ABSTRACT
The desire to automate musical playback has a long history stretching at least as far back as the player piano. Audio recording satisfied some of that desire, but its inflexibility as an editable compositional format lead to solutions like the sequencer. The sequencer is a product of the electronic music age which provides a means to automate music without the need to commit it to a static recorded format. The ability to automate provides the musician with extra virtual hands to play many parts at once; it captures ideas for later review assisting our memory and communication of those ideas. The sequencer can do this because it captures and performs the musical gesture rather than the sound itself. In an attempt to acknowledge that sequencing applications handle audio tracks as well as MIDI tracks, these applications are occasionally referred to as Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs). Examples of some of the most popular sequencing software available today are Cubase, Sonar, Logic, Live, and GarageBand. Software packages that have some of the features of sequencers but also operate in different ways include Fruity Loops, ACID, and Reason. For younger children there are also a number of simple step sequencing applications, including free online music tools such as the Beat Machine, Drum Steps, and Composer applications available at the Making Tracks BBC Web site.1 Another simple sequencer suitable for the primary school is O-Generator.2 These simple sequencers can be a fun introduction to the concept of sequencing for junior classes, and clearly demonstrate the principles evident in serious sequencing programs. In this chapter we will examine the operation and use of sequencing software such as these and take a look at some of their characteristics, hear about how they have developed, and explore how they can be useful and influential when making music.
