Sequencing

The step grid, the clock, and what composing became. Every entry below is filed under the limit that shaped it.

• A Shift Register Decided How Long a Bar Could BeSixteen steps was a hardware fact before it was a musical convention. How the step count shaped phrase length across decades of music.7 min read
• The Clock, and Who Holds ItSync as an unglamorous problem: pulse standards, MIDI clock, drift, and what happens musically when two machines disagree.3 min read
• QuantiseSnapping to a grid as the most consequential edit in the box. What it fixes, what it removes, and the deliberate use of turning it off.4 min read
• The Pad GridPlaying a sequencer as an instrument rather than programming it — what changes when the interface invites performance.4 min read