Choose Gesture Synth Time Signatures

How Meter Changes the Sequencer Grid

For 3/4, 4/4 and 5/4, each quarter-note beat is divided into four grid steps. One bar therefore contains 12, 16 or 20 steps. For 6/8 and 7/8, each written eighth beat receives two steps, producing 12 or 14 steps per bar.

The Bars menu multiplies that per-bar size by 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 measures. A longer odd-meter arrangement can create a large grid, so start with one or two bars while learning the accent pattern and expand only after the loop feels stable.

Compare 3/4 and 6/8 without Treating Them as Identical

A 3/4 bar is counted as three quarter-note beats, useful for a clear one-two-three pulse. Gesture Synth accents the first beat and marks each of the three beat positions on the grid. Try one chord per beat before adding smaller events.

A 6/8 bar contains six written eighth beats. The current metronome marks every displayed beat with the first one accented; it does not automatically create a compound two-beat conducting pattern. You can still design a two-group feel by placing stronger musical events around beats one and four.

Compare the meters with two one-bar grids before adding a melody. In 3/4, place chord attacks on steps 1, 5 and 9 and count ONE-two-three. In 6/8, use the same twelve-step grid but place the strongest attacks on steps 1 and 7, corresponding to written beats one and four, and count ONE-two-three FOUR-five-six. Both grids contain twelve subdivisions in this sequencer, yet the labels and musical grouping describe different meters. Loop each version several times and listen to where the phrase seems to lean. This controlled comparison prevents choosing 6/8 merely because its grid length resembles 3/4 and shows how event placement supplies the compound two-group feel that the click does not impose automatically.

Start a 5/4 or 7/8 Odd-Time Loop

For 5/4, begin with a 3+2 grouping: place a chord on beat one, a change on beat four and listen across the five-count boundary. Once that grouping is comfortable, try 2+3 by moving the second event to beat three. The page does not force a grouping; event placement creates it.

For 7/8, start with 2+2+3 or 3+2+2. Count the eight-note positions aloud during the seven-beat count-in and use the metronome downbeat to locate the loop boundary. Keep the first arrangement to one bar so a misplaced event is easy to find and edit.

Set the metronome and count-in →

Record, Edit and Export an Odd-Meter Loop

Choose meter, BPM and bars before selecting Record. After the one-bar count-in, gesture events are quantized into the active track. Use direct grid editing to add or remove a degree when camera timing lands on the wrong subdivision, then layer another track against the same meter.

WAV or WebM export renders the selected meter and tempo locally from the sequencer events. The file contains synthesized audio, not webcam frames or microphone sound. Listen through the loop boundary before export to confirm that the final event leaves enough space for the downbeat.

Export the arrangement as audio → · Use sequencer keyboard shortcuts →