It is simultaneously a creative and a teaching process. Once a user starts to move the note information around, they can begin to hear the effect of small decisions, and this method of composing can reveal the mechanics of how different rhythms are constructed. The programming process also sheds light on how others put their beats together. Music technology teachers have found that simple online beat makers like Splice and html5drummachine function as a highly effective route into beginning to work with electronic music. With virtually no music knowledge, you can start programming beats once you grasp the central concept. Origins and Early Usesįirst off, programming and composing in this way is extremely accessible.
However, like many technological developments, step programming has a number of specific charms, and its limitations can serve as inspiration for producers. It certainly lacks the immediacy of traditional composition methods, like playing a bass line or a drum beat. Step sequencing is, in some ways, a clumsy, long-winded method of composition that can seem counter-intuitive. For a contemporary emulation of old-style step sequencers, check out Reason’s ReDrum module or Logic’s Ultrabeat module. The familiar "piano roll window" method they use to visually represent musical information over time draws directly on innovations from the original step sequencers.
Today’s sophisticated Digital Audio Workstations - like Logic, Pro Tools, and Cubase - are in many ways descended from the original hardware sequencers. Step programming is a composition technique that was initially created as a way to enter and playback note information on hardware synths and drum machines in the 1970s and ‘80s.