click + below the last track and choose Synth or Drums. 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

Choose Drums when you add a track to get a sample-based drum machine. 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, gate, ratchet, pan 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 panel to tune individual samples: pick a row from the dropdown, then adjust its pitch (-24 to +24 semitones) and volume (0-200%), or put rows in a choke group so they cut each other off, like a closed hi-hat cutting an open one. 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. Browse songs in Explore

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

14. Share your song

Click Share in the header. Create Link makes a link anyone can open in a browser, and Export Audio saves the song as a WAV file. You can also export the whole project as a file.

A link plays the song as it was when you shared it. Later edits don't change it: share again to get a new link for the new version. Sharing a song you haven't changed gives the same link again.

Add your name as the author, and notes such as credits or lyrics, in Song Settings → Song or in the Share dialog. Both are saved and shared with the song. Anyone who opens it can read them from the info button beside the song name.

15. Keep several songs in My Songs

Click My Songs in the header (or press Ctrl+O) to see all your songs in a panel beside the grid. Start a new one, open, rename, duplicate or delete them, or remove them all at the bottom. Each grid size holds one song at a time, so opening a 64×64 song switches to 64×64. A shared link or Explore song opens as a new song and your own stays in My Songs. Songs are saved in this browser on this device.

Control Panel

What every section and setting in the control panel does

• Sound SynthesisHow the Draw.Audio synthesizer works: waveforms, ADSR envelope, sub oscillator, noise, unison, drift and warmth, plus 6-operator FM and wavetable modes.
• Presets & Drum KitsBrowse synth presets, DX7 patches and drum kits in Draw.Audio, save your own sound presets, and import .syx SysEx banks. Free in your browser.
• Filters & ModulationShape your sound in Draw.Audio with highpass and lowpass filters, filter and pitch ADSR envelopes, and LFOs on 40 synth parameters.
• EffectsEvery effect in Draw.Audio explained: reverb, distortion, delay, chorus, tape, vinyl, sidechain and ring mod, and what each control does.
• Playback & SequencingHow the Draw.Audio step sequencer plays your grid: play direction, scales, tempo (BPM), time signatures, swing, chords, arpeggiator, metronome and looping.
• MixerBalance your tracks with the Draw.Audio mixer: volume faders, pan, reverb sends, peak meters and the main output, plus an 8-band EQ with a spectrum analyzer.
• AutomationAutomate synth, effect and mixer parameters in Draw.Audio: draw curves, apply presets, record slider moves, and change tempo and swing across a song.
• Editing ToolsDraw.Audio's note editing tools: edit selected notes, move and transpose, generate or randomize notes, per-page loops and jumps, and the loop window.
• MIDI & ExportPlay and record from a MIDI keyboard, map knobs with MIDI Learn, import and export MIDI files, export WAV files and perfect loops, and save project files.

Songs and App

Saving and sharing songs, song settings, app options and Simple mode

• Songs, Sharing & ExploreSave your songs, share music online with a link anyone can play, back up with a project file, and browse and remix featured songs in Explore.
• Song Settings & AppearanceSong Settings in Draw.Audio: song name and notes, color themes, a spectrum music visualizer, transport bar skins and piano roll grid options like note names.
• Options & AppDraw.Audio options: loop playback, Performance Mode, shortcuts, language and Reset All. Install the free music maker as an app and use it offline.
• Simple ModeA free beginner music maker for kids and classrooms. Draw notes on a 16×16 grid, pick a sound, a scale and effects, and share your song. No download.

Panel Basics

Reset a slider

Double-click any slider to snap it back to its default value. This works on every control you drag, including synth controls, effects, envelope points, EQ and filter nodes, mixer faders, pan, and reverb sends. Hold Shift while dragging for fine control, and press Page Up or Page Down on a focused control for big steps.

Toggle a section

Click a section header to show or hide its controls. Sections with an on/off switch in the header are bypassed when off. They keep their settings, so you can compare the sound with and without them.

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 summary of the current track's sound, shown over the grid. Press I or click the Track Overview button on the icon rail to open it. With two or more tracks, the arrows beside the track name step to the previous or next track. A line under the title sums up the song: tempo (BPM), length, bars, tracks, notes and grid size. Active Settings: every oscillator, filter, envelope, LFO and effect in use, with its live value. Switches turn effects, envelopes, filters and EQ bands on or off. Signal Path: the stages the sound passes through, from the oscillator through filters and effects to the output. Stats: figures for the track and its notes, such as type, preset, scale, notes on the page and steps used. Click an item to jump to its control.

Track Tabs

With two or more tracks, a tab for each track sits at the bottom-left edge of the grid, marked with a synth or drum icon in the track's color. Click a tab to switch to that track. Its icon lights up each time the track plays a note, except in Performance Mode. When the tabs would cover an open panel, they narrow to color stripes until you point at them. Track tabs are not shown on phones.

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 (from the selected page; change this in Options → General → Playback) Enter: play from the beginning, or stop Ctrl/Cmd+Z / Shift+Z: undo / redo A: toggle Automation Mode • E: toggle EQ Mode • G: toggle visualizer T: tap tempo • K: metronome • [ / ]: nudge BPM (±1) H: chords on or off • U: arpeggio on or off D: cycle playback direction • X twice: reset the sound • C: clear (then A=all, T=this track, P=this page) P / Shift+P: next / previous preset M / Shift+M: next / previous time signature V / Shift+V: next / previous visualizer theme 1 to 5: select waveform (sine, sawtooth, triangle, square, pulse) Arrow keys: navigate pages (left/right) and tracks (up/down); add Shift to move notes Tab to the grid: arrow keys move a cursor and Enter adds or removes a note Ctrl/Cmd+D: duplicate the selected notes, or the current page To turn off letter, number and symbol shortcuts, use Options → General → Single-Key Shortcuts.