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VERSION 2.1 · COMPLETE MANUAL
Sequentia: the complete manual
A generative MIDI sequencer for hardware synths, drum machines and your DAW. Every module plays through the phone with its built-in sound, and drives your synths over MIDI when you connect them. This page documents every module and every control. The same text ships inside the app under Menu, Help, Manual.
CONNECTING HARDWARE
Use an Apple data adapter
For a stable wired connection, use an Apple adapter made for data. Official Apple adapters reliably expose external MIDI devices to the phone. Some ordinary USB cables only provide power. They can charge the iPhone while carrying no data, so Sequentia will not see the connected synth, interface or hub. If a device charges but does not appear under MIDI, replace the cable or adapter with an Apple data adapter before troubleshooting the instrument.
FOUNDATIONS
How it works
It drives your gear. Sequentia is a MIDI instrument first: each module plays a synth or drum machine you connect. No gear yet? Every module also has a built-in sound, so you hear your patterns straight from the phone.
Sound on the phone. The speaker on each plate turns its built-in sound on or off. Pick the voice under Sound in the module menu: acid, keys, pads, drum kits and more. It is monitoring only. It never changes the MIDI you send or export.
Modules are the blocks. Every part is a module: a bassline, a drum kit, a pad. Stack as many as you like. They share one tempo and one key.
Random and Mutate. Random rolls a whole new pattern. Mutate evolves the current one while it plays, and it is reversible.
One part per synth. Each module has its own MIDI device and channel, so one rack can drive several instruments at once.
Mix live. A Mixer module rides the mute, solo and level of your other parts while you perform.
Take it to a DAW. Any melodic part writes to a standard .mid file at the current tempo.
FIRST RUN
Getting started
1. Connect your gear. Plug in over USB-C, or pair Bluetooth MIDI. Each module lists your device under MIDI. No hardware? Skip this step: the built-in sounds play through the phone.
2. Add a module. Tap the plus and pick a type. It starts on channel 1.
3. Route it. Open the module menu, then MIDI, and choose the device and channel your synth is on. When gear connects, the phone’s own sound steps aside. Tap the plate’s speaker to bring it back.
4. Press Play. Everything runs on one tempo: the built-in sounds through the phone, MIDI to every synth you routed.
5. Shape it. Random for a new pattern, the knobs to dial it in, Mutate to let it move.
SHARED CONTROLS
The rack
Modules stack vertically. Each one sits on its own plate, and every plate carries the same header controls.
Drag handle. Reorder the rack by dragging a plate by its handle. Name. Tap and hold to rename a module. Speaker. Turns the phone’s built-in sound on or off for that module. It never affects MIDI. S, solo. Hear only this module. Note modules carry it; controllers do not, because a controller makes no sound of its own. M, mute. Stops the module. On a controller this is the real off switch: it stops sending. Menu. Opens parameters, Mutate, presets, MIDI routing, Clear, Export and Delete. Collapse. Tap the plate title area to fold a module down.
Above the rack sit the transport and the project. Tempo and key belong to the whole project. Change either once and every module follows, in key and in time. Undo works across the whole rack, and a shake undoes the last step.
MODULE 01 · EIGHT LANE DRUM MACHINE
Drums
Drums is an eight-lane drum machine. Each lane is one drum, from kick to hats. Roll for a full groove or program every step by hand, then send the kit to your drum machine or sampler.
How to use it. Pick a Style and press Random for a groove in that style. Tap steps to edit a lane. Route the whole kit to one channel, or give each drum its own. Use Fills for a variation into the next bar, and Humanize to loosen the timing.
Controls. Random pulls a full groove from the authored library. Style chooses the genre. Steps sets the loop length. Mode changes playback. Mutate reshapes groove density while it runs. Roll gives one instrument a prepared roll every few cycles. Gate controls hit length. Humanize loosens timing and velocity. Mixer provides a fader, solo and mute per lane. Tip: solo a lane from the mixer to set its level against the rest, then unmute.
MODULE 02 · GENRE BASSLINE
Bass
Bass is a generative bassline that speaks in genres. Pick a style, from Acid or Techno to Dub, Hip Hop, EBM or Jazz, and it writes a line in that idiom, in your project key.
How to use it. Choose a Style and press Random until a line lands. Set Steps for loop length and Range for how many notes it may use. Density sets how busy it is, Drive how hard it hits, Gate how long notes hold. Mutate evolves it and Humanize loosens the feel.
Controls. Random rolls a fresh line. Style selects genre rhythm and phrasing. Steps sets loop length. Range chooses the nearest notes available, from a root pulse to the full style range. Density sets activity. Drive shapes velocity and accents. Oct moves register. Gate sets note length. Humanize loosens timing and velocity. Follow Chords tracks harmony. Mutate reshapes the line and returns to the original. Presets save and recall lines in any project key. Tip: use Range at one note for a pure rhythmic pulse, then open it as the track builds.
MODULE 03 · 303 STYLE BASSLINE
Acid
Acid is a generative bassline in the spirit of a Roland TB-303. It writes a rolling line in key with slides and accents.
How to use it. Press Random until a line grabs you. Set Steps for loop length and Fill for activity. Range keeps it near the root or lets it climb. Decay sets how connected notes feel. Mutate evolves the take.
Controls. Random rolls a new line. Fill chooses how many steps play. Steps ranges from 4 to 32. Range sets distance from the root. Decay moves from tight stabs to connected legato. Mode changes step order. Mutate keeps reshaping the line and returns to the original. Tip: short Steps with high Fill creates the tight sixteenth note roll acid is known for.
MODULE 04 · CHORDS IN THE KEY
Chords
Chords plays a progression that always stays in your project key. Use it as a sustained pad, or feed it into an Arp.
How to use it. Set how many chords are in the loop. Tap a chord to pick it, choose its quality and set how long it holds, up to sixteen bars.
Controls. Random rolls a progression while keeping the size and lengths you set. Size sets one to eight chords. A chord opens its quality and duration, including 7th, 9th and suspended choices. Harmony controls whether Random stays simple or uses richer authored progressions. Strum spreads notes up or down. Humanize changes timing and velocity each pass. Mutate reharmonises and shifts voicing before returning. Presets opens 417 authored progressions and your saves. Tip: add an Arp set to Follow Chords.
MODULE 05 · ARPEGGIATOR
Arp
Arp turns a chord into a line, playing notes one at a time. It can use its own chord or follow a Chords module live.
How to use it. Open Setup to choose chord, direction, rate, octave span, steps and gate. Follow Chords locks it to your progression.
Controls. Random rolls a setup. Setup contains chord, direction, rate, octave span, steps and gate. Follow Chords tracks the first Chords module. Mutate adds gentle drift without losing the shape. Presets saves and recalls setups. Tip: Follow Chords keeps the arp locked to a changing progression.
MODULE 06 · CHORD HITS
Stabs
Stabs plays short chord hits, from dub skank and deep techno to rave and garage. It writes hits in the project key with genre specific voicing.
How to use it. Choose a Style and press Random. Steps sets loop length. Voices sets chord thickness, Density sets frequency, Gate sets duration. Follow revoices under Chords and Mutate lets the part drift.
Controls. Random rolls a pattern. Style selects rhythm and voicing, with Random ignoring genre rules. Steps ranges from a 4 step cell to a 32 step phrase. Voices sets one to four notes per hit. Density sets hits per bar. Drive shapes velocity and accents. Oct sets register. Gate sets length. Follow Chords revoices under harmony. Mutate reshapes ornaments and returns. Presets saves the setup. Tip: use Dub Stab, low Density and high Gate for a reverb response after every hit.
MODULE 07 · DRAW YOUR OWN MELODY
Piano
Piano is the module you write by hand. It is a piano roll for a melody or riff, in the project key or free chromatic.
How to use it. Tap to add a note, drag to move, and drag the right edge to resize. Use octave arrows and scenes for longer arrangements. Random writes a phrase you can edit.
Controls. Tap and drag edits notes. In Key snaps rows to the project scale; Chromatic shows all semitones. Step length sets 16, 32 or 64 steps. Scenes extend, duplicate, copy, paste and reorder the part. Octave moves the whole melody. Random develops a motif into a phrase. Mutate drifts notes while protecting downbeats and the final note. Key change offers Nearest, Up, Down and Shift while preserving the original drawing. Tip: sketch verse and chorus as separate scenes and reorder them.
MODULE 08 · THREE RING POLYRHYTHM
Euclid
Euclid spreads hits evenly. Three rings run at once with independent counts, notes and lengths. A 12 step ring against a 16 step ring drifts apart and returns bars later.
How to use it. Tap a ring, then set Steps, Hits, rotation and Note. Accent, Wander, Oct and Gate are in the menu. Mutate rotates rings over time.
Controls. Random rolls all rings or the selected ring. Steps sets each ring from 2 to 16. Hits spreads events. Rot shifts the cycle. Note stays inside the project key. Wander moves hits through the scale. Follow Chords takes root, third and fifth. Accent creates a rhythm inside the rhythm. MIDI Out sends rings together or to separate channels. Oct and Gate affect all rings. Mutate rotates a ring every few bars. Save and Presets store patterns. Export writes the complete cycle until the rings meet again. Tip: set the low ring to 16 and the high ring to 10 or 12.
MODULE 09 · GENERATIVE NOTE DROPS
Rain
Rain scatters notes like rainfall, from a drizzle to a downpour, all in the project key. Every bar is a fresh fall.
How to use it. Density controls amount, Storm controls energy, Range and Oct set register, and Gate controls duration. Mutate moves weather fronts through the texture.
Controls. Random rolls a new seed. Density sets the number of drops. Storm raises loudness, fall speed and splash. Range sets octave span. Oct moves the shower. Gate sets note length. Mutate swells and eases density. Export asks for a duration up to five minutes and writes unique bars. Tip: low Density with long Gate creates sparse shimmer.
MODULE 10 · MIDI CONTROL PANEL
CC Control
Your synth’s knobs, on the plate. Each circle is one MIDI CC sent directly to hardware. Build the panel you actually reach for.
How to use it. Add a control, choose one of 51 documented machines, or use Custom for any CC number. Drag knobs, tap buttons, and hold controls to rename, replace or delete. Values save with the project.
Controls. Knob sends 0 to 127. Button toggles its documented on and off values. Channel is stored per control, so one bank can address a multitimbral rig. Library contains 3,487 named controls. Custom creates any CC. Record arms R and captures knob movement into a bar locked loop. Touching a recorded knob gives your hand priority until release. Motion opens the loop graph with 1 to 8 bar length, loop or ping pong, and Clear. Hold edits name, channel, replacement and deletion. Tip: the next control uses the last selected channel.
MODULE 11 · MOVEMENT, NOT NOTES
Mod
Mod sends movement instead of notes. Each lane is an LFO on a MIDI CC, able to sweep a filter, amp or any mapped parameter.
How to use it. Add a lane, choose a wave shape, set Rate in beats and Depth, then point the CC at the synth parameter. Add up to three lanes.
Controls. Shape cycles LFO waves. Rate stays locked to tempo. Depth sets range. CC target picks the parameter. Fade eases depth in. Setup adds or removes lanes and sets centre, phase, bipolar and custom CC. Tip: target filter cutoff with a slow triangle for a breathing sweep.
MODULE 12 · MUTE, SOLO, LEVEL
Mixer
Mixer is a performance control surface. It makes no sound. It rides mute, solo and level for another module’s voices or every module at once.
How to use it. Point it at a module for a fader per voice, or select ALL for the entire rack.
Controls. Target selects a module or ALL. Mute silences a voice without stopping its playhead. Solo isolates selected voices. Level scales velocity. Tip: keep a Mixer on ALL for hands on level moves during a take.
MODULE 13 · REALTIME MUTATE AND MORPH
Live Performer
Live Performer plays the whole rack. One pad reshapes what every other module is already playing, then brings it home.
How to use it. Drag left to thin the arrangement, right to fill it, up to increase motion and dynamics, and down to calm it. Hold BREAK for a drop. The centre is HOME. Double tap returns there.
Controls. Material controls how much plays. Motion controls variation, dynamics and looseness. Break removes layers while held and returns with a fill. Mode chooses Hold, Snap or Spring after release. Return sets Spring time. Ride performs an automated intro, build, break, drop, peak and outro. Ride with Play starts and rewinds with transport. Mute disables the performer. Tip: hold BREAK, pull up slowly over eight bars, then release on the bar line.
MIDI
Routing and MIDI
Per module. Every module carries its own MIDI device and channel. There is no global output, so one rack can drive a whole desk of instruments.
Global tempo and key. Tempo and key belong to the whole project. Change either once and every module follows, in key and in time.
Audition. Each device row has a play control, so you can preview a part on an output before committing the routing.
Phone sound and hardware. When a synth is connected, the phone mutes its own sound for that part so it never doubles your gear. The plate’s speaker button always overrides. Monitoring is your choice, per module.
Connections. USB-C supports class compliant interfaces and synths, including powered hubs for several devices. Use an official Apple adapter that supports data. Bluetooth MIDI pairs inside the app. Network MIDI publishes a session for a Mac on the same Wi-Fi. Sequentia also publishes a virtual MIDI source for Logic, Ableton and other DAWs.
87 PATCHES · FREE
Sound on the phone
The built-in sound is free and on by default, so the app makes music before you own anything.
87 patches. 12 acid voices built on a real 303-style emulation, 67 polyphonic presets and 8 drum kits: bass, keys, plucks, pads, leads, organs, bells and more.
Picked per module. Each module opens on a sound that suits it. Change it under Sound while the pattern plays and pick by ear.
Level matched. Presets sit at the same loudness. It steps aside. Plug in MIDI gear and the phone sound mutes for that part. The speaker button overrides this in both directions. Monitoring only. It never changes the MIDI you send or export.
STANDARD MIDI FILES
Export
How a part leaves Sequentia depends on what kind of part it is.
A written part. Acid, Bass, Stabs, Euclid, Drums, Chords, Arp and Piano export their current loop. A DAW can repeat it.
A generative part. Rain never repeats, so it asks for a duration up to five minutes and writes unique bars into one file.
The file. A standard .mid at the current tempo. Send to DAW works separately: Sequentia appears as a live virtual MIDI source for recording the performance as it happens.
SAVE THE WHOLE RACK
Projects
Save and reload. A project holds every module, pattern, sound, routing choice, tempo and key.
Name, icon and notes. Each project carries its own and can be edited without touching the music. New project sits at the top of the list. Undo and redo work across the whole rack, with a shake to undo the last step. A knob drag counts as one step, not fifty.
APP SETUP
Settings
Send MIDI Clock streams clock with Start and Stop. Choose which devices receive it. Send to DAW publishes everything the rack plays to the virtual MIDI source. Mix with other apps lets Sequentia share audio with other apps. How to connect opens the USB, Bluetooth and network walkthrough. Acknowledgements lists the open source audio work. Subscription shows your plan and its contents.
PLANS
Free and Pro
Free. The core modules and live play. Three drum styles. One project. The whole built-in sound. Live Performer and CC Control in full.
Sequentia Pro. Every drum style. Generative tools including Mutate, Fills, Humanize and Chop. Pattern and preset libraries. Unlimited projects. MIDI export and Send to DAW. Pro sells the things that carry work out of the app and keep it: export and projects. Whole modules stay open.