Live driving · Record drive to save your mixing moves
Song builder
Put different parts of your beat in order.
Choose a part → change its beat below → add the next part.
0 parts · 0:00
Plays the parts below, in order, then stops.
Starts as a copy. Change its beat below.
Editing: Intro
Changes below save to this part automatically.
PICK A DRIVE
Explore new combinations
01 Drum machine
16 STEPS
02 Synth section
Your recorded lead is playing. Clear it to use a generated melody.
PLAY THE LEAD · A W S E D F T G Y H U J K
Press Start driving to hear your track.
MAKE MUSIC ONLINE
Make your own synthwave soundtrack
Create retro electronic music with the free ButtonBass Synthwave Maker. Build drum patterns, shape warm synth chords, and add bass lines and melodies right in your browser. There is no signup or software installation, and the question marks explain every area for beginners.
How to make a synthwave beat
Choose a starting sound. Pick a drive style and press Start driving, or press Random Mix for a fresh combination that starts playing immediately. Random Mix chooses 75–185 BPM unless you check Keep Tempo.
Build your rhythm. Turn squares on or off in the 16-step drum grid. Try different drum kits, then change the chords, bass pattern, and synth sounds. Use the Mixer to balance each part.
Add your melody. Play the onscreen piano or the letter keys shown above it. Turn on Record lead to capture your notes in the repeating eight-bar loop. You can also steer with the arrow keys and collect pickups that change parts of the beat.
Save or share it. Export WAV downloads the complete loop. Export stems downloads its separate instruments. Share mix creates a playable link and lets you submit your creation to ButtonBass Community Mixes.
Four styles, fresh musical ideas
Midnight Cruise is warm and relaxed. Arcade Sunset is bright and bouncy. Cyber Chase brings energetic drums and intense synths. After Hours leaves room for slower, spacious sounds. These buttons generate variations within a style, so you can keep exploring instead of replaying one fixed song. Use Random Mix to explore more combinations, and check the Keep boxes to hold onto parts you like.
Questions about Synthwave Maker
Is Synthwave Maker free?
Yes. Making beats, playing the synth, and downloading WAV files or stems are free. You do not need an account or an app installation. Use a browser with JavaScript enabled, then press Start driving or Random Mix to hear your music.
Can I play my own synth melody instead of the automatic pattern?
Yes. Set Melody to Off and play the onscreen piano or the letter keys shown above it. If you already recorded a lead, press Clear to remove that recording. You can also set Arpeggiator to Off or mute Chords and Bass in the Mixer to leave more room. Keep Lead unmuted so you can hear your keys. Turn on Record lead when you want your playing to repeat and appear in exports.
What is the difference between a WAV and stems?
Export WAV saves your whole eight-bar mix as one audio file. Export stems saves a ZIP containing nine WAV files: kick, snare, clap, hats, percussion, bass, chords, arpeggio, and lead. Each starts together and has the same length, ready to line up in a music editor. Muted or unused parts produce silent stems. Exports include recorded notes and, with Replay on, your eight-bar recorded drive, including its tempo changes and mixing moves.
Will refreshing the page erase my beat?
Each ordinary visit or refresh starts with a fresh beat. Your edits still save automatically in this browser when storage is available. Press Restore saved mix to bring back your latest edited beat, including recorded notes and driving. Opening the page and listening to the fresh beat leaves that save alone; editing or generating another mix updates it. Clearing site data, using a different device, or ending a private browsing session can remove access to that save. Copy a Share mix link to reopen the musical settings later, and export a WAV when you want an audio copy.
Does everyone start with the same beat?
Each ordinary page load generates a fresh starting mix, even for returning visitors. Shared mix links play the specific beat that was shared. Each drive style has its own character, and Random Mix combines more musical choices. This gives you many starting points, although some combinations may be similar. Editing drum steps, changing sounds, and recording your own melody help make a beat your own.
You are making the soundtrack for a nighttime drive. Build your music from small parts, like building with blocks. You do not need to read music to begin.
Start with a sound you like
Choose a Pick a drive style to make a fresh mix with that mood. Choose it again for another idea. Then press Start driving to hear it. A mix is all the musical parts playing together.
Learn three useful music words
A beat is the steady pulse you can tap your foot to. A bar is a small group of beats; this app uses four beats in each bar. A loop plays the same stretch of music again and again. Your Synthwave Maker loop lasts eight bars.
Build your own version
The Drum machine makes the rhythm. The Synth section adds low bass notes, groups of notes called chords, and tunes called melodies. The Mixer lets you decide how loud each part should be.
Random Mix picks a new combination for you. The Keep boxes let you save parts you already like while the other parts change.
Drive to change the music
While the music plays, use the arrow keys to steer and change speed. Glowing pickups can appear on the road. Driving over one changes a part of your music. Use the question mark beside the driving controls to learn each pickup.
Try things, then use Undo
Undo, beside the Drum machine, brings back an earlier version of your music. Press it again to step back through more edits. A faded button means that action is not ready yet, such as Undo before you have changed anything.
Keep your music or explore another instrument
This browser usually remembers your latest mix on this device. Export WAV downloads a music file you can keep or share. The ButtonBass logo takes you home. Use Explore or the categories at the top to find another instrument, or scroll to the All instruments catalog below the studio. Music can keep playing while you browse; driving and piano keys wait while the menu is open.
The road is a way to play with your music. You are looking out from the car. The glowing brackets near the bottom show where to line up a pickup.
← and →: steer
First press Start driving. Hold the left arrow to move toward the left lane, or the right arrow to move toward the right lane. Let go to stay in that position. You can also hold the arrow buttons on the screen with a finger or mouse. Steering responds faster as your MPH increases, so a short press is enough to change lanes at high speed.
The little marker below the driving hint shows your position across the road. Modifier names and their lanes stay visible just below the road while they approach. At higher speeds, tiles give you more warning and a little more room to collect them. There is no crash penalty for missing a pickup.
↑ and ↓: change speed and tempo
Hold the up arrow to speed up, or the down arrow to slow down. MPH means miles per hour, the car's pretend speed. BPM means beats per minute, the music's speed. Here they share the same number: 100 MPH is also 100 BPM.
The range is 75–400. Faster driving makes the music faster too. Let go to keep that speed. Arrow keys inside a number box or slider still control that box or slider.
Curves and hills
The road gently bends left and right, climbs hills, and dips into valleys. Your car follows the bends for you. Use the left and right arrows to choose your place across the three lanes. The lights, signs, and glowing tiles all follow the road.
A hill can hide a tile on the road, but its glowing letter stays above the hill so you can see which lane to aim for. The tile comes back into view as you get closer. You can slow down to give yourself more time, or turn Motion off to keep listening with the road still.
Reset drive
This puts you back in the center lane and returns to the style's usual cruising speed: 100 for Midnight Cruise, 112 for Arcade Sunset, 128 for Cyber Chase, or 88 for After Hours. It also clears approaching pickups and any pickup change still waiting to happen. It keeps your current musical patterns instead of generating another mix.
Road mix: steer the instruments
With Road mix on, steering left brings drums and bass forward by making the synths quieter. Steering right brings the synths and melody forward by softening the drums and bass. The center restores the full balance you set in the Mixer. Center mix returns to that balance without changing the tempo. These blends fade smoothly and never turn on an instrument you muted.
Holding ↑ adds brighter sound and extra percussion while speeding up. Holding ↓ thins the beat into a breakdown while slowing down. Let go and that extra energy settles back to normal. Road mix off stops these blends and uses the original variation pickups instead.
Pickups: auto, on and off
Auto waits until you use the driving arrows or on-screen driving buttons. Then pickups turn on. You can also tap Pickups to turn them on or off yourself. After you choose off, steering will not switch them back on.
Steer so the center of a glowing tile passes between the brackets. A missed tile makes no change. Sometimes two tiles appear together: choose the left lane for BUILD or the right for BREAKDOWN. Only the choice you drive over takes effect.
MIX · Random Mix
The gold Random Mix tile creates a fresh beat, just like the Random Mix button. Steer over it to switch on the next beat, or drive past it to keep your music. It appears with Road mix on or off.
It follows Keep Drums, Keep Chords, and Keep Tempo. With Keep Tempo unchecked, it chooses 75–185 BPM and the MPH follows. Your recorded lead and sound knobs are kept. Any lead or drive recording in progress finishes before the change. In the Song builder, it changes only the part you are editing. Use Undo to bring the previous mix back.
Fills, drops and musical choices
Drum fill adds a one-bar drum flourish. Drop brings back the full beat for one bar. Build climbs for two bars, then drops into the full beat. Breakdown leaves a softer, spacious passage for two bars. Echo adds roomy repeats for one bar. Bass switch tries another bass pattern for two bars. All return to your underlying beat afterward.
Fills, echo and bass switches start on the next beat. Builds, drops and breakdowns start on the next bar, so the music stays in time. The buttons below the road do the same things as the tiles and also work when Motion is off. A new choice replaces the previous temporary effect.
Record drive, Replay and Clear drive
Press Record drive to start at bar one. Drive and collect tiles for eight bars. The app remembers your steering blends, speed changes, energy and musical choices, then replays them with the loop. It keeps your existing drum pattern and recorded melody. Starting a drive recording finishes any lead recording first.
Press Finish drive to stop early; the remaining bars use a balanced mix at your final speed. Pausing or editing the beat also finishes the take. Replay on includes the recorded drive in playback, WAV, stems and shared links. Replay off keeps the recording but leaves it out. Driving again takes over and turns Replay off.
Clear drive removes the driving recording and keeps your notes. Undo restores a cleared or replaced take. New mix starts fresh. Unrecorded steering and temporary tile effects are for trying ideas; press Record drive when you want to save those moves.
Original pickups with Road mix off
D · Drum Flip: picks a different drum rhythm and drum kit.
B · Bass Swap: changes the pattern of the low bass notes.
A · Arp Run: changes the line of notes that plays one note at a time.
M · New Melody: picks a new tune. If you have recorded a lead, or are recording one, it changes the synth sound instead and keeps your notes.
S · Synth Shift: gives the synth parts a different sound, like changing which instruments play them.
FX · Space Warp: changes how much echo and roomy sound you hear.
These original pickups change the saved pattern, keep your tempo and musical key, and can be undone. Parts you muted stay muted.
Full screen
Press the corner-shaped Full screen button at the top of the road to make the driving view fill your screen. The arrow buttons, speed and upcoming modifier names stay visible. Your music keeps playing, and the Play or Pause button in the corner controls the same song.
Press Exit full screen, or the Escape key on your keyboard, to return to the studio. Your beat and settings stay the same. On phones that cannot hide the browser bars, the road fills the browser window instead. To record a drive, press Record drive before expanding the view; your recording continues while you drive in full screen.
Motion
Motion off stops the moving road and pickups while the music can keep playing. Turn Motion on to drive again. Some devices ask for less animation, so the app may start with Motion off.
Pausing the track or leaving this browser tab pauses the drive. Pausing, restarting, or turning Motion off also cancels a pickup change that has not happened yet.
Think of your beat as a band playing together. This section lets you bring different instruments forward, add a little surprise, and save the way you perform the song. You can drive over glowing tiles on the road or use these buttons.
Road mix on and off
With Road mix on, first press Start driving, then use the arrow keys or the arrow buttons. Steering left makes the synths quieter so the drums and bass stand out. Steering right makes the drums and bass quieter so the synths and melody stand out. Returning to the middle brings back your usual balance. Instruments you muted stay muted.
Holding ↑ speeds up both the car and the music, adding brightness and extra percussion. Holding ↓ slows them down and makes the music thinner. Let go and that extra energy gently settles.
Press the button for Road mix off. Steering then stops changing the instrument balance. Road tiles switch to the original pattern-changing pickups, such as Drum Flip and Bass Swap. The six effect buttons in this section still work.
What do the little words beside the heading mean?
Balanced mix means the steering is near the middle. Drums + bass means you are bringing the rhythm forward. Synths + melody means you are bringing the tunes forward.
The second label describes your speed controls: Building energy while you accelerate, Easing into a break while you brake, and Steady cruise when that extra energy settles. These are live labels to help you understand what you are hearing.
Center mix
Center mix brings your steering balance back to the middle and settles the extra energy from speeding up or slowing down. It keeps your BPM, notes and drum pattern. It also clears a tile change that is still waiting to start. An effect that has already started can finish playing.
If a recorded drive is replaying, this button turns Replay off so you can take control again.
The six effect buttons
These buttons add temporary changes. A bar is a group of four beats: count “1, 2, 3, 4.” After the effect finishes, your usual beat returns.
Drum fill: adds a short burst of extra drum hits for one bar, like a drummer doing a little flourish.
Drop: brings the full beat back for one bar. Try it after a quiet moment for a bigger entrance.
Build ↑: builds excitement for two bars, then automatically brings in the full beat for one bar.
Breakdown ↓: quiets much of the drum and bass parts for two bars, giving the synths more room.
Echo: adds repeating, roomy sounds for one bar.
Bass switch: plays a different pattern of low bass notes for two bars.
You can click these buttons while the road is still. If the music is paused, clicking an effect starts playback. The effects respect instruments you have muted.
The gold Random Mix road tile
Drive over Random Mix to make a new beat using the same Keep boxes as the Random Mix button. It switches on the next beat and keeps playing. Drive around it to keep the beat you have. This change stays until you edit it or press Undo. It finishes any recording in progress, just like the Random Mix button.
Why does a change sometimes wait?
The message below the effect buttons tells you what is happening. Queued means your choice is waiting for a good musical starting point. Drum fill, Echo and Bass switch start on the next beat. Drop, Build and Breakdown start on the next bar.
You do not need to click again while you wait. Choosing another effect replaces the waiting choice; when it starts, it replaces the current effect. Driving over a matching road tile does the same thing as pressing its button.
Record drive and Finish drive
Press Record drive to start at the beginning of the song. The app remembers your steering balance, speed changes and effects for eight bars—eight groups of “1, 2, 3, 4.” Your drum pattern and recorded melody stay with the song. Any lead recording in progress finishes first.
The button changes to Finish drive, and the message shows which bar you are recording. After eight bars, recording finishes automatically and your moves replay with the loop. Press Finish drive to stop early; the unused part uses a centered mix at your last speed. Pausing also finishes the recording.
You can start a recording, switch to Full screen, and keep driving. Opening this help window keeps the music playing, so the recording keeps moving too.
Replay on and Replay off
Replay on follows the moves you recorded each time the song loops. Your recorded performance is included when you export a WAV, export stems, or share the mix for someone to hear.
Press it for Replay off to keep the recording stored while listening to the underlying beat or trying new moves yourself. Those saved moves are left out of playback and exports until Replay is on again. Using the driving arrows also turns Replay off and gives control back to you. The button is faded when there is no recording yet or while you are recording.
Clear drive and keeping an idea
Clear drive removes the recorded driving moves. Your drum pattern, sounds and recorded melody stay. If you change your mind, use Undo beside the Drum machine to bring the recording back. You can also Undo a replacement recording.
Trying steering blends and temporary effects does not automatically turn them into a recorded performance. Use Record drive when you want to keep those moves, then leave Replay on before sharing or exporting them. The message under the recording buttons tells you whether you are driving live, recording, or replaying a saved drive.
These controls decide when your loop plays and how fast it goes. You can change your music while it is playing.
Start driving / Pause drive
Start driving plays the music and starts the road when Motion is on. The same button then says Pause drive. Press it to stop playback without deleting your mix. Press Start driving again to continue.
↺: restart
The curved arrow returns the music to bar one, the beginning of the loop. If the music is playing, it starts over right away. If it is paused, it waits at the beginning until you press Start driving. This is different from Reset drive, which recenters the car and resets its speed.
Tempo / BPM
Tempo means how fast the steady beat goes. BPM stands for beats per minute. A bigger number makes the same rhythm happen faster. Type a number, then press Enter or click outside the box to use it. You can also use the small arrows in the number box.
Choose from 75 to 400 BPM. The car's MPH changes to match. Changing speed does not choose new notes; it changes how quickly the music plays them.
Position and the little lights
01 / 08 means you are in the first of eight bars. The four little lights count the beats in the current bar. In Loop mode, after bar eight, the music loops back to bar one. When you play the whole song, the total shows its full length in bars, and playback stops after the final part. Hear this part shows eight bars and keeps repeating. These are displays to watch, not buttons to press.
Volume
On wider screens, the Volume slider changes the loudness of the whole mix. Move it left for quieter music and right for louder music. The Mixer sliders let you change just one part. If you hear nothing, check the volume, the mute buttons, and your device's sound.
The Space key
Press the computer's Space key to play or pause when you are not editing a box or using another button. When a button has keyboard focus, Space presses that button instead. While help is open, Space and the arrows work with help instead of playing or steering.
Export means turning your mix into a file that you can keep outside this app. You can download one finished mix or its separate musical parts.
Export WAV: one complete music file
In Loop mode, this downloads the whole eight-bar loop as one WAV audio file. With the Song builder open, Export song WAV downloads all your parts and repeats, plus the ending. WAV is a common kind of music file. Your drum pattern, synths, effects, and generated or recorded melody are included. With Replay on, your recorded drive is included too, with its steering blends, speed changes and musical choices.
With the Song builder open, exports include the whole song, even while you preview one part. Back to loop switches exports to the current eight-bar beat. It does not record an unlimited live driving session. Notes you only previewed on the piano or chord pads, and driving moves you did not record, are not added to the file.
Export stems: separate musical parts
A stem is one musical part saved on its own. Imagine a sandwich with each ingredient in a separate container, ready to put together again.
This button downloads a ZIP, a package holding nine WAV files: kick, snare, clap, hats, percussion, bass, chords, arpeggio, and lead. Open the ZIP to get the files. They all start at the same musical moment and have the same length, so you can line them up in another music editor. With the Song builder open, each stem covers the entire saved song and its ending.
Muted parts and sound levels
Downloads use your sound levels. A muted or unused part makes a silent stem. If you want to hear that part in the file, turn it back on before exporting. The finished mix has a little extra sound balancing, so combining the stems yourself may sound slightly different.
Wait, or cancel
The app needs a little time to make the audio. The export button changes into a Cancel button and shows progress. Press it again if you want to stop making the download. Cancelling does not erase your mix.
You can keep experimenting
The download uses a copy of your music from the moment you pressed Export. Changes you make afterward belong to your next download. A pickup still waiting for the next beat is not part of the mix until its change has happened.
Share mix and Community Mixes
Share mix makes a playable link for the eight-bar loop you have right now. It includes your drum steps, synth choices, speed, sound levels, effects, and recorded melody. Driving moves are not a recorded video; the link opens the music settings you shared.
Give your mix a name, then choose Submit to Community Mixes to put it on ButtonBass for everyone to play. Copy Link copies the link so you can send it yourself. Share… opens your device's sharing choices when available. Close returns to the studio. Opening the window alone does not post anything.
Someone opening your link sees a Play mix button in the middle of the screen. Pressing it starts the shared beat from the beginning. Their saved work stays unchanged until they edit the shared mix or choose New mix. Escape closes the prompt so they can look around before playing.
Restore saved mix
Each ordinary visit starts with a new beat. To return to your latest edited beat, press Restore saved mix, then Start driving. It brings back your sounds, drum squares, recorded notes and recorded drive from this browser. Undo returns to the beat you just left. The button is faded until this browser has a saved mix. New edits update that save, so copy a Share mix link if you want to keep several ideas.
New mix
New mix stops playback and creates a fresh beat in the current drive style. It clears the recorded lead, recorded drive and Keep boxes, ready for a new idea. Press Start driving to listen. This is different from Random Mix, which follows your Keep boxes and starts playing immediately. If you change your mind, Undo brings the previous beat back.
A style is a musical mood, like relaxed or energetic. Each Pick a drive button makes a fresh mix of drums, chords, synth patterns, and effects that fit its mood. Press the same button again for another version. These are starting ideas you can change, rather than four fixed songs.
Midnight Cruise · warm and relaxed
Soft synth sounds, warm chords, and an easy rhythm. It starts between 92 and 108 BPM. Try this when you want room to hear how the instruments fit together.
Arcade Sunset · bright and bouncy
Brighter sounds, playful melodies, and bass notes that bounce around the beat. It starts between 110 and 124 BPM. Imagine a soundtrack for an arcade game at sunset.
Cyber Chase · energetic and intense
Busy drums, driving bass, and strong synth sounds. It starts between 128 and 152 BPM, with a high intensity setting. Try this for an exciting chase soundtrack.
After Hours · slow and spacious
Fewer notes, long gentle chords, softer drums, and more echo. It starts between 75 and 90 BPM. There is plenty of room to add a simple melody of your own.
What changes when you choose one?
Choosing a style makes a new mix, replacing the current musical settings and clearing a lead you recorded. Undo can bring your previous mix and recorded notes back. Your overall Volume setting is kept. The numbers beside the buttons show each style's starting tempo range. After choosing, you can change any control, including tempo all the way up to 400.
What happens when I come back?
Every ordinary visit or refresh picks a fresh beat from one of the four drive styles. Press Start driving to hear your new idea. Pausing and starting again keeps the current beat, so you can take a break without losing it. Shared links open the exact mix someone shared.
Your edits still save in this browser. Press Restore saved mix to bring back your latest edited beat, recorded notes and recorded drive. Simply visiting or listening to the new starting beat leaves that save alone. Editing the new beat, choosing a style, or pressing Random Mix or New mix replaces the save with your latest work. The restore button is faded if there is no saved mix yet.
Using a different browser or device, clearing browser storage, or blocking saving means that saved mix may not be available. Copy a Share mix link to keep the musical settings, or export a WAV or stems for a music file to keep.
How is this different from Random Mix?
Style buttons make complete fresh mixes within their musical mood. Random Mix explores the wider collection of sounds and follows the Keep boxes. It also preserves your recorded lead and its chords. The Keep boxes apply to Random Mix, so they do not stop a style button from making a complete new starting mix.
Random Mix is a musical idea button. It combines drum grooves, chords, bass patterns, arpeggios, melodies, synth sounds, and effects into a fresh mix.
Random Mix
Press it once to try a new combination. If the music is paused, your new mix starts playing right away. If music is already playing, it switches to the new mix. Press it again for another idea. It uses the Keep boxes to decide which parts to leave alone. It keeps the current drive name while exploring the full collection of sounds, so the result can move beyond that style's usual mood.
Random Mix on the road
The gold MIX tile does the same job as this button when you drive over it. The change starts on the next beat and follows these Keep choices. Miss the tile to keep your current mix, or use Undo to bring it back after a change.
Keep Drums
Check this box when you like your drum rhythm. Random Mix keeps the drum pattern, kit, swing, and settings that control its drum fills, while it changes the other musical parts. Uncheck it when you want new drums too.
Keep Chords
A chord is a group of notes played together. Check this box to keep the musical key, the order of the chords, and their rhythm. Bass patterns, arpeggios, melodies, and synth sounds can still change around those chords.
Keep Tempo
Check this box to keep the same BPM and MPH while you try new sounds. It starts unchecked, so Random Mix chooses a tempo from 75 to 185 BPM. The MPH number follows the same speed. Check it to keep a tempo you like, including one you set yourself up to 400 BPM.
What about a lead I recorded?
Random Mix keeps your recorded notes and the key and chord progression that go with them, even if Keep Chords is unchecked. It stops lead recording before making the new mix. You can listen to your tune with new backing sounds.
The Mix label and Undo
The short Mix label helps identify the generated version. It is a label, not a button. If you liked the earlier result better, press Undo beside the Drum machine. You can press Undo more than once to go back through earlier edits.
The drum grid is a little musical timetable. A bright square tells a drum when to make a sound. A dark square tells it to wait.
The five drum rows
Kick is the low thump. Snare is the sharper smack. Clap sounds like clapping hands. Hats are short, ticking sounds. Perc, short for percussion, adds extra taps and accents.
Press a row's name to mute it, which makes it quiet without erasing its squares. Press the name again to hear it.
The 16 step buttons
Tap a square to switch that hit on or off. The moving highlight shows where the music is now. There are four small steps inside each beat, and sixteen steps make one bar.
Several rows can play at the same time. While paused, switching a square on previews its drum, unless that row is muted. On a small screen, swipe the grid sideways to reach the other steps.
Groove
A groove is a ready-made drum rhythm. Pick one from the menu to replace the grid with that rhythm. You can edit its squares afterward. Changing Groove changes where the hits happen.
Drum kit
A kit is a set of drum sounds. Try Classic machine, Gated eighties, Tight electro, or Dusty tape. Your squares stay in place; the drum sounds change, like giving the same rhythm to a different drummer's kit.
↻ Remix
This makes another drum idea, including a groove variation, kit, and swing choice. Your synth patterns and tempo stay the same. This button is specifically for changing drums; the Keep Drums box beside Random Mix does not stop this drum-only Remix button.
Swing
Swing makes the timing less evenly spaced. At 0%, the small steps are even. Move the slider right and every second step waits a little longer, making a loping or bouncy feel. The main BPM stays the same.
Undo and the eight-bar arrangement
Undo can undo musical edits from across the app, not just drum edits. The grid shows the base drum pattern. Some Arrangement choices add little drum changes called fills as the eight-bar loop plays, so you may hear extra movement.
A synthesizer, or synth, makes musical sounds electronically. This section builds the pitched parts of your mix: low bass, chords, and tunes.
Key
The musical key is like a home for the notes. Choosing a key moves the music's notes together while keeping their relationships. Synthwave Maker offers twelve minor keys. A lead you recorded also moves with a key change.
Chord progression
A chord is several notes played together. A progression is the order those groups play in. Choose a progression to change the musical journey. The Roman numbers in the names describe chords in that key; you can just use the names and your ears.
The four chord pads
Tap a pad to hear its chord. Each pad covers two bars of the eight-bar loop, and the highlight shows the current chord. Tapping previews the sound; it does not record that tap or replace the progression.
Bass pattern
Bass is the low part you can often feel as well as hear. This menu changes when its notes play and how they move. Try Slow heartbeat for more space or Driving sixteenths for lots of quick notes.
Arpeggiator
An arpeggio takes notes from a chord and plays them one at a time, like stepping on a staircase. The arpeggiator makes that pattern for you. Choose a style to change its movement, or choose Off to leave it out.
Chord rhythm
This changes when the chords sound and how long they last. Long pads hold notes out. Short stabs play quick bursts. You keep the chord progression but give it a different rhythm.
Synth palette
A palette is a collection of sounds. Classic analog, Crystal glass, Dark pulse, and Soft focus give the bass, chords, arp, and lead different voices. Think of the same tune played by different instruments.
Melody
A melody is a tune you could hum. Choose one to let the app make a lead tune, or choose Off for no generated tune. If you have recorded your own lead, this menu is faded because your notes take its place. Use Clear in Play the lead when you want generated melodies again.
Arrangement
An arrangement decides how the parts behave across the eight bars. Steady loop stays more consistent. Evolving A / B adds changes and answering phrases later in the loop. Intro, break & lift makes lighter and fuller moments. An empty or muted drum row stays silent.
↻ Remix synths
This picks new synth ideas while keeping the drums and tempo. It can change bass, arps, melodies, voices, and effects. Check Keep Chords near Random Mix to preserve the key and chords. Recorded lead notes and their key and chord progression are kept too.
The lead is a tune that sits on top of the backing music. These piano keys let you make that tune yourself.
Play the piano keys
Tap or hold a key on the screen to play a note. Higher notes are farther to the right. You can also use the computer letters shown on the keys: A W S E D F T G Y H U J K. The letters are playing shortcuts, not the names of the musical notes.
Hold a key for a longer sound and let go to release it. You can play more than one note together. With keyboard navigation, focus a piano key and use Enter or Space to play it.
Playing versus recording
Playing the keys lets you try ideas right away. Those preview notes do not automatically join the repeating loop or the download. Turn on Record lead when you want the app to remember them.
● Record lead / ● Recording
Press Record lead and play some notes. The track starts if it was paused, and the button changes to Recording. Your notes are placed on the loop's small steps so they can repeat with the beat.
Press Recording again to finish. Your tune now repeats with the track and is included in WAV and stem exports. This records the piano keys inside the app; it does not record your voice through a microphone.
Add more notes
Recording again adds notes to the lead you already made. It does not automatically erase the first take. This is called overdubbing, which means adding another layer. Use just a few notes at first so you can hear each layer clearly.
Clear and Undo
Clear removes your recorded lead. It does not remove the drums, bass, chords, or arp. The button is faded when there is no recorded lead to clear. After clearing, the Melody menu can make a tune for you again.
If you cleared something you wanted, press Undo beside the Drum machine. Choosing a Pick a drive style also clears a recorded lead; Random Mix keeps it.
If you cannot hear the lead
Check that Lead in the Mixer is not muted and its slider is above zero. Check the overall volume too. While a help window is open, the piano shortcuts wait so typing and reading do not play notes by accident.
These sliders shape the feel and color of your music. An effect changes the way a sound reaches your ears.
Cruise → Chase / Drive intensity
Move toward Cruise for a gentler feel. Move toward Chase for a bolder sound, more active arpeggios and fills, and a stronger pulsing feel around the chords. The number shows the amount from 0% to 100%.
Intensity is different from tempo. Intensity changes how energetic the music feels; tempo changes how fast its beat goes. This slider does not change your BPM or MPH.
Space
Space adds echoes and a roomy trail to sounds. At 0%, these effects are off: you hear the instruments without added echoes. Move right to hear more room around the snare, clap, and synths. High settings make the synth echoes louder and repeat for longer, like calling into a big hall. Very high settings can make notes blend together.
The kick and bass stay clear and punchy, so Space will not change them when they are the only parts playing. Try it with the chords, arpeggio, or piano keys. Changes work while music is playing, and your Space setting is included in WAV and stem exports.
Tone
Tone changes how bright the synth sounds are. Move left for a softer, darker sound. Move right for a brighter, sharper sound. It changes the sound's color, rather than choosing a new tune.
The words and percentages
Words like Cruising and In pursuit describe the intensity setting. They are labels, not extra buttons. The large road caption hides while pickups are on to keep the view clear, but this panel still lets you change intensity.
Think of a song as a row of building blocks. Each part holds a beat. Put the parts in order, give them different sounds, and play them together as a song.
1. Build a song
Press Build a song. The beat you already made becomes your first part, named Intro. Click a part's name to work on it. The green outline and the Editing label show which part the controls below will change.
A name is just a label: naming a part Intro does not change its music. Use More to give it another name.
2. Change the part you picked
Use the drums, synth choices, keyboard, knobs and Mixer below the Editing banner. Your changes save to that part automatically. Random Mix creates and plays a fresh beat for this part. The other parts keep their own beats.
Press Hear this part to listen to just the part you are editing. It repeats so you can try different sounds. Pause this part stops that preview. If you make a change you do not like, use Undo beside the Drum machine.
3. Add next part
When you like your first part, press Add next part. This makes a copy at the end and selects it for editing. Change its sounds below to make it different. Your earlier part keeps its own beat.
For example, keep just drums and chords in Intro. Add the next part, then turn on bass and melody there for a bigger sound. The parts keep their drum patterns, melodies, knobs, instrument levels and recorded driving.
Hear this part or Play whole song?
Hear this part repeats only the part shown in the Editing banner. Play whole song plays all your parts in order, follows their repeats, fades for three seconds at the ending, and stops.
Pause song pauses the whole song. Continue song picks up where you paused. From beginning always starts at the first part. The studio controls wait while the whole song plays; pause it to make changes. You can record a lead or drive while working on a part, and the recording saves with that part.
Repeats and More
The Play menu beside a part chooses how often it repeats. Once means eight bars. Twice means sixteen bars. You can choose up to four plays.
Open More beside a part to rename it, Make a copy, Move earlier, Move later, or Remove it. A copy can have different sounds from the original. Undo can recover a removed part. Songs can hold up to 16 sections (parts) and 128 bars in total.
Keeping and downloading your song
With the song builder open, Export song WAV downloads the whole song. Export song stems downloads nine separate instrument files covering the whole song, all lined up together. Share mix includes the complete song too.
Back to loop closes the builder and lets you work on one repeating beat. It keeps your song; Open my song brings it back. Your work also saves in this browser. After refreshing to a fresh beat, choose Restore saved mix to return to it. New mix starts over, and Undo can recover the previous song.
The Mixer changes how loud an instrument is. Sound shaping changes its character: bright or dark, gentle or sharp, smooth or rough. Each of the four synth parts remembers its own six knob settings.
Choose Bass, Chords, Arp or Lead
Bass is the low part under the beat. Chords are groups of notes played together. Arp is a tune that steps through notes one at a time. Lead is the melody and the sound you play on the piano keys.
Choose the instrument first. The knobs show that instrument's settings. Choosing a different instrument keeps the settings you made for the others. Press Start driving to hear the mix, or choose Lead and play the keys. If an instrument is muted or its pattern is Off, turn it on to hear your changes.
How to turn a knob
Drag a knob upward or to the right to increase it. Drag down or left to decrease it. You can use a finger on a touch screen. With a mouse, hold Shift while dragging for smaller changes.
You can also click a knob to focus it, then use the arrow keys for small steps. Home and End move to the lowest and highest settings. Double-click a knob to restore just that knob's original setting. The percentage below each knob helps you remember a sound you like.
Brightness
50% keeps the palette's original brightness. Turn down toward 0% for a darker, muffled sound, like hearing music through a door. Turn up toward 100% to bring out more sparkle and edge. This changes only the selected instrument. Tone in The drive section still controls the overall synth character.
Resonance
This makes a small group of sound frequencies stand out, adding a sharper, ringing or “wah” character. Start around 20% or 30%, then turn Brightness while you listen. A little can add personality; higher settings make the sound more pointed. At 0%, this extra emphasis is off.
Attack
Attack is how a note begins. At 0%, it keeps the palette's usual start. Turn it up to make new notes fade in more slowly, like a soft swell. Lower settings work well for clear, quick rhythms. Higher settings work well for floating chords.
Attack changes the beginning of the next notes you play. A note that has already started keeps its current beginning.
Release
Release is how long a note lingers as it fades away. At 0%, it uses the usual fade. Turn it up for longer trails and smoother overlap between notes. Try it on Chords for a gentle pad or on Lead for a melody that hangs in the air.
For the live piano, the release setting takes effect when you let go of a key. In the automatic patterns, new notes use the updated setting. Long Attack and Release settings can blend fast notes together.
Chorus
Chorus adds slightly delayed, gently moving copies of the sound. It can make one synth feel wider and richer, like a few instruments playing together. At 0%, the extra copies are off. Turn up a little for warmth, or further for a wider, wavering sound. Headphones make the left-to-right width easier to hear.
Grit
Grit adds distortion: it rounds and roughens the sound's shape. Low settings give a little bite. Higher settings make bass and leads sound more crunchy. At 0%, the added distortion is off. If you want a rough sound that is quieter, use that instrument's volume in the Mixer.
Random: discover a new sound
Press Random beside Reset sound to give all six knobs new settings, anywhere from 0% to 100%. It changes only the instrument you selected: Bass, Chords, Arp or Lead. Your notes, drum pattern, tempo and other instruments stay the same.
Try it while the music plays, or choose Lead and play the piano keys afterward. Press it again to explore another sound. Use Undo to bring back the previous settings, or adjust a few knobs yourself to make the surprise sound your own.
Reset sound, Undo and saving
Reset sound puts all six knobs for the selected instrument back to their original settings: Brightness at 50%, and the other knobs at 0%. Other instruments keep their settings. The button is faded when that instrument is already reset. Use Undo beside the Drum machine to bring your previous sound back.
Your knob settings save with your mix and travel with Share mix links, WAV exports and stems. Random Mix and the drum/synth Remix buttons keep your knob settings. Choosing a new drive style or New mix starts with the original knob settings. Restore saved mix and Undo bring back the sound settings stored with that mix.
Brightness, Resonance, Chorus and Grit also change notes you are holding. Changing knobs keeps playback running. These are saved sound settings. Changing a knob, pressing Random or resetting a sound during Record drive finishes that take, just like other beat edits. Start another drive recording to perform with your new sound.
Imagine each musical part as a person in a band. The Mixer helps each person be heard without everyone being equally loud.
The five mixer groups
Drums controls the kick, snare, clap, hats, and percussion together. Bass controls the low notes. Chords controls groups of notes. Arp controls the one-note-at-a-time pattern. Lead controls your recorded tune or the app's generated melody.
Press an instrument name to mute it
Mute means making a part quiet without deleting it. Press its name again to bring it back. The Drums name controls all five drum rows together. To mute only the kick or hats, use that row's name in the Drum machine.
Move a slider to set its level
Left means quieter; right means louder. Zero means no sound from that group. The number beside the slider shows its setting. Turning up a muted part's slider does not unmute it, so press its name too if you want to hear it again.
The Drums slider adjusts all the drum sounds together. It does not move or erase squares in your drum grid.
Output, Live and Stereo
The moving Output bar shows sound activity. Live means the track is playing; Idle means it is stopped. These are displays, not buttons. Stereo means the sound has left and right sides, which can make the mix feel wider.
Your balance goes into the download
WAV and stem exports use these levels and mute choices. A muted or unused part will be silent in its stem. To hear a part on its own, temporarily mute the other groups. Use Undo if you want to step back through your mixer changes.