Pattern Matrix

Pattern Matrix

Overview

If you've never seen the Pattern Matrix, click the PM button at the upper left of the Pattern Editor and open the Matrix window:

The Matrix is a "bird's eye view" for the patterns which you make in the Pattern Editor. Patterns and Tracks are divided into Blocks that can be moved, copied & pasted, providing the ability to manage the flow of the music instantly and easily.

The pattern matrix also allows to mute specific tracks in the same patterns (indicated with a cross in the picture below). This way you can create a whole song (or song draft) from a single pattern. Starting with one pattern with many tracks, you can play this pattern again and again in the sequencer, but then mute individual slots in the sequence to build up the songs structure. Later on you can create individual patterns out of the original one to add variations.

Matrix Slot

If you input some data in the Pattern Editor, a colored slot automatically appears in the Pattern Matrix.

The slots are resizable by clicking the square icons under the PM button:

If you left-click these icons, the height of slots are resized. If you right-click these icons, the width of slots are resized.

You can do common operations both in the Pattern Matrix as well as the Pattern Editor.

Drag and Drop

To move a slot in matrix from one place in the other, select a slot, then click hold and drop it to its new place.

Hold Down "Control/Command" while dragging to Copy blocks. instead of Moving them.

Hold Down "Control/Command + Shift" while dragging to Copy new blocks into new Patterns.

Selection & Mouse

To select multiple blocks at once, hold down "Shift" before clicking. "Control/Command" + Click: allows removing/adding single slots from an existing selection.

With these key combination you can select everything from Track 1 to Track 5, then exclude a single slot in Track2, for example.

Muting Slots

Click with the Middle Mouse Button or with the ALT key on slots to mute/un-mute them quickly. Muting/Un-muting also works for multiple selected slots with ALT or the Middle Mouse Button.

This key and mouse combination also works in the Track Scopes.

Basic Shortcuts

Some things to try:

• Clone and Add with "Control/Command + K" to quickly duplicate parts.
• "Control/Command + I" instead of "Control/Command + V" to Insert instead of Paste.
• "Control/Command + SHIFT + Arrow Up/Down" to quickly select multiple rows.
• "Alt + P" and "Alt + T" to select the whole Pattern or Track.
• To Focus Pattern Editor, hit "ESC". To get focus back to the Pattern Matrix, hit "Shift + ESC".

Visualization Options

With the context menu you can chose to show or hide the Track Names, the colors, and the VU Meters. Right-click in the Pattern Matrix to view the context menu. Change the options to whatever you feel is best.

Also, if you activate “Visualize Repeating Slots” in the context menu, a tiny icon indicating repeating content will be shown in the slot(s).

When the repeating content spans many slots, a gradation will be applied to the color of the slots.

Colourising Slots

By default Slots are colored equally per track. To change a tracks color, click on the small color indicator on top of the matrix track.

But each slot can also be colorized individually. To do this select one or more slots, then right click them and select "Set Custom Color..." in the context menu. These colors will be sticky to the slots when copy pasting them or when copying.