Write beats, basslines and chords
Select a clip and its notes open in the editor: a step grid for drums, a piano roll for everything else. This is where you change a song note by note.
The studio needs a computer or an iPad. On a phone, Vocals is the app without the studio.
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One row per drum, one square per sixteenth note. Click squares to switch them on.
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Try a Kick on the 1st and 9th squares and a Snare on the 5th and 13th.
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A Closed Hat on every other square makes the beat move. Press play: the bar loops while you edit.
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Higher rows are higher notes. Double-click to add a note, drag it to move it, drag its right edge to make it longer.
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The highlighted rows are in the song’s key, so any note on them fits.
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Three notes on top of each other make a chord: try C, E♭ and G together.
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Not sure what to play? ✦ on the track writes a part that fits the song.
Pro tips
- ⌘D repeats a selected clip: build one good bar, then repeat it into a song.
- Hold a note slightly before the beat to make a bassline push forward.
Your turn
Open Vocals and do it for real: it takes a minute.