Piano Roll Theorymusic theory for producers
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Arpeggiator

Turn a chord into a pattern: direction, rate, octaves and note length.

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Direction
Rate
Range
F♯4F4E4D♯4D4C♯4C4B3A♯3A3G♯3G3Am
RootThirdFifth

Up: the chord notes from lowest to highest, then back to the bottom to start again.

Pattern: A3, C4, E4, then the pattern starts over. At 1/16, you hear four notes per beat. The length of each note, called the gate, is 60% of the step: the shorter it is, the drier and bouncier the pattern sounds.

The pattern has 3 notes while a bar has 16 steps: it does not land in the same place every bar, which creates a shifting, rolling feel.

Used in: Arpeggios, Arpeggiators and Sequences